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Iran

June 12, 2026

Tehran 6:03 pm

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TOPSHOT - People cross the street past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026. Iran said on June 8 that the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East war will have consequences for ongoing talks with the United States to reach peace in the region. "It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected,

Iran-US draft deal would release $24B in funds, ensure Lebanon ceasefire: Iranian media

The draft circulating in Iranian state media, which Trump denied on Friday, would grant Tehran sanctions relief and access to billions in frozen funds while limiting final talks to nuclear issues and excluding its missile program and proxies.

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.

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Explainer

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

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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

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

'Game of Thrones' fever grips Iran

Fans across Iran are waiting eagerly for the new season of "Game of Thrones," a show whose content and storytelling style resemble the epic tales Iranian children grow up with.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri prays during Friday prayer in a
mosque in Baghdad April 4, 2003. Terrified civilians fled into Baghdad
on Friday after U.S. forces battled their way into the nearby
international airport, their biggest prize yet in a war to oust a
defiant President Saddam Hussein. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

GOT/WS - RTRLD6S

Iraqi oppositionists appear safe in Qatar for now

Politically besieged Doha is moving closer to Iraq, which raises concerns about the future of the Iraqi opposition residing in Qatar.

MEYMEH, IRAN - JUNE 03: Farmer Abbas Hamamian works his wheat field on June 3, 2014 in Meymeh, Iran. He said he has owned the 4-hectare farm for 15 years, and this year's rains have been good for his crop. Iran is marking the 25th anniversary of the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini and his legacy of the Islamic Revolution. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Rouhani leads Iran’s return to wheat exports

After years of imports, Iran has once again regained its self-sufficiency in wheat production under the Hassan Rouhani administration.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha - RTSRK1N

Iran to US: Worry about your own domestic problems

Iranian officials have criticized US Secretary of Defense James Mattis for accusing Iran of causing instability in the region and saying regime change in Tehran will have to precede renewed ties with the United States.

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in Baghdad, Iraq June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTS18BPH

Is Iran running Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units?

Some leaders and members of Iraq's PMU are heavily swayed by Iran, which is pressuring Iraq to distance itself from the United States.

Rise of new Saudi crown prince stirs serious concerns in Iran

While the elevation of Mohammed bin Salman was no surprise to many observers in Tehran, his de facto rule over Saudi Arabia is raising serious concerns in Iran.

People hold up pictures of the victims of the AMIA Jewish center bombing during a ceremony to mark the 22nd anniversary of the 1994 attack that left 85 dead in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian - RTSIJ2R

Iran ready to work with Interpol over 1994 Argentina bombing

Iran expressed readiness to start talks over its alleged involvement in a 1994 bombing in Argentina.

(down L-R)Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Bolivian president Evo Morales and North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam pose during the photo family after the opening ceremony of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela, on September 17, 2016.
With the left increasingly isolated by a crushing political and economic crisis, Venezuela is seeking the support of old friends at the Non-Aligned Moveme

Iran-PA relations continue to nosedive

Palestinians criticized the Fatah parliamentary bloc’s participation in the Iranian opposition conference held recently in Paris, and considered it to be interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight against predominantly Sunni militants, carry weapons and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a parade in the streets in Baghdad's Sadr city June 14, 2014. An offensive by insurgents that threatens to dismember Iraq seemed to slow on Saturday after days of lightning advances as government forces regained some territory in counter-attacks, easing pressure on the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL

Iran congratulates Iraqis on Mosul liberation

A number of Iranian officials congratulated the Iraqi people and the army for the liberation of Mosul, underlying the importance of good relations between the two countries.

Iranian Principlists maneuver to contain hard-liners

Most Principlists are actively working to contain radicals within their camp, but their endeavor isn’t being helped by pride among Reformists riding on the back of consecutive electoral successes.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (front seat) arrives to greet U.S. President Donald Trump for his address to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX36VOB

Saudi king shows no signs of slowing aggressive foreign policy

Saudi Arabia has overextended itself militarily and economically and it would behoove it to return to a more traditional approach in its foreign policy.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani in Arbil, north of Baghdad, August 26, 2014. Iran supplied weapons and ammunition to Iraqi Kurdish forces, Barzani said Tuesday at a joint news conference with Zarif in Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR43T95

Referendum on independent Kurdistan puts Iran at crossroads

While Iran is the only country that has long enjoyed close ties with Iraqi Kurds, the upcoming referendum on independence for Iraqi Kurdistan puts it at a crossroads.

Iraqi-Kurdistan