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September 17, 2026

Tehran 11:53 am

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China presses Iran, US to reopen Hormuz as disruptions threaten oil supply

Conflicts in the region are disrupting two key routes for oil bound for China, with Iranian crude affected by the Strait of Hormuz and Saudi shipments facing growing risks in the Red Sea.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Senior Israeli intelligence sources told Al-Monitor that Israel seeks to avoid involvement in the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, despite concerns that Yemen could further unravel and that Iran is backing the group.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Exclusive

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

Houthi

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

US hits major Russian bank VTB with Iran-linked sanctions

VTB Bank in Moscow

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

SHIRAZ, IRAN - MAY 29: A cutout of a woman in Iranian dress stands in front of the Karim Khani Palace, also a former prison, on May 29, 2014 in Shiraz, Iran. Shiraz, celebrated for more than 2,000 years as the heartland of Persian culture, is known as the home of Iranian poetry and for its progressive attitudes and tolerance. Like all of Iran, this week Shiraz observes the 25th anniversary of the death and continued legacy of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of the Islamic revolution. (Photo by John Moo

Iranian official: employing women 'not a priority'

The Iranian government would rather not address the issue of women’s unemployment, instead preferring more women to stay in the home.

Iran website denies Qasem Soleimani sidelined

A conservative Iranian website has denied reports by Arab media that Quds Force Cmdr. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has been replaced.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

A currency exchange dealer counts U.S. dollar banknotes for a client at a shop in northern Tehran October 3, 2010. Iran's currency, the rial, defied central bank attempts to revive its value on Sunday, remaining weak after falling 13 percent against the dollar last week. Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTXSZ96

Iran counts $22 billion in forex abuses under Ahmadinejad

An Iranian official has claimed that companies made millions taking advantage of Iran's subsidized exchange rate in the final years of the Ahmadinejad administration.

National Security Archive Deputy Director Malcolm Byrne holds one of the "Family Jewels" documents released by the CIA at the National Security Archive at George Washington University in Washington June 26, 2007. The CIA aired its dirty laundry by declassifying hundreds of pages of long-secret records that detail some of the agency's worst illegal abuses during about 25 years of overseas assassination attempts, domestic spying and kidnapping. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES) - RTR1R6GH

New Iran-Contra book shows how US-Iran ties were scuttled

Malcolm Byrne, deputy director of the National Security Archive, presents new details about how US officials convinced themselves they were aiding “moderates” who planned to overthrow the Iranian government but who could also engineer the release of US hostages in Lebanon.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli (L) speaks during a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Islamabad on May 6, 2014. Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will travel to Iran on May 12 in a visit seen as an attempt to improve relations frayed by the kidnapping of Iranian border guards. AFP PHOTO/Aamir QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran interior minister says advisers sent to Iraqi Kurdistan

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has admitted that Iran sent advisers to Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of Kurdish officials.

Media personnel wait to attend a press conference of Argentina's goalkeeper's Agustin Orion and Mariano Andujar at their base camp in Vespasiano, near Belo Horizonte, on June 18, 2014, ahead their 2014 FIFA World Cup Group F football match against Iran, to be held at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte on June 21, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Juan Mabromata

Fars News proposes joint reporting by Iran, Russia

The director of Fars News Agency has proposed that Iranian and Russian news organizations cooperate to combat the influence of Western media.

TALESH, IRAN - MAY 17: Labourers sow rice in a paddy field on May 17, 2007 near Talesh, Northern-Western Iran. Rice in its various forms is the most consumed cereal, totalling a massive one-fifth of all calories consumed by the human race and is a staple in many parts of Asia. The biggest producers of rice, mainly grown in paddy fields are China, India and Indonesia. (Photo by Majid/Getty Images)

Turkey, Iran seek to boost trade as mistrust lingers

Turkey and Iran have activated an accord to reduce tariffs and increase bilateral trade to $35 billion in 2015, but mistrust lingers between the two neighbors, with Turkey seeking international arbitration over the price of Iranian natural gas.

Nuri al-Maliki (C), acting Defence Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi (2nd R) and Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar (L) attend the funeral ceremony of Gen. Majid Abdul Salam, at the defence ministry in Baghdad August 13, 2014. Gen. Majid Abdul Salam was the pilot of the Iraqi army helicopter carrying aid and evacuating displaced members of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq that crashed on Tuesday, in an accident that also wounded passengers, a government spokesman said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNRE

The collapse of Maliki’s party

Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has failed to keep his party and coalition together, through his nondemocratic approaches, while the new Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi vowed to preserve the national consensus.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam (L) shakes hands with former Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri upon his arrival at the government's headquarters in Beirut August 8, 2014. Hariri arrived back in Lebanon on Friday for the first time in three years, a visit seen as reasserting his leadership over the Sunni community after a deadly incursion by Islamist militants in the northeast. REUTERS/Georges Farah (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR41O2O

Could Maliki's departure spur Lebanon’s presidential election?

Many Lebanese are looking for signs that the departure of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq will lead to progress in Lebanon's presidential race, but diplomatic sources are quick to downplay any such hopes.

Iran's atomic chief wants detonator issue closed

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran complained that the number of questions regarding Iran's nuclear program were increasing, despite Iran's cooperation and previous understandings.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks during a meeting with members of his cabinet at the White House in Washington November 28, 2012. Obama said on Wednesday he hopes he can reach agreement with the U.S. Congress before Christmas to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff" and shrink the budget deficit, and urged supporters to pressure lawmakers via Twitter and other social media.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR3AZPA

Some urge US to pursue bigger nuclear deal with Iran

Former US government officials including former White House and State Department Iran official Dennis Ross have said the US should pursue a comprehensive deal which may recognize Iran's right to enrichment but at the same time be acceptable to the United States.

$Iraqi newly elected parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi (C) stands between his deputies Haidar Al Abadi (L) and Aram Sheikh Mohamad (R) in Baghdad on July 15, 2014. Iraq's fractious parliament elected a speaker after two failed sittings, with al-Juburi winning comfortably according to a tally announced live on state television. The much-delayed election kickstarts a political process which should also see lawmakers agree on a federal president, who then designates the largest bloc, the candidate of which has$

How Haider al-Abadi became Iraq's next prime minister

Iranian officials helped lay the groundwork for the appointment of Iraq's new prime minister-designate.