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November 6, 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

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference in Ankara June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SXIL

Iran MP calls for postponing Erdogan’s Tehran trip

Iranian officials have called for the postponement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's April trip to Tehran based on his comments that Iran is trying to "dominate" the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (2nd L), Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) wait with others ahead of a meeting at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne on March 26, 2015 during negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4UXKJ

Rouhani writes Obama as Iran talks enter endgame

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote US President Obama and called other P5+1 leaders as foreign ministers from six world powers are expected to join Iran talks over the weekend to try to reach a political agreement on an Iran nuclear deal by March 31.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (2nd R) waits for the start of a meeting with a US delegation at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne on March 26, 2015 during negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4UXL4

Who determines Iran's foreign policy?

While Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes the final decisions on foreign policy, a number of other factors and players play significant roles.

Civil defence workers and people search for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed by an air strike near Sanaa Airport March 26, 2015. Saudi Arabia and Gulf region allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday, officials said, to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden where the U.S.-backed Yemeni president had taken refuge. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTR4UXDR

Iran condemns Saudi bombing of Yemen

Hard-line Iranian officials have condemned the United States and Saudi Arabia for the bombing in Yemen and have warned of consequences for Saudi Arabia.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal gestures during his interview with Reuters in Doha November 29, 2012. Meshaal said the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state won by his rival Mahmoud Abbas should be seen alongside Gaza's latest conflict with Israel as a single, bold strategy that could empower all Palestinians. Meshaal said the short war which claimed 162 Palestinian lives and five Israelis was concluded on terms set by the Palestinian Islamist movement and ended its isolation, creating a new moo

Hamas hopes to expand regional relations

Hamas is seeking to expand its regional relations, namely with Egypt, which is seemingly trying to ease tensions with the movement.

Iraq's army chief General Babakir Zebari (R) meets with U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the defence ministry in Baghdad November 15, 2014. The top U.S. military officer, Dempsey, arrived on Saturday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit as U.S. commanders prepare to expand American assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4E9AP

Iraq accepts international support in its war against IS

Iraqis should dismiss criticism against the US role in the war against the Islamic State, because this war is international and the country needs any help it can get, whether foreign or local.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry (R) walks back to his hotel with U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (L) after lunch and following a negotiating session with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif over Iran's nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RTR4U6KN

US sees path to Iran accord

US officials say they see a path forward to reaching an agreement with Iran by the end of March for a final nuclear deal.

A tear gas canister is seen on the ground after anti-government protesters pushed through security forces to retake Pearl Sqaure in Manama February 19, 2011. Anti-government protesters in Bahrain swarmed back into the symbolic Pearl Square on Saturday, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan (BAHRAIN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2ITOT

Bahrain asks Congress for help in restoring arms sales

Manama's embassy in Washington is circulating a letter calling for a united front against IS, Iran; Bahrain is courting Congress in its effort to get the Obama administration to unblock weapons sales that were suspended after its 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters.

Fighters from the Shi'ite Badr Brigade militia stand near their flag as they guard at a checkpoint along a highway recently taken from militants of the Islamic State, outside the town of Sulaiman Pek September 5, 2014. The highway, which continues south to Baghdad, is now controlled by Shi'ite militia fighters and the Kurdish Peshmerga. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR454AO

Is the Shiite revival here?

Iran's support of religiously motivated forces in the Middle East has been viewed by many as a success while Saudi Arabia has struggled to find find reliable proxies.

Shi'ite fighters known as Hashid Shaabi walk as smoke rises from an explosives-laden military vehicle driven by an Islamic State suicide bomber which exploded during an attack on the southern edge of Tikrit March 12, 2015. Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia exchanged fire sporadically with Islamic State fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. A Reuters photographer saw one car bomb explode on

PM Barzani: Shiite militias should be regulated

In an interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addresses the fight against IS, the rise of the Iraqi Shiite militias and relations with Baghdad.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

An Iranian operator monitors the nuclear power plant unit in Bushehr, about 1,215 km (755 miles) south of Tehran, November 30, 2009. Russia plans to start up Iran's first nuclear power station in March 2010 to coincide with the Iranian New Year, two sources closely involved with the project told Reuters. Russia agreed in 1995 to build the 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant

Will R&D agreement seal the Iran deal?

Research and development for Iran's nuclear program will play a large role in how the final nuclear agreement looks.

Iranian vendor dies after setting himself on fire

Iranian activists are questioning why the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Iran did not lead to mass protests.