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September 18, 2026

Tehran 6:00 am

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A pedestrian passes by the Treasury Building in Washington, DC on Jan. 18, 2023.

US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz payments

The US government says the exchange was used to channel payments from an Iranian maritime-insurance scheme to the regime.

AFP via Getty Images

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

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Analysis

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

Houthi fighters marching

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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

Iran's thriving rap culture

Iranian hip-hop artists have made the music genre their own.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks to his plane with Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh January 5, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX1738Z

The Saudi challenge to US Syria policy

Saudi Arabia proposes a military force to deter Iran and assist rebel forces to overthrow the Syrian government.

Protesters demonstrate against Turkey's ruling Ak Party (AKP) government and demand that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's resign because of the corruption investigation in Ankara December 18, 2013. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on Wednesday a corruption investigation in which 52 people including the sons of three cabinet ministers have been detained was part of a "planned operation" to tarnish the government. In the first official comments on the investigation from a senior member of the go

What you should know about Turkey's AKP-Gulen conflict

The recent AKP-Gulen split in Turkey has surprised many in the country and turned old allies into enemies.

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

A cleric stands in front of a banner as he arrives at a religious conference centre in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran, March 10, 2011. The clerics are attending the International Conference of Religious Doctrines and the Mind-Body Problem. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR2JPSP

Facebook use among the seminary in Qom

Facebook use in Qom seminary poses a potential threat to the traditional status of some religious leaders in Iran.

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

Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh flashes the victory sign during a ceremony to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran's Azadi square February 11, 2012. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on the anniversary of the revolution that the Islamic Republic would soon announce "very important" REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: ANNIVERSAR

Will Iran, Hamas resume relations?

Following a split between Iran and Hamas over a number of regional issues, most prominently the Syrian conflict, the two sides have once again restored relations, according to sources in Hamas.

Iran's billboard guide to family planning teaches 'the more, the merrier'

New billboards in Tehran encouraging families to have more children have been criticized as sexist and dismissive of the serious economic issues Iranians face.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
A general view shows Tehran's Milad telecommunication tower (L) as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marsh

Will Tehran remain Iran’s political capital?

The government may consider moving the capital, but a change is unlikely.

An Iranian-Kurd woman talks on her mobile phone as she walks at a bazaar while shopping in Marivan in Kurdistan province, 512 km (318 miles) west of Tehran, May 12, 2011. Iranian Shi'ite and Sunni Kurds live in harmony with each other in Marivan, although Sunni is the religion of the majority of the people. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR2MC86

Iranian Kurds disappointed with Rouhani

Some Reformist Kurds in Iran had hoped to have a Kurdish representative as governor for their region.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Students attend a parliament session in Tehran January 29, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS EDUCATION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2X0ZA

Iran increases role of clerics in public schools

Social activists are worried about a new policy that will station clergy in an expanding circle of public schools in Iran.

A demonstrator holds a shoe box, as a reference to what the media said are shoe boxes of cash found in the house of Halkbank CEO Suleyman Aslan, during a demonstration against Turkey's ruling Ak Party (AKP) and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara December 21, 2013. Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers, were charged on Saturday in connection with a Turkish corruption investigation that has struck at the heart of the ruling elite and threatened the authority of Erdogan. The general manager

Erdogan goes on offense against corruption charges

The government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims a foreign plot is behind the corruption charges.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures during a news conference in New York, September 24, 2010. U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday strongly condemned comments by Ahmadinejad that implied a U.S. government role in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10F2I

Iran still digging out of Ahmadinejad-era corruption

In Iran, the business and legal climate generated by sanctions led to shady business deals and opaque transactions.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on February 3, 2012. Tens of thousands of Iranian visitors have been finding difficulty in using the Iranian currency in Iraq due to a depreciation of the rial against the dollar. AFP PHOTO/ ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq looks to expand trade with Iran

While officials in both Baghdad and Tehran stress that they are eager to further expand trade relations between the two countries, some Iraqis fear that the government’s pro-Iran policies could be hurting local merchants.