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November 5, 2026

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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

U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) speaks to the media before attending a closed meeting for members of Congress on the situation in Syria at the U.S. Capitol in Washington September 1, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday tests showed that sarin nerve gas was used in a deadly August 21 chemical attack near Damascus as he sought to build the case to convince skeptical lawmakers to authorize a military strike against the Syrian government. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STAT

Congress seeks to help Tunisia, hinder Iran

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of July 13.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with foreign ministers and representatives from Germany, France, China, Britain, Russia and the European Union during nuclear talks at a hotel in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2015. Iran accused major powers on Friday of backtracking on previous pledges and throwing up new "red lines" at nuclear talks, after the deadline to reach an agreement in time to receive expedited scrutiny from the U.S. Congress expired with no deal. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DA

Reversals in Vienna throw deal into doubt

As negotiators try to finalize a nuclear deal, it seems differences within the P5+1 may push them past the deadline once again.

Iran reform must start at home

A nuclear deal may strengthen the position of those in Iran who believe that better relations with the West can improve, not weaken, Iran's influence in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to journalists in front of Palais Coburg, the hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria July 9, 2015. The United States and other major powers are not in a rush reach a nuclear agreement with Iran, though Washington and its partners will not negotiate with Tehran indefinitely, Kerry said on Thursday. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RTX1JS36

Iranian nuclear talks go on even if 'clock strikes midnight'

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran nuclear deal must withstand the test of time and "we will not be rushed" as negotiations continue past a US congressional deadline.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at the New York University (NYU) Center on International Cooperation in New York April 29, 2015. Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday offered assurances that Tehran is committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of the seizure of a commercial ship by Iranian forces a day earlier. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTX1AUQZ

Zarif's comeback spawns hashtag

After Iran's top nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif reportedly said "Never threaten an Iranian" during the nuclear talks, Iranians took to Twitter to respond.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (L-3rd L) meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 28, 2015. Kerry is joining negotiations from six powers and Iran seeking an agreement under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions that have crippled its economy. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I3WB

Is US pursuing Iran regime change in nuclear deal?

A former adviser to nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili wrote that the United States has not abandoned its previous strategies with respect to Iran within the nuclear talks.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani takes a question during a news conference on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York September 26, 2014. Rouhani said on Friday "courageous decisions" must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable". REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47VPF

Iran, P5+1 face Security Council conundrum

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will have problems if Iranian expectations regarding the timing of lifting sanctions are not managed.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter takes up position with his weapon as he keeps watch, on the outskirts of Mosul January 26, 2015. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are digging trenches and building defense berms in Wadi al-Ghorab (Valley Of The Crows), less than 2 km away from the IS-held Sultan Abdullah village, which demarcates the new border of their autonomous region. The Kurds have enjoyed de facto self rule since the first Gulf War in 1991. They are now closer than ever to achieving their dream of full independen

Who has 'boots on the ground' in fight against IS?

A mismatch in priorities between the United States and its Sunni allies is obliging the Obama administration to rely more on Iran-backed forces to fight the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja hold a joint press conference following a meeting in the capital Tehran, on August 31, 2014. Tuomioja pays a two-day visit to the Islamic Republic during which he is expected to meet high-ranking Iranian officials. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran MP defends trip to Finland to 'promote Islam'

Conservative Iranian MP Hamid Rasaei has been criticized for once again traveling to Europe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C), Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi and Hossein Fereydoon (R), brother and close aide to President Hassan Rouhani meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria July 3, 2015. A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran's past atomic research. R

Iranian negotiators determined to reach nuclear deal

Iranian diplomats have said they will continue talking until an agreement is reached or it becomes absolutely clear that one is not possible.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, National Security Council point person on the Middle East Robert Malley (front L) and Chief of Staff Jon Finer (R) meet on the terrace of a hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria July 2, 2015. Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium gas dropped below the maximum level required under a 2013 interim nuclear agreement with world powers, a U.N. report showed, but a U.S. t

Iran’s Additional Protocol concerns need not stop deal

Iran has little to worry about in agreeing to enforce the NPT Additional Protocol, with resources like "managed access" and precedents for dispute resolution from other countries.

Rafsanjani's Instagram diplomacy

Hashemi Rafsanjani is engaging in Instagram diplomacy with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.