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Iran

September 13, 2025

Tehran 4:04 pm

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Protesters hold placard against executions in Iran during a rally against the Iranian regime in Rome on July 30, 2025.

Iran executions hit 913 this year as postwar crackdown deepens: What to know

The latest spree comes in the aftermath of the war with Israel and amid deepening domestic crises facing the Islamic Republic, which has repeatedly turned to executions when its survival is on the line.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) meets with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi (L) and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi in Cairo, on Sept. 9, 2025.

Iran FM signs preliminary deal with IAEA chief in Cairo amid diplomatic push

The announcement of the agreement comes less than two weeks after the European signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal triggered snapback sanctions, which will likely mean the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran within 30 days.

Chinese President Xi jinping attends a photo session for participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit 2025 on Sept. 1, 2025, in Tianjin, China.

China calls on BRICS to boost multilateral trade as Iran, UAE eye closer ties

The UAE’s and Egypt’s trade with BRICS members is on the rise, while Iran’s efforts to increase economic ties are complicated by sanctions.

A picture obtained on Dec. 14, 2013 from Iran's ISNA news agency allegedly shows the launch of the Pajohesh (research) rocket containing a live space monkey named Fargam (Auspicious) at an undisclosed location in Iran.

Iran eyes launch of 4 satellites, open Chabahar space port by spring 2026

Iran is set to launch four domestic-made satellites into orbit by next March, in the latest milestone for Iran's space program.

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Analysis

Iran turns to China, Russia to bolster air defenses as it preps for next Israel war

Traffic flows past a huge billboard showing a missile falling on Israel with the slogan "The missile has fallen amidst the demons," on a main road in central Tehran on July 16, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

Old sanctions, new risks: Iran’s economy hampered by war fallout, China reliance

Stacks of Iranian rials and US dollars sit counted on a table in an unofficial currency exchange shop, Tehran, Iran, Aug. 6, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Iran, IAEA officials meet in Vienna as UN sanctions clock ticks

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Inside Israel's Yemen operation that decapitated Houthi leadership

MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images

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

Elizabeth Hagedorn

State Department Correspondent

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

Andrew Parasiliti

President and Chief Content Officer

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

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

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Iranian commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami speaks during the funeral ceremony for victims of twin explosions near the cemetery where the grave of Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani is located on Jan. 05, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

How Israeli strikes are raising the cost of Iran's presence in Syria

The IRGC's promise to retaliate for the killing of one of its officers comes as it has been rolling back its Syria presence since the outbreak of the Gaza war, which has placed an increasing number of Iranian forces in Israel's crosshairs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend a welcome ceremony at The Great Hall of People on May 30, 2024 in Beijing, China.

Will China's support help UAE in dispute with Iran over Hormuz islands?

China's support for the UAE may have angered Tehran but it shows how Beijing views its priorities and strategic depth in Gulf region.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

US joins Europeans in rare censure of Iran at UN nuclear watchdog

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board of governors has voted to censure Iran for the first time since November 2022.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Iran's Ahmadinejad, Haghanian grab spotlight in tight presidential race

All eyes are now on the hard-line Guardian Council, which is expected to remove the vast majority of the 80 hopefuls, leaving a limited number to compete in a controlled election process.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani waves as he leaves after talks at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 4, 2022.

Iran’s acting FM meets Assad in Syria after talks with Hezbollah chief

Iran has been backing its proxies, including Hezbollah and Hamas, in their fight against Israel since the Gaza war erupted.

China's President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with United Arab Emirates' president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 30, 2024.

In rare clash with Iran, China reaffirms solidarity with UAE over disputed islands

Iran seized control of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs several decades ago, though the United Arab Emirates has long claimed sovereignty over the islands, a claim backed by Gulf states and Russia.

Former Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani registers at the elections registration office in Tehran on May 31, 2024, ahead of the country's election of a new president next month.

With Larijani in, Iran presidential race heats up with cutthroat rivalries

Centrist Ali Larijani threw himself in bitter exchanges with hard-line rivals after attacking the status quo and promising to revive the divisive Iran nuclear deal, which was on life support during late President Ebrahim Raisi's unfinished term.

A military truck carries an Arash drone past a portrait of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran, on April 17, 2024.

EU sanctions Iranian defense minister, Quds commander over drone transfers to Russia

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani and IRGC Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani are two of the six Iranian individuals and three Iranian entities sanctioned by the European Union this week as the United States also expands sanctions against Iran.

Ghadr

What we know on Houthis' latest Ghadr anti-ship Iranian ballistic missile

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that the Yemeni militant group has obtained the technology to manufacture anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani speaks to the media during a press conference in Tehran on March 16, 2015.

Jalili to Larijani: Key names emerge in Iran's presidential elections

Another hard-liner and a Reformist recently declared their candidacies, and others may soon announce theirs in the election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

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. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

What does reelection of Ghalibaf as parliament speaker mean for Iran?

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whose strong connections have spared him prosecution over an array of corruption allegations, is also seen as a potential contender in the upcoming snap presidential election to find a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi attend a joint press conference in Ankara, on Jan. 24, 2024.

How Raisi’s death will impact Turkey-Iran geopolitical rivalry

While leaders and some commentators in Turkey posthumously praised the late Iranian president and foreign minister, many geopolitical challenges await Ankara and Tehran once Iran elects a new president.