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November 5, 2026

Tehran 1:53 pm

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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

A woman prepares tea at a booth representing Iran at the 49th International Tourism Fair (ITB Berlin 2015) in Berlin on March 4, 2015. 10 096 exhibitors from 186 countries attend the fair that runs until March 8, 2015 in the German capital. AFP PHOTO / TOBIAS SCHWARZ (Photo credit should read TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's tea tradition

Though tea came late to Iran, it has become ubiquitous in daily life in the country.

An Iranian man holds a photo of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, while listening to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani delivering a speech on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the death of Islamic revolutionary leader Khomeini, at Khomeini's mausoleum in a suburb of Tehran on June 3, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Interior Ministry: Rouhani hecklers 'rogue' elements

Interior Ministry officials said that recent hecklers at a Rouhani event were rogue elements, drawing criticism that authorities are unable or unwilling to prosecute the culprits.

A helicopter from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hovers over an Iranian patrol ship during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh (GULF - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2XU5R

How security in Strait of Hormuz brings US, Iran closer

Gulf and international security are closely linked to the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently facing many challenges that require a joint action between all affected countries.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla speaks to the media during a news conference by the Mission of Yemen in Geneva, Switzerland, June 17, 2015. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy - RTX1GWX6

Progress on Yemen slow but not dead

The Geneva talks ended without results, but many hold that the real achievement was getting the sides to talk for the first time in months, perhaps allowing the international community to intensify mediation efforts.

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

An anti-U.S. mural is seen on a wall of a government building in central Tehran October 12, 2011. U.S. authorities said on Tuesday that they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran's security agencies to kill the Saudi envoy, Adel al-Jubeir. One man was arrested last month while the other was believed to be in Iran. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tag

Why doesn't Iran trust the US?

A fundamental lack of trust between Iran and the world powers, and mainly the United States, continues to stand in the way of a comprehensive nuclear deal.

Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili attends a news conference after the talks on Iran's nuclear programme in Almaty, April 6, 2013. World powers and Iran remained far apart after ending two days of intensive talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on Saturday, the European Union's foreign policy chief said, prolonging a stand-off that risks spiralling into a new Middle East war. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXYAOV

Will nuclear talks prevent Jalili's return to politics?

A successful conclusion to the negotiations on Iran's nuclear program could doom the effort by hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jaili to return to politics as a member of parliament.

REMOVING PRESS FROM CAPTION: Iranian interior minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi attends a conference for interior ministers of countries neighbouring Iraq in Kuwait City 23 October 2007. Turkey reassured Iraq today that it wants a diplomatic solution to the problem of Kurdish rebel rear-bases but rejected a conditional ceasefire offer made by the guerrillas. AFP PHOTO/YASSER AL-ZAYYAT (Photo credit should read YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian justice minister explains delay in corruption case

Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran's justice minister, explained why the high-profile corruption case of Babak Zanjani has yet to reach a conclusion.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 08: Acting U.S. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf conducts a daily press briefing at the State Department April 8, 2015 in Washington, DC. Harf spoke on various topics including the Iran nuclear deal. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Is State Department skirting US law on sanctions?

The US government watchdog says the State Department is three years late on its reporting to Congress.

Iranians follow trucks carrying coffins towards Tehran's Baharestan square on June 16, 2015 during a funeral procession for 270 victims of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) (175 of them belonging to a group of military divers), a month after their bodies were repatriated to Iran. The divers were responsible for breaking the enemy lines during an operation in 1986 with the aim of taking Basra in southern Iraq, but the operation was discovered by the Iraqi army that killed a large number of Iranian military and m

Iranians unite in burial of 270 Iran-Iraq War veterans

The burial of Iranian veterans, 175 of them buried alive, has stirred painful memories and united Iranians.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian protesters remove a satellite dish from a building near the gate of the British Embassy in Tehran November 29, 2011. Dozens of young Iranian men entered buildings inside the British embassy compound in Tehran on Tuesday, throwing rocks, petrol bombs and burning documents looted from offices, Iranian news agencies reported. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN

Iran’s Basij concedes confiscating satellite dishes not working

The head of Iran's Basij organization said that instead of confiscating satellite dishes from homes, authorities should speak to homeowners to persuade them to give up the satellite dishes, which he believes are part of a cultural invasion of Iran's enemies.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani gives 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) - RTR47VNA

Reformist editor: No one pledged ‘allegiance’ to Rouhani

An op-ed by an Iranian Reformist editor says that President Hassan Rouhani, despite his winning the 2013 presidential election, does not have people's automatic support, in contrast with previous elections.

Iran's Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi celebrates beating China's Xiao Di in their men's Greco-Roman 98 kg gold medal wrestling match at Dowon Gymnasium during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: SPORT WRESTLING) - RTR48BNP

Wrestling’s Curby Cup next move in US-Iran sports diplomacy

An event founded in the memory of a young American wrestler provides a new pathway for advancing people-to-people ties between the United States and Iran.