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October 19, 2026

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Tehran on Oct. 19, 2026.

Lavrov visits Tehran as Trump praises Russia's role on Iran: What to know

During a meeting with his Iranian counterpart earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed Moscow’s offer to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

The country's last barrels of crude stockpiled beyond the reach of a US naval blockade fell to zero in October, raising the stakes for Tehran amid mounting economic distress.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds a press conference in Tehran on November 30, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey turns to Iran to contain Houthis as Saudi defense commitments grow

Ankara is trying to contain the fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis through Tehran’s help, but Iran may see an advantage in allowing the Houthis to maintain pressure on the kingdom.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

Latest News

Analysis

How much oil can cushion another Middle East supply shock?

A vessel transits the Gulf of Oman

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

Analysis

How hijab dispute is opening new front in Iran-Azerbaijan tensions

A woman walks past a wall painting in the colours of the Iranian flag in Tehran on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Female commander in Iran's Basij units assassinated: What to know

People attend the funeral ceremony of Mahan Setareh, a member of the paramilitary Basij force who was killed in the recent Israeli attacks on June 26, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran has brought an end to 12 days of daily aerial attacks that started with Israel's strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

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

An engineer from the Israeli company "Commun.it" uses his expertise in social media commercial analysis to identify networks of fake users.

Iran suspect in cyberattack targeting Israeli shipping, financial firms

Iran has increased its cyberattacks against Israel in the past year, according to several observers.

Alireza Enayati, previously Tehran’s ambassador to Kuwait from 2014 to 2019. Enayati will be the next envoy to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Who is Alireza Enayati, Iran’s first ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 7 years?

Alireza Enayati previously served as the director-general for Persian Gulf Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and as Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait.

Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo (R) meets Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) in Jakarta, on May 23, 2023, during Raisi two-day state visit to the most populous Muslim country.

Iran's Raisi visits Indonesia, announces agreement to ditch dollar

The Iranian government has signed a dozen agreements with Indonesia, pressing ahead with its pushback on sanctions that has also involved strategic deals with China, Russia and India.

Tree branches flutter near high voltage transmission towers (electricity pylons) during a sandstorm in the south of the capital Tehran on July 4, 2022. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Iran cut its energy subsidies?

If the Iranian government reduces its current energy subsidies, it will be a huge remedy for the country's runaway budget deficit. But there will be major political obstacles.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

People protest against executions and detentions in Iran, in front of the Iranian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City on December 17, 2022. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

New EU sanctions on Iran target Basij, judiciary after executions

The foreign ministers of the European Union have adopted an eighth round of sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities responsible for serious breaches of human rights.

Ali Shamkhani (R), the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran extends his hand to Emmanuel Bonne (L), diplomatic advisor to the French president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 10, 2019. - Iran has breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a troubled 2015 nuclear deal and warned Europe against taking retaliatory measures, as France decided to send an envoy to Tehran to try to calm tensions. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran replaces security chief Shamkhani with IRGC official

Ali Shamkhani was heavily involved in Iranian foreign policy and will be replaced by a senior member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A US Navy patrol ship guards US and coalitions ships docked at the US 5th Fleet Command in Bahrain's capital Manama on Dec. 17, 2019.

US steps up Gulf patrols amid increasing tanker seizures by Iran

In an excerpt from the latest edition of Security Briefing, our Pentagon correspondent looks at efforts by Washington to stem an increasing spate of civilian tankers by Tehran.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

New US sanctions target Russia-Iran military trade

The sanctions come days after the White House said Russia was seeking to replenish its supply of Iranian-made attack drones.

An Afghani policeman looks out to the horizon while on patrol in the mountains surrounding the Helmand River valley in Afghanistan on Feb. 24, 2006.

Iran threatens 'pressure' on Taliban amid deepening water row

The warning marked the most serious episode in Iran-Taliban ties since the extremist group's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

An exhibition calling for an end to executions in Iran on Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020 in London, England. The exhibition, held by Anglo-Iranian communities in the UK, marked the World Day against the Death Penalty. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

Iran hangs 3 protesters in Isfahan as executions soar

Iran rebuffed calls by rights groups to prevent the execution of three protesters who were reportedly forced into confessions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022. - Iran's president will host his Russian and Turkish counterparts for talks on the Syrian war in a three-way summit overshadowed by fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, Russia ink $1.6 billion rail deal to rival Suez Canal

Iran and Russia agreed to build a railway between two Iranian cities as they continue to develop their trade relations despite US sanctions.

ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Iran hosts Russian navy chief, seeks to boost China triangle

Russian and Iranian commanders discussed forming joint committees tasked with deepening cooperation as sanctions-hit Tehran continues to lean on Moscow.