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June 12, 2026

Tehran 11:46 am

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Members of the Iranian national soccer team including midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (R) arrive at Tijuana International Airport on June 7, 2026, in Tijuana, Mexico.

Culture

World Cup opens amid visa disputes for Iran, Iraq and Somalia

Iran says a number of team staff were denied entry into the US, with Trump administration officials touting efforts to prevent affiliates of designated terrorist groups from entering.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Bessent says Iran's frozen assets will pay for Gulf damage, Hormuz tolls

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that any damage Iran inflicts on Gulf allies will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian accounts.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Explainer

US strategic oil stockpile nears four-decade low as Iran war drags on

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 349.2 million barrels amid the global energy shock caused by the war in Iran.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York, on June 9, 2026.

Trump weighs releasing billions to Iran after blasting past payments

As mediators scramble to broker a peace deal, a key hurdle remains the release of Iranian assets frozen under US sanctions.

Latest News

Trump vows continued ‘very hard’ strikes on Iran as negotiators leave Qatar

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Trump launches new airstrikes on Iran as deal stalls

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to take off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

US, Iran trade strikes after downing of Apache helicopter: What to know

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, makes an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 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

The real footprint of the IRGC in Iran's economy

Given the important footprint of the IRGC in the Iranian economy, the Rouhani administration appears to be confronting the Guards by co-opting them.

Iranians find shortcut to EU visas

Iranians are finding it almost impossible to get a visa to EU countries these days unless they seek assistance from intermediaries known as “visa mafias."

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani arrives for his swearing-in ceremony for a further term, at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, August 5, 2017. Nazanin Tabatabaee Yazdi/TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS1AIIV

Rouhani’s proposed second-term Cabinet draws ire

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's proposed second-term Cabinet draws criticism from both moderates and Reformists.

Iran steps up pressure on Iraqi Kurds to halt referendum

Iran is stepping up pressure on Iraqi Kurdish political parties to refrain from holding their upcoming referendum on independence.

Iranian MPs face backlash over selfies with Mogherini

Iran's parliamentarians are under fire for taking selfies with visiting EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

A man takes a picture of his daugther near the Kurdistan flag at the castle of Erbil, Iraq, July 29,2017. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RTS19OL9

Iraqi Kurdistan’s risky independence referendum

Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani may seek leverage from Sunni Arabs to balance opposition from Baghdad, Tehran and Ankara.

Rouhani uses inauguration to send message of moderation

Endorsed by Iran's supreme leader and sworn in at the parliament, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani begins his second term with a message of moderation and continued focus on constructive engagement with the world.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RTS19RFJ

Saudi Arabia engages Iraq after a quarter century

A resurgence of Saudi diplomacy with Iraq is aimed at keeping Iranian regional power in check.

A picture taken in the capital Tehran on July 16, 2017 shows the front pages of Iranian newspapers bearing portraits of the top female scientist Maryam Mirzakhani, who died of cancer a day earlier.
Iranian-born mathematician, who became the first woman to win the coveted Fields Medal in 2014, died on July 15 in a US hospital after the breast cancer she had been battling for four years spread to her bone marrow, at the age of 40. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Get

Talent continues to leave Iran in droves

The untimely death of Iranian-American math genius Maryam Mirzakhani gives rise to renewed debate on the issue of "brain drain" in Iran.

Iraqi fighters from Hashid Shaabi take part in a training at Makhmur camp in Iraq December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2UHUL

Iraq, Iran struggle for control over Popular Mobilization Units

The Popular Mobilization Units are divided into two rival groups, with some wanting to join the Iraqi army and others wanting to remain independent.

Clouds pass behind the White House in Washington, U.S., August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS1AASJ

Iran hawks, Bannon loyalists booted in White House purge

A civil war for the soul of the Donald Trump administration has emerged into the open, pitting a motley array of anti-globalists and Iran hawks against more moderate national security professionals.

Rouhani officially begins second term

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is set to begin his second term after being officially endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.