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November 5, 2026

Tehran 6:58 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

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 money changer holds Iranian rial banknotes as he waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2VZCL

Iran slashes interest rates to boost economy

The Iranian leadership will need to make significant political and economic reforms, some of them counterintuitive, to complement interest rate cuts and generate economic momentum.

Irani workers stand near as a security helicopter lands near the pipeline during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in the city of Chahbahar in southeastern Iran March 11, 2013. Ahmadinejad and Zardari marked the start of Pakistani construction on the much-delayed gas pipeline on Monday, Iranian media reported, despite U.S. pressure on Islamabad to back out of the project. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EUW9

Iran-Pakistan pipeline could finally become reality

Iran and Pakistan both have political and economic interests in seeing a long-delayed gas pipeline come to fruition.

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

Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, waves as he speaks at a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of the Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Khomeini at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran June 4, 2010. REUTERS/IIPA/Sajjad Safari (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR2ER21

Will Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson enter politics?

A grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in a unique position to influence politics, but his family name limits his involvement.

U.S. President Barack Obama hosts a working session of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015. Flanking Obama are U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (L) the Emir of Kuwait. Obama will seek to convince Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies on Thursday that the United States is committed to their security despite deep concern among Arab leaders about U.S. efforts to broker a nuclear deal with Iran. REUTERS/Kevin Lama

Will Camp David spur regional cooperation?

The signing of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 can open the door to cooperation between Middle East countries.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem May 10, 2015. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1CAT6

Is Israel in cahoots with Saudi Arabia?

Israel and Saudi Arabia feel that the United States is playing a bad hand in its negotiating with Iran, trying to offer more and more compromises while Iran isn't budging.

A general view shows a besieged hospital, the last remaining Syrian army foothold in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, in the province of Idlib May 3, 2015. Syrian troops backed by heavy air strikes have edged closer to a hospital in northwestern Syria where dozens of Syrian soldiers and loyalist fighters have been holed up for the past two weeks, the army said on Sunday. The town was overrun last month by insurgents, including al Qaeda's wing in Syria, Nusra Front. Picture taken May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abd

Iran’s new strategy in Syria

Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah, seem to be getting more involved in the Syrian civil war.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano speaks at an annual conference of the Japan Atomic Industry Forum (JAIF), an organisation made up of all major nuclear reactor makers and utilities, in Tokyo April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - RTR4X1ZC

IAEA comments on military sites strike nerve in Iran

Iran's hard-liners have rejected a call by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency for Iran to allow inspections of military sites.

Iranian presidential candidate conservative former chief of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai, speaks during a press conference at the old main bazaar of the capital Tehran, on May 28, 2013. Tehran last week excluded most would-be candidates from its June 14 elections, keeping only those loyal to the all-powerful supreme leader, dashing any hopes that a more moderate president would be voted into power. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's Rezaei returns to his military roots

The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has left behind politics to lead a new generation of military officers.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Member of Parliament Mostafa Kavakebian (R) is seen on a screen as he speaks at the parliament in Tehran December 11, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2V4B5

Iran MPs deny signing bill to suspend nuclear talks

A bill calling for the suspension of nuclear talks until US officials cease to make threats against Iran has faced a backlash after some members of parliament claim they were misled about the bill.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport Airport in Tel Aviv March 20, 2013. Obama said at the start of his first official visit to Israel on Wednesday that the U.S. commitment to the security of the Jewish state was rock solid and that peace must come to the Holy Land. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F8UU

US willing to 'compensate' Israel on Iran deal

The United States doesn’t understand why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to focus on battling the Iranian deal and rejects two large and strategic “special interest deals” with the US administration.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, accompanied by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, right, speaks at a joint news conference at the Chief of Mission Residence, Paris, France, Friday, May 8, 2015, following a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council. REUTERS/Andrew Harnik/Pool - RTX1C5BX

US works to assure Gulf allies

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been in Paris to try and ease tensions with Gulf allies over the prospective Iran nuclear deal ahead of the GCC meeting in Washington.