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Iran

October 30, 2026

Tehran 9:20 pm

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell, New York City, Sept. 28, 2026.

Oil tops $114 as traders brace for Iran escalation after US midterms

On Friday, BP posted its highest profits in 18 years as a result of the Iran conflict, which has driven up oil and gas margins.

US President Donald Trump walks on stage

Analysis

Mediators scramble to avert US-Iran fighting after Trump's midterm restraint fades

Tehran has little incentive to make concessions that the Trump administration could tout as a win before next week’s election.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper speaks during a press briefing

CENTCOM chief briefs Trump on Iran strike options

It was not immediately clear following Trump’s meeting with top defense officials whether he had decided to restart the war.

John Moore/Getty Images

Iran arrests 16 in connection with alleged US-Israel-linked cells: What to know

Iran claimed that some of the 16 people it had arrested had entered Iran from abroad.

Latest News

Analysis

How wartime urgency pushed Iran to court Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan

A woman walks past a mural bearing the Iranian national flag

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Putin puts Trump ahead of Iran in bid to mediate war

Putin

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Analysis

From Hormuz to data centers: How Iran’s threats are raising stakes of renewed war

Motorists drive past an anti-US billboard in Tehran on Aug. 24, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Europe must adopt long-term vision for trade with Iran

European countries are pressuring Iran to change its foreign policy in exchange for profitable trade deals, but this approach may backfire and damage the standing of incumbent moderates in Tehran.

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh looks up before giving a speech in Gaza City July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX3A66V

Hamas turns to Iran

Instead of trying to appease tensions with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh makes provocative statements about rapprochement with Iran.

Ali Kardor (2-L), Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of French energy company Total (C-L), Ezzatollah Akbari (3-R), Managing Director of Petropars Group and CNPC International president Lyu Gongxun (2-R) sign an offshore gas field agreement in Tehran, on July 3, 2017.
French energy giant Total defied US pressure, signing a multi-billion-dollar gas deal with Iran, the first by a European firm in more than a decade. / AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE

Iran signs first energy contract since nuclear deal

Iran's first energy deal since the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions on the country is a major breakthrough in the development of the massive South Pars gas field.

Iranian Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf gesture during a campaign meeting at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, May 16, 2017. Picture taken May 16, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX36CQS

Iranian 'shadow government' likely to remain pipe dream

Despite the fanfare in some quarters of the Principlist camp, the idea of a “shadow government” being set up in Iran appears unlikely to materialize.

Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command Unit hold their weapons as they take part in an urban warfare drill inside a mock village at Tze'elim army base in Israel's Negev Desert June 11, 2017. Picture taken June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX3A2UY

Israel anticipates Raqqa’s fall

For Israel, the regional power balance after the end of the Islamic State could actually mean a Hezbollah reinforced by the Lebanese army, with Iran present on the Golan Heights front.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MARCH 28: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (L) during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace on March 28, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. President of Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani is having a state visit to Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

US escalation in Syria strengthens Iran-Russia partnership

The race to recapture eastern Syria may soon lead to direct confrontation between the US-led coalition and Syria’s Russian and Iranian allies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (2nd L) is greeted by the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (L) before their meeting in Cairo, Egypt May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX382BY

Rethinking Russia’s Mideast ambitions

Iran and Russia make for surprising allies in the Middle East, but ultimately Russia values its own interests over any alliance.

A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mahmood Hosseini/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. IT IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. -

Iranians divided over new Senate sanctions

Iranian officials and scholars disagree on whether the US Senate’s new sanctions bill against the Islamic Republic violates the nuclear deal.

A Turkish army tank drives towards to the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2MYWT

Does the US have answer for Turkish threats against Syrian Kurds?

Turkey also seeks sway in Salafi-controlled Idlib; Hamas inches closer to Iran, Hezbollah.

People shout slogans as they hold Turkish and Qatari flags during a demonstration in favour of Qatar in central Istanbul, Turkey, late June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX39JA6

How Turkey fits into the Qatar puzzle

Turkey's military presence in Qatar seems to be complicating an already complex situation for the coalition that recently cut ties with Doha.

Women hold t-shirts as they protest for Iranian women's rights to enter stadiums in Iran, ahead of the FIVB Volleyball World League match between Poland and Iran, at Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Parham Ghobadi - RTS17HJ6

Iranian women get a foothold in volleyball games

The ban on Iranian women allowed into stadiums to watch men play volleyball is slowly reversed.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 7: Police officers stand outside Iran's parliament building following an attack by several gunmen on June 7, 2017 in Tehran, Iran. At least 12 people were killed and dozens more wounded during simultaneous gun and suicide bomb attacks in Iran's capital. A suicide bomber targeted the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini while several gunmen launched an attack on the parliament building, which is now reportedly over following hours of audible gun-fire. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran cracks down on Salafists in wake of Tehran attacks

Iranian authorities have rounded up a large number of terror suspects in Kurdish areas following the June 7 attacks in Tehran.