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November 5, 2026

Tehran 2:42 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

Senate to wrap up defense bill

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 15.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref (C), attends the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) party meeting in Tehran on January 15,2015. Iranian reformers gathered in Tehran, the first since 2009, with the ambition to return parliament to conservative control in the 2016 parliamentary elections, taking advantage of the momentum that carried Hassan Rohani to president in 2013. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Are Reformists, Rouhani heading for split?

After supporting Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections, Reformists expect Rouhani to repay them with support in the parliamentary elections, but that may not be the case.

Negotiators of Iran and six world powers face each other at a table in the historic basement of Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna April 24, 2015. Nuclear talks are making good but slow progress as they work towards a June 30 deadline for a final deal, Tehran's senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi said on Friday. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTX1A5EA

Iran talks may go into overtime

Negotiators are focused on the June 30 target for reaching a final Iran nuclear deal, a US official said June 10, but brinksmanship may push Iran talks past the deadline as each side waits to see if the other will make concessions.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives to attend the closing statement for the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta April 23, 2015.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX19YAE

Is Iran on the right track to managing inflation?

To make the economy stable and predictable, the government needs to put an end to its borrowing habit and cut spending in a significant way, economists believe.

Former Iranian president and election front-runner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani casts his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 17, 2005. Iran holds presidential election on Friday under international scrutiny for its nuclear programme, its rocky relationship with the United States and by observers keen to see which direction the Islamic Republic will move in now that the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami has ended. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj CJF/DY - RTREON2

Iran court upholds sentence of Rafsanjani's son

An appellate court has upheld the corruption case against Mehdi Hashemi, son of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani (2nd R) pays his respects to the grave of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran June 16, 2013. Reuters/Fars News/Seyed Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10Q4E

Khomeini's supporters defend extravagant shrine

Critics have assailed the apparent lavishness of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine, saying he would have opposed the "palace-like" building.

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Iran MP emerges as Instagram rabble-rouser

Conservative Iranian parliament member Mehdi Koochakzadeh has taken to Instagram to attack his political rivals, attracting over 2,000 followers in just over a month.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright testifies at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington September 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) - RTX8UA8

Ex-Obama adviser: Missile defense may avert GCC proliferation

Retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former commander of US Strategic Command, says that missile defense could persuade Persian Gulf states to forswear nuclear weapons despite their concerns about an upcoming nuclear accord with Iran.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) smiles as he attends the 66th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ROEW

Former Ahmadinejad vice president arrested

Hamid Baghaei, former vice president for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the second Ahmadinejad era Cabinet member to be arrested on alleged corruption charges.

A fighter from the Southern Popular Resistance mans a machine gun at the front line of fighting against Houthi fighters, on the outskirts of Yemen's southern port city of Aden June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1FETF

Former Iran ambassador: Saudis must accept Houthis

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Seyed Ali Asghar Ghoreishi, former Iranian ambassador to Yemen, discussed the nature of Iran's support for the Houthis, elements necessary to end the fighting in Yemen and the possibility of extremist groups seizing large sections of territory in Yemen.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives to attend the closing statement for the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta April 23, 2015.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX19YAE

Rouhani: Saving environment starts with sanctions removal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized for linking possible help for the country's environmental problems with sanctions relief from a nuclear deal.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a briefing at the Israeli army's Home Front Command base in Ramle near Tel Aviv, Israel June 2, 2015. Israel launched a five-day annual home front defence exercise on Sunday, preparing soldiers and civilians for missile attacks. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTR4YIVS

Why didn’t Netanyahu attack Iran?

This week it was disclosed that there was a serious disagreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the heads of the security apparatus in 2010, when Netanyahu considered attacking Iran.