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Iran

October 23, 2026

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Explainer

What Iran’s threats to Hormuz internet cables mean for Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to cut crucial internet and communications routes in the region if US aggression escalates.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions law firm based in Panama, Greece over Iran shipping ties

The Treasury Department accused Karnakis and Karnakis of registering shipping companies linked to Iran's so-called shadow fleet.

Latest News

Analysis

How Lavrov's Tehran visit tests limits of Russia's influence over Iran

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting in Tehran on October 19, 2026. The Russian foreign minister arrived in Iran on October 19, in his first visit since the outbreak of the Middle East war as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

IRGC claims it downed US drone, set two tankers ablaze near Hormuz

Ships are anchored off the coast of Khasab in Oman's Musandam Governorate, near the Strait of Hormuz, on Oct. 2, 2026.

Iran says deal reached with Iraq to expel Kurdish separatists: What to know

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

A handout photo provided by the Iranian army official website shows an Iranian naval ship parading during the last day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran, Sept. 12, 2020.

US Navy fires 30 warning shots to ward off Iran’s speed boats

IRGC fast boats harassed US Navy ships once again amid nuclear talks in Vienna.

US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus prior to State of the Union at the US Capitol on Feb. 4, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Top Democrats urge Biden to lift sanctions on Tehran in good faith

Prominent Democratic National Committee members urged President Joe Biden to relieve sanctions on Iran as the window closes for a return to the nuclear deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Iraq's capital Baghdad on April 26, 2021.

Iran's Zarif denies bid for presidency

In a meeting with a powerful parliamentary commission on the recently leaked audiotape of himself, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he would not run for president.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 22, 2021.

Iran confirms talks with rival Saudi Arabia

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said the Iraq-mediated talks focused on bilateral and regional issues.

Sanaa rally against Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia confirms talks with Iran, plays down breakthrough

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry says it is premature "to reach any definitive conclusions" about the talks.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense Museum during the unveiling of an exhibition of what Iran says are US and other drones captured in its territory, in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 21, 2019.

IRGC chief: Israel could be blown up in single operation

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps indirectly claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against Israeli interests, adding that it takes just one operation to "blow up" Israel.

Iranians check a display board at a currency exchange shop in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 29, 2020. For Iran, struggling from sanctions imposed under Washington's policy of "maximum pressure", the US presidential race raised hope of change — but also fears that life could get even worse.

Iran's president claims sanctions will soon be lifted

President Hassan Rouhani has vowed to fulfill his promise to remove sanctions during the final months of his administration.

An undated image of Mohammad Nourizad.

UN rights experts call on Iran to release jailed filmmaker

The experts said Iran's denial of adequate medical care to Mohammad Nourizad may amount to torture.

Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps listen to a speech in parliament in Tehran on Oct. 7, 2018, about a bill to counter terrorist financing.

IRGC officer killed by Kurdish fighters in skirmish

The Iran-Iraq border has recently witnessed a fresh uptick in cross-border attacks by Kurdish armed groups fighting for autonomy.

A general view shows the residence of a Swiss diplomat whose body was found at the entrance in the northern district of Tehran on May 4, 2021. A spokesman for the Iranian national rescue service said the body was found in the morning after the diplomat "fell from a (residential) tower in Kamranieh." In a message to AFP's Geneva office, Switzerland's Foreign Ministry confirmed that "a Swiss employee of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran died in a fatal incident."

Swiss diplomat falls to her death in Iranian capital

The unidentified diplomat was a top official at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

In this handout image provided by EU Delegation Vienna, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks with other participants at the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks on April 27, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran downplays state media report on US prisoner swap

The US government has also denied that it reached a deal to swap prisoners with Iran.

KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Khamenei responds to Zarif leak

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani after the uproar over a leaked audio recording by the foreign minister.