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June 12, 2026

Tehran 3:26 pm

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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.

Latest News

Trump weighs releasing billions to Iran after blasting past payments

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 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.

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

Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization units ride on the back of a vehicle in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, in the Salahaddin province, on June 7, 2015. Iraqi forces advanced against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Baiji as they battled to retake the strategic town for a second time. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Engaging with PMU necessary to check Iran's influence in Iraq

To those concerned about Iran’s role in post-Islamic State Iraq, there might be no choice but to engage with Tehran’s allies to balance the expansion of the Islamic Republic’s reach.

Iranian TV series dogged by real-life drama

"Shahrzad," one of the most popular and expensive TV series in Iran, has been confronted with a huge campaign to stop it after its producer was mixed up in allegations of corruption.

Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi waves as he arrives to attend a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX33EVF

Trump administration looks to Oman for help navigating Middle East

US officials, while wary about Oman's ties with Iran, seek Oman's assistance in resolving Qatar dispute.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa, Syria July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS19M60

Will Netanyahu enforce Syrian red line against Iran?

Israel opposes cease-fire plan, as Russia, Turkey and Syria inch toward possible agreement on Afrin.

FILE PHOTO: Labourers work at the construction site of a building in Tehran, Iran January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX38OJS

Iran needs new development vision

The failures produced over the last three decades by divergent views on the definition of a "development plan" for Iran necessitates a new development paradigm.

Iranian conservative presidential candidate and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gives an address during a campaign rally in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

New Tehran mayor likely to be Rouhani ally

Reformist members of the incoming Tehran City Council are selecting who will replace conservative Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as the next mayor.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi delivers remarks at the morning ministerial plenary for the Global Coalition working to Defeat ISIS at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX326HY

If Iran has its way, Abadi won't see a second term in Iraq

Iran is seeking to preserve its influence in Iraq and hopes Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who it believes is undermining its efforts there, will not lead the next government.

An Iranian couple walks in the sea in the Caspian Sea port city of Mahmoud Abad, in northern Mazandaran province on June 16, 2016.
/ AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians pushing boundaries in 'private sphere' debate

Debate over the extent and nature of the private versus the public heats up again in Iran, highlighting the continued evolution of demands for social freedoms.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani gestures during 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. - RTX372F9

Rouhani: We must not get caught in US ‘trap’

In reaction to new US sanctions, Iran’s president has urged domestic friends and foes against falling into Washington’s "trap."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria -TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTSYTXW

Netanyahu puts Trump on notice over Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly challenged US President Donald Trump in announcing his opposition to the cease-fire agreement for southern Syria brokered with Russia.

An Iranian Sunni Kurd walks along a mountain in Ouraman Takht village in Kurdistan province, about 620 km (385 miles) west of Tehran, May 12, 2011. Iranian Shi'ite and Sunni Kurds live in harmony with each other in Ouraman Takht, although Sunni is the religion of the majority of the people. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2MC61

Iran struggles to address smuggling in Kurdish areas

Despite repeated pledges of investment and other measures to address unemployment, dire economic conditions continue to force Iranian Kurds into the smuggling trade.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media in Tbilisi, Georgia, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili - RTS12PQO

Iran FM says Trump trying to undermine nuclear deal

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Trump administration seems to have come to the realization that scrapping the deal outright would isolate the United States globally.