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Iran

September 17, 2026

Tehran 5:28 pm

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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

Iranian lawmakers want to restrict Khatami from public

Former President Mohammad Khatami is under the spotlight once again, with some conservative parliamentarians asserting he is banned from public engagements, while others deny their claim.

The Paris office of Iran Air is draped with a black shroud, July 7, 1988, following the downing of an Iran Air A-300 Airbus with 290 passengers aboard in the Gulf on Sunday. The USS Vincennes mistakenly fired a missile at the civilian airliner. REUTERS/Phillipe Wojazer - RTR1Q8SV

Iran remembers US downing of passenger plane

On the anniversary of the downing of Iran’s Flight 655 by the United States, Iran still mourns the act of violence that played a major role in US-Iran hostility.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand during a military-style training in Najaf June 20, 2014. Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3UW3C

Did Shiite fatwa save Baghdad from 'Islamic State'?

Iraqi Shiites have rallied to defend the capital from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), with few visible signs of Iranian fighters.

Iran's deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leaves the Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 4, 2006. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors voted on Saturday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council over concerns Tehran is secretly seeking atomic weapons, a diplomat said. REUTERS/Michael Dalder - RTR15UJ5

Iran negotiator: Nuclear program limits will have 'time frame'

As Iran and the UN Security Council meet for the last round of nuclear talks, negotiators from Iran say that the final agreement will be temporary.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq, July 19, 2013. REUTERS/Karim Kadim/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11RSP

Ahmadinejad’s legal case still open, says Iran judiciary

The Iranian judiciary’s spokesman has said that various charges are still being investigated against former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials in the banking and oil sectors.

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

Iran's opposition leader and former presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi (C) attends Friday prayers in Tehran July 17, 2009. QUALITY FROM SOURCE. REUTERS/ISNA (IRAN POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR25RB8

Motahari says Supreme Leader called house arrests a 'favor'

Parliament member Ali Motahari has said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei considers the continued house arrest of the Green Movement leaders a lighter punishment than the alternative: imprisonment.

Iran extends welcome to US religious groups

Three major US religious delegations have visited Iran since March, seeking to broaden US-Iran dialogue and support the nuclear talks.

Russian soldiers unload a Russian Sukhoi SU-25 plane in al-Muthanna Iraqi military base at Baghdad airport in Baghdad, June 28, 2014. The first batch of Russian fighter jets arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to help Iraqi forces battle Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in the country's north. Picture taken June 28, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TRANSPORT CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3W9NZ

Russia's military bid in Iraq

Moscow has seized an opening by delivering fighter jets to Iraq.

Iraq’s ambassador to US: war with ISIS 'acid test' of US-Iraq ties

Lukman Faily, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States, says that in light of the urgency of the Iraq crisis, “we will not be in a position to choose our partners and whoever is available to help us in our survival war, then we will take that.”

QOM, IRAN: An Iranian Muslim cleric holds a copy of the Holy Koran during a sit-in condemning Pope Benedict XVI's recent speech about Islam and holy war in the auditorium of the Feyzieh, the main seminary school in Iran's clerical epicentre of Qom, 130 kms (80 miles) south of Tehran, 17 September 2006. Religious seminaries across Iran shut today to stage protests over remarks by the Pope that linked Islam to violence as top clerics vehemently criticised the pontiff's remarks. All of Iran's seminary schools

Qom's Society of Seminary Teachers issues warning to Rouhani

The president of the Society of Seminary Teachers in Qom has said that President Hassan Rouhani was issued unofficial warnings and that if he fails to heed them, he would be officially cautioned.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims take part in an anti-government demonstration in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad,April 19, 2013. Thousands of Sunni Muslims protested after Friday prayers in huge rallies against Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, demanding that he step down. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXYSEV

Saudi Arabia sees allies among Iraq's Sunni tribes

The kingdom is distinguishing between Sunni tribes opposed to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul, June 23, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held crisis talks with leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday urging them to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country. Picture taken June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3VIB1

Fars News objects to Arab media coverage of Iraq

Fars News has criticized Arab-language media coverage of Iraq, revealing some of Iran's concerns about the crisis.