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October 23, 2026

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Analysis

How Netanyahu could attack Iran to force Israel into unity government after elections

While a strike against Iran before the Oct. 27 elections appears unlikely, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could launch one immediately afterward to pressure his rivals into joining a wartime unity government.

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

MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Rouhani compares Trump to Shah of Iran

President Hassan Rouhani said in a recent speech that despite all the pressure, US policy toward Iran has failed.

US labels deputy head of Iraq’s PMU a terrorist

The United States accused Abu Fadak of involvement in kidnappings and of attempting to align Iraq's security institution's with Iran's foreign policy.

Iran kicks off naval missile drills in Gulf of Oman, to renew patrols in Red Sea

Iran's Navy will resume patrols in the Red Sea, the Chief of Staff of the armed forces said

Pompeo, Israel send message to Iran with bold airstrikes in Syria

In a rare acknowledgement, a US official said Washington provided intelligence support for the strikes.

Iran offers to help Iraq reconstruct damaged archaeological masterpiece

Iran has expressed interest in helping repair the Taq Kasra, the remains of a pre-Islamic Persian palace in Iraq with a historically significant archway.

Iran’s Rouhani expects economic relief after Trump departure

Iran’s president assured his nation of economic relief “in the months to come” following the “overthrow” of his outgoing US counterpart, Donald Trump.

Mask-clad school children hold Iranian national flags as they sit distanced apart from each other in the yard of a school while attending a speech by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani by video conference, at Nojavanan school in the capital Tehran on the first day of schools re-opening on September 5, 2020, while in the background a billboard is seen showing a boy holding a flag together with Qasem Soleimani, the late commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) next to a Farsi quote by the country's s

Khamenei's vaccine ban paints dismal picture of Iranian health care

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed shortcomings in health care systems across the globe, and Iran is no exception.

Fate of seized South Korean tanker, crew out of Iran’s hands, says foreign minister

The decision is the latest in a growing financial dispute between Tehran and Seoul ignited by US sanctions.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the National Press Club in Washington,DC on January 12, 2021. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged Tuesday that arch-enemy Iran has become a new "home base" for Al-Qaeda worse than Afghanistan, an assertion questioned by experts. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo dubs Iran new 'home base' of al-Qaeda

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Tehran of enabling the terrorist group by providing safe havens and logistical support.

Iran says it won’t expel nuclear watchdog inspectors

Government officials stressed that international watchdog inspectors will not be expelled from Iran’s nuclear sites, rejecting a senior lawmaker’s statement that such a plan was in the pipeline if the United States failed to lift sanctions against Tehran.

Air pollution covers the Iranian capital Tehran on December 23, 2019. - Schools in Iran's Tehran province have been ordered shut until due to severe air pollution, authorities announced, extending their closure to a full week. Tehran city was cloaked by thick toxic smog for a third successive day on Monday that blanketed out landmarks like Milad Tower and the snow-capped Alborz mountains. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s capital suffocating amid blame game over pollution

For nearly a month, residents of the Iranian capital have been exposed to record-high air pollution amid the government’s confusing explanations and failure to work out a solution.

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 24, 2020, shows him wearing a protective face mask as he gives a speech in the capital Tehran during a meeting of the national staff to discuss the issue of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by - / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / XGTY / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === (Photo by

Iran officials defend ban on US, UK COVID vaccines

Iranian officials have said they will begin vaccinating their population in the spring and do not have confidence in Western vaccines.