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Iran

September 16, 2026

Tehran 7:00 am

23°C

Houthi fighters marching

Analysis

How far will Iran push Houthis against Saudi Arabia amid raging conflict?

As Iran-backed Houthis broaden attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran's delicate calculation is exploiting the current conflict without being dragged into an escalation of its own making.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities shout slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia's balancing act with US, Iran, Houthis risks collapse

Houthi rebels escalated their attacks on Tuesday, triggering alerts around the holy city of Mecca, Taif and the Red Sea port city of Jeddah.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Houthi

Exclusive

Houthi top diplomat says no intention to shut down Red Sea shipping, group open to talks

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Acting Foreign Minister of the Houthi-led administration Abdulwahid Abu Ras said concerns over a potential closure of the Red Sea are being fueled by Saudi Arabia.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Latest News

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Analysis

Saudi pipeline shutdown exposes shrinking global oil-supply buffers

AFP via Getty Images

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Oil tops $109 after Houthi strikes, Saudi pipeline shutdown

A sailor from the navy of Yemen's Aden-based internationally recognized government stands at a machine-gun position aboard a vessel patrolling a shipping lane off Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

Young Iranian women carry jugs of water, filled at water distribution point, to their village outside Zabol in south eastern Iran, July 17, 2001. Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province is suffering from a third consecutive year of drought which the United Nations says has cost the country $2.6 billion in dammages this year, up from $1.7 billion last year. Local officials say without rain remaining water sources will dry up by December. - RTXKN5I

Iran official warns water crisis could lead to mass migration

The adviser for water, agricultural and environment to Iran’s vice president warns that if Iran doesn't cut its water exploitation in half, the country could see a mass exodus.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
A view of the inside of a shopping mall is seen in northwestern Tehran February 3, 2012. With just a month to go before a parliamentary election, Iran has been hit hard in recent months by new U.S. and European economic sanctions over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but the West says is aimed at making a bomb. Picture taken February 3, 2012. REUTERS/Mor

US CEOs find crowded field in Iran

A group of American executives found a warm welcome in Iran and plenty of company from other foreigners investigating post-sanctions business opportunities.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry addresses the Opening Meeting of the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at United Nations headquarters in New York, April 27, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX1AJ89

Will Iran nuclear deal lead to rapprochement with Cairo?

The pending nuclear agreement with Iran could provide some much-needed balance for Egypt's shifting foreign policy in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York April 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jason DeCrow/Pool - RTX1AJNA

Kerry, Zarif meet at Iranian envoy's residence

The US secretary of state visits an Iranian diplomatic property in New York in a historic move related to the Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Morality police show examples of unacceptable women's clothing to the media during a crackdown on "social corruption" in north Tehran June 18, 2008. Picture taken June 18, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAN) - RTX73ZM

Rouhani: Police should not enforce Islam

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized by conservative clerics for saying the police should enforce the law rather than Islam.

Abdulrahman Al-Banyan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Chief of Staff, arrives to the Arab League headquarters to attend an Arab defence ministers meeting in Cairo April 22, 2015. The talks are expected to focus on the war in Yemen, Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East and security threats from Islamic State. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

Should Saudi Arabia test Iran’s offer of diplomacy on Yemen?

Iranian officials offer diplomatic initiative and warnings on Yemen; book burning in Giza; Kremlin ignored Israeli objections on missile system sale to Iran; Russian "soft power" in the Middle East.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to reports at the U.S. Capitol in Washington April 21, 2015. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan - RTX19PE3

Will Iran review bill survive Senate?

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of April 27.

Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili addresses a news conference after a meeting in Baghdad, May 24, 2012. Iran and world powers agreed to meet again in Moscow next month for more talks to try to end the long-running dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, but there was scant progress to resolve the main sticking points between the two sides. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR32L0Q

Former Iran negotiator: Better ties with US impossible

Former Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili argued that the United States and Iran cannot have ties because of America's policy to "consolidate its leadership over the world."

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama deliver remarks to reporters after their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington April 14, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTR4XBNF

Iraq maintains neutrality in regional conflicts

On a visit to Washington, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi leveled criticism at Iran and Saudi Arabia, reflecting his desire to maintain a neutral position in their regional rivalry.

Supporters of Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) hold flags showing Maryam Rajavi, head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), as they rally against Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hours before he is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama, at the White House in Washington, November 1, 2013. The MEK fought on the side of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, mounting attacks on Iran from Iraq, and are calling for the U.S. to hold Ir

MEK leader to testify before Congress

Maryam Rajavi will discuss the threat the Islamic State poses to members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) at Camp Liberty.

Followers of the Houthi group demonstrate against the Saudi-led air strikes in Sanaa April 22, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX19UBJ

Head of Iran’s Basij congratulates Houthis on 'victory'

Hard-line Iranian officials and media have stated that Saudi Arabia failed to achieve their objectives in Yemen and have strengthened the Houthi position.

A follower of the Houthi group holds up a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a demonstration against the Saudi-led air strikes in Sanaa April 22, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX19UHF

Iran official warns against further strikes in Yemen

Iran is lauding its own efforts to achieve the cease-fire that temporarily halted Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen and warns that continued Saudi aggression threatens to block a political solution.