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November 5, 2026

Tehran 6:58 am

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An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

Political sources describe the Democrats' midterm victory as a political blow to both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iranians walk along a building installed with a giant poster depicting Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on Nov. 4, 2026.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

The Democratic win was a victory Tehran had been waiting to claim and project as evidence that Trump's confrontation with Iran has backfired.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

Iranian officials responded gleefully to the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the Senate and House, while regional media highlighted Abdul El-Sayed’s election as the first Muslim American senator.

RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

War, oil, AI: What US midterms could mean for Middle East economies

Governments across the Middle East will be watching closely after the election amid fears the US-Israel-Iran war could spiral into a new cycle of violence.

Latest News

Iran executes two men in case tied to January protests: What to know

A police officer monitors traffic as he stands under portraits of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, on Oct. 21, 2026.

Analysis

'All we can do is wait': Netanyahu's push for Iran strikes hangs on Trump’s post-midterm call

Evan Vucci/Getty Images

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

Iran gives 2-day window for Hormuz deal as US mulls strikes: What to know

Iranian motorists drive past a poster of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in central Tehran on Nov. 1, 2026. I

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

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
A cleric, who is member of Iran's Basij militia, attends a military parade to mark Basij week in front of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran November 25, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2UG1O

Iran's Basij lash out at nuclear deal

While President Rouhani has not faced severe criticism over the nuclear deal from Principlists and even IRGC commanders, some members of the Basij are voicing their opposition

An Iranian customer speaks with a bank clerk at the Export Development Bank of Iran in the capital Tehran on July 27, 2015. Iran's central bank chief said that Iran has assets of $29 billion in overseas banks that could be unlocked under a nuclear deal struck on July 14, far less than reported estimates of over $100 billion. AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Iran get its billions back?

Iranian officials have issued contradictory statements about the size of Iran's blocked foreign reserves.

Fabius takes over Tehran

The trip by the French foreign minister to Iran was the first in 17 years and signals deeper economic cooperation with Iran after the nuclear deal.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (R) welcomes his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad, July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1M0DY

Can Iraq bring Iran, GCC closer?

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent visit to Iraq sends several important signals — all centering on increasing regional security in the Middle East.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh June 11, 2015. Gulf Arab countries have offered support for Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup as criticism grows over the choice of the desert nation as the venue for world soccer's top event. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1G3S4

Will Saudi Arabia save Hamas?

Saudi Arabia's patronage of Hamas could help the movement's leadership regain the power usurped by its military wing and save it from collapse.

Israel, not Iran, started Middle East nuclear arms race

Claims that the Iran deal will spark a nuclear arms race in the region ignore the fact that Israel been leading the Middle East's arms race for the last 65 years.

Iran's dos and don'ts for talking about the nuclear deal

Iran's Culture Ministry believes the nuclear negotiations are a national security issue and specific guidelines must be followed in their coverage to prevent divisions in society.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Investors look at a computer screen supplying stock market information about listed companies on the Tehran stock exchange September 15, 2010. While U.S. diplomats were busy upping Iran's economic punishment over nuclear activities Washington fears are aimed at making a bomb, Iranian shares, which might have been expected to fall, have, instead, gone through the r

Foreign firms prepare to dive into Iran’s lucrative private equity market

Foreign businesses are scouring Iran in search of investment opportunities when sanctions are finally lifted based on the deal reached on the country's nuclear program.

Hamas visit to Riyadh strikes nerve in Iran

A Hamas delegation recently visited Saudi Arabia to bolster relations between both parties, as Iran fumed.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns (2nd L) talks with Vice Foreign Minister of South Korea Kim Kyou-hyun during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17N92

Burns: Implementation key to Iran nuclear deal

The first year of implementation of the Iran nuclear deal will be especially critical to ensuring its success and durability over the long haul, former US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns tells Al-Monitor.

Salehi speaks on 'secret side deal' with IAEA

In an interview with Iranian state television, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, talked about the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency of how the inspections of specific sites will be handled.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkish private sector gears up for Iran push

An end to international sanctions against Iran raises strong commercial prospects for Turkish companies on the Iranian market.