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Iran

May 20, 2026

Tehran 4:57 pm

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Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) waves as he returns to his car after visiting the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, on October 12, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said, with a security source saying a Hezbollah figure was the target. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Speaker, negotiator, China envoy: What Ghalibaf's accumulated powers mean for Iran

Iran's appointment of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to oversee the China relationship demonstrates his ability to operate across Iran's fractured institutional landscape and produce political outcomes.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Senate advances resolution to limit Trump's Iran war powers

The measure marks a symbolic win for Democrats and a growing number of Republicans who have questioned the Trump administration's war with Iran.

Baluch Iranian youths cross a street in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 18, 2025.

Analysis

Iran tightens wartime crackdown across Kurdish, Baluch ethnic regions

Arrests in Baluchistan and Kurdistan highlight widening wartime security operations that are deepening mistrust between the state and disadvantaged minorities.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

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

US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver as Iran war squeezes supply

A tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026.

Oil swings as UAE nuclear plant strike, Iran diplomacy push roil markets

Ritesh Shukla/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

Women wait for a bus in central Tehran, Iran August 24, 2015. REUTERS/Darren Staples - GF10000181319

Protests against compulsory hijab trigger debate in Iran

A protest by Iranian women against rules mandating hijab have divided citizens.

Is Hamas setting up military force in Golan Heights?

Israel has accused Hamas of working on setting up a military force in the Syrian Golan Heights at the request of Iran.

Culture Alert: Art speaks to power in February

February exhibitions in the Middle East offer satirical and fantastic looks at politics and society, clearly demonstrating that the fighting spirit in the arts is far from being defeated by the powers that be.

Iranian soldiers march during the annual military parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of its devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, on September 22,2017 in Tehran.
President Hassan Rouhani vowed that Iran would boost its ballistic missile capabilities despite criticism from the United States and also France. / AFP PHOTO / str (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Iran’s military really divest from business holdings?

Despite its complex challenges, the Iranian military’s planned divestment from the economy holds the potential for more transparency and accountability.

The case for net neutrality in Iran

The further undermining of net neutrality in Iran draws mixed responses among Iranians.

Iran hopeful about Europe remaining in nuclear deal

Iran’s deputy foreign minister has expressed satisfaction with Europe's resistance to US pressures to kill the nuclear deal.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani arrives for a news conference in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RC1CFEB6D770

Iran’s parliament rejects Rouhani’s anti-subsidy budget

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s budget proposal, which sought subsidy reforms, was rejected by Iran’s parliament.

Iranian students run for cover from tear gas at the University of Tehran during a demonstration driven by anger over economic problems, in the capital Tehran on December 30, 2017.
Students protested in a third day of demonstrations, videos on social media showed, but were outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran’s regional allies keep close eye on protest aftermath

While Iran’s regional allies have assured their supporters that the recent protests in the country are not a threat, the reality is that groups such as Hezbollah are highly vulnerable to any change in Iranian foreign policy.

Rouhani under fire over criticism of Shiite imams

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s apparent insistence that everyone can be criticized, including Shiite saints deemed infallible, riles the clergy.

Iran’s Interior Ministry outlines 3 reasons for recent protests

Iran’s Interior Ministry has issued a report on both the makeup of the Iran protests and reasons for them.

Icelandic musician discovers fan base in unlikely place

Young Iranians welcome the rare opportunity to see a popular international musician perform live in their country.

A Turkish military tank is seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC17EC8A27B0

GCC's silence on Turkey’s Afrin adventure is telling

The Sunni Gulf states have failed to make a unified statement on Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in Syria, a sign of their competing interests.