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November 5, 2026

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Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopters fly over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy, northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, Feb. 4, 2021.

Russia to provide Iran with 90 missile launchers as military ties grow: Reports

Multiple recent reports reveal increased Russian support for Iran, including weapons and intelligence sharing.

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

Turkey said a soldier was killed by suspected gunfire from Iran, as Ankara seeks closer cooperation with Tehran on border security.

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

Latest News

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

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

Explainer

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

RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

Tourists and Israelis walk past Lepejian ceramics shop, which specializes in making traditional hand painted Armenian pottery, on April 17, 2015 at the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. Armenians around the world will mark on April 24, 2015 the centenary of the World War I-era mass killings of their kin by Ottoman Turks in what they insist was a genocide -- a term fiercely rejected by Turkey. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Why is Israel still silent on Armenian genocide?

Israel has not joined the EU Parliament and the pope in officially recognizing the Armenian genocide, partly because of its strategic alliance with Azerbaijan against Iran.

Cherry trees are in full bloom in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYGQL

Defense bill takes aim at Iran

The must-pass legislation requires Pentagon strategy for countering Iran's "growing unconventional warfare capabilities."

Japan's Ishida Mizuho (R) spikes the ball past Iran's Zare Pouran (L) and Vahedi Langroodi Zahra (C) during the Asian Senior Women's Volleyball championship quarter final between in Hanoi on September 11, 2009. Japan won 3-0 by 25-11, 25-6, 25-7 . AFP PHOTO/HOANG DINH Nam (Photo credit should read HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian women campaign for entry to sporting events

While there was conflicting news that Iran is considering passing a law to allow women into sporting events, there has long been objection to women in stadiums by conservatives.

Saudi students prepare to fly a home-made replica of a jet fighter on April 8, 2015 in Tabuk. The plane was nicknamed "Decisive plane" as a sign of support to Saudi-led coalitions Operation Decisive Storm against the Huthi rebels in Yemen. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ALBUHAISI

(Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ALBUHAISI/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi elites divided on Yemen war

A brief survey of Saudi opinion reveals that many elites consider Operation Decisive Storm a legitimate attempt to halt Iranian expansionism, while some view the intervention in Yemen as a sectarian war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (L) walks in a courtyard at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne on March 28, 2015 during talks over Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4V95P

Iran nuclear talks resume

The first Iran nuclear negotiations are due to get underway in Vienna April 22-23 since a framework deal was reached April 2, amid debate in capitals about the provisional accord. US officials say rapid progress was made in the last few months, but two issues still need to be finalized.

A dog is pictured on rubble of a mud house after it collapsed following the earthquake in the town of Mashkeel, southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan, near the Iranian border April 18, 2013. The powerful earthquake struck a border area of southeast Iran on Tuesday killing at least 35 people in neighbouring Pakistan, destroying hundreds of houses and shaking buildings as far away as India and Gulf Arab states. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed (PAKISTAN - Tags: DISASTER) - RTXYQQ1

Iranians protest killing of stray dogs

After a video surfaced online showing the killing of stray dogs using cruel methods, Iranians held protests across various cities.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) arrives to deliver a statement at the residence of President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem April 20, 2015. Netanyahu will have two more weeks to form a new government after he asked Israel's president on Monday to extend a 28-day period to form a coalition following his election victory. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX19GUA

Why does Netanyahu really want to sabotage the Iran deal?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to introduce non-nuclear-related demands in the negotiations with Iran is being dismissed as lacking credibility.

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

Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani gives the opening speech during Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for being too close to the reformist opposition. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITIC

What's Rafsanjani's political future?

Rafsanjani's comments about the situation in Iran's prisons resulted in unprecedented criticisms and may have cemented his political isolation.

Iran's housing bubble

Housing prices in Iran have significantly dropped since mid-2013, most notably in Tehran, where pollution and traffic cause families to move to the suburbs and countryside, while young urbanites seek smaller housing units.

A supporter of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith organization holds a picture of Saudia Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz during a rally in support of Saudi Arabia over its intervention in Yemen, in Lahore April 19, 2015. . REUTERS/Mohsin Raza

Saudi Arabia’s deepening isolation in Yemen

Saudi Arabia faces a quagmire in Yemen; a US-Iran “catalogue of cooperation” after a nuclear deal; Iranian activists skeptical on human rights progress; Israel unnerved by Russian decision on missile sale to Iran; the Good Friday massacre in Aleppo; is Erdogan shifting from sectarianism?

House probes Iran deal

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of April 20.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) passes Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFG

Will Russian missile deal complicate final Iran agreement?

The timing of Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a missile deal with Iran raises questions on the impact this may have on the final nuclear negotiations.