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October 24, 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

A health worker prepares an injection for a woman during the first trial phase of a locally-made Iranian vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus disease in Iran's capital Tehran on December 29, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran begins trials for domestically produced vaccine

Iran is also reportedly importing the Pfizer vaccine amid pressure from citizens as the virus continues to spread.

Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar speaks during an interview with AFP at his house in Gaza City on December 15, 2010. The Arab League meeting on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process was nothing more than "a cover for the failure" of the Palestinian Authority, Zahar said. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas leader recounts how Soleimani handed him cash-filled suitcases

A top Hamas official revealed details about one batch of Iran’s financial assistance to his group, when slain commander Qasem Soleimani handed his delegation suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars.

A picture taken on November 22, 2016 shows an Israeli army Dolphin-class submarine sailing at Israel's Naval port in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli, American submarine activity suggests show of force against Iran

Israel reportedly dispatched a submarine to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in what has been taken as a clear warning to Iran not to escalate tensions at this sensitive time of transition.

KIRKLAND, WA - DECEMBER 28: Pharmacists prepare doses of COVID-19 vaccines at the Life Care Center of Kirkland on December 28, 2020 in Kirkland, Washington. The Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing home, was an early epicenter for coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

US approves Iranian funds transfer to buy COVID vaccines, says Iran central bank chief

Iranian officials have argued US sanctions have hampered their ability to make payments for overseas vaccines.

Iran to receive 150,000 Pfizer vaccines

Amid a controversy over Iran's ability to purchase the coronavirus vaccine, Tehran is set to receive 150,000 doses from US donors.

Lebanese men watch the head of the country's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech, at a coffee shop in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, on August 30, 2020, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram which marks the peak of Ashura. - Ashura is a 10-day period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Ge

Nasrallah says Hezbollah would not be part of Iran nuclear talks

The Shiite party's leader also said Hezbollah has doubled its missile supplies.

Women, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, walk along a street in Iran's capital Tehran on November 8, 2020. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranians increase pressure on government to purchase vaccines

Puzzled by their government’s reluctance to purchase coronavirus vaccines, Iranians launched campaigns for their “basic right to live” at a moment when the pandemic is raging and neighboring countries have started vaccinating their citizens.

Iranians hold their national flag and posters bearing portraits of Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) and the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) during a rally in Tehran's Azadi Square (Freedom Square) to mark the 36th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2015. Iranians gathered in cities and villages all over the country to mark the 36th anniversary of the revolution which transformed the country from a US-backed monarchy into a cleric-ruled republi

Does Iran have a plan for a successor to Khamenei?

Recent rumors regarding a decline in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s health have led to renewed speculation about who will succeed him.

Flight victims' families reject Iran’s compensation, demand justice

Families of the victims of the downed Ukraine Airlines flight warned the Iranian government that they will not accept any planned compensation and rather will fight for justice.

US show of force in Persian Gulf ahead of anniversary of Soleimani killing

A guided-missile submarine and two cruisers are the Pentagon's latest warning to Iran.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, speaks during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez (out of frame), in Havana, on November 6, 2020. - Cuba and Iran's foreign ministers met in Havana on Friday to reinforce their mutual support in the face of crippling US sanctions. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s Zarif says he won’t run for president

Iran’s foreign minister ruled out any possibility about his nomination in the country’s next presidential election, a race that hard-liners are already attempting to make entirely one-sided.

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Woman sets self on fire after city demolishes shelter, Iranians outraged

The demolition of a single mother’s shanty at the hands of Iranian authorities and her despairing self-immolation have recharged an uproar over the Islamic Republic failing the needy citizens it once promised to raise from poverty.