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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 11:52 am

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Analysis

Iran turns to Putin as war, US election reshape strategic calculations

A Kremlin meeting with Iran's top security official coupled with reports of new arms deals amid looming war demonstrate Tehran's push to turn vulnerability into strategic leverage.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Tump

Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

As Trump weighs Iran strikes, possible nuclear opening emerges

Sticking points include Iran's highly enriched uranium and lack of access for international inspectors.

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

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.

Analysis

Iran cheers Democrats’ midterm victory but fears Trump's next move

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Iranian outgoing Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani speaks with journalists during a news conference at the Defence Ministry in Tehran August 9, 2005. Iran, a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), would drop all its international nuclear pledges if its atomic facilities were attacked, the outgoing Defence Minister said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl MN/KI - RTRJZFP

The 'Admiral' Heads Iran’s National Security Council

Former Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani is the first Iranian of Arab descent appointed to the position of secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends an opening ceremony for the government subsidised Mehr Housing Complex in Tabriz, 633 km (396 miles) northwest of Tehran, July 31, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR2PHMW

Rouhani Deals With Ahmadinejad's Economic Legacy

The success of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s economic reforms will ultimately depend on international sanctions relief.

Jewish female activists from the Women of the Wall prayer rights group take part in a monthly prayer session near the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem's Old City August 7, 2013. The activists, campaigning for equal worship rights at the holy site, held their prayer session on Wednesday without any incidences of violence occurring with Orthodox worshippers. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX12CKG

The Return of the Israeli Left

Israel Supreme Court's ruling against the right wing Im Tirtzu NGO gives momentum to the revival of the left and human rights organizations.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin E. Dempsey (L), John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State (C), and Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, present the administration's case for U.S. military action against Syria to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, September 3, 2013. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged quick congressional action authorizing the use of military force against Syria and won the support of leaders from both parties in the House of Representatives for limited strik

Obama Administration Should Stop Conflating Syria, Iran

The Obama administration is risking a breakthrough with Iran in its rhetoric on Syria.

An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim boy kisses a poster of the Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the town of Karbala, some 110 km south from the Iraqi capital Baghdad, early February 6, 2004. Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, survived an assassination bid on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on his entourage in the sacred streets of Najaf, a security aide said. The assassination attempt comes days before a team of United Nations electoral experts is due to arrive in the country to assess the feasi

Ayatollah Sistani and The Battle of Najaf

A book by an aide to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reveals new details about the 2004 Battle of Najaf.

A general view of Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXSAXN

Syria's Chemical Weapons Could Inform Iran Nuclear Talks

By talking to Iran, the Obama administration could find a face-saving off-ramp for its Syrian conundrum and build trust for resolving Iran's nuclear crisis.

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations M. Javad Zarif (L) addresses
the United Nations Security Council on the issues of weapons
inspections and possible war in Iraq, as Iraq's ambassador Mohammed
Aldouri listens February 18, 2003 in New York. Iraq's neighbors called
on the world Tuesday to prevent a disastrous war in the Middle East,
saying continued U.N. arms inspections should replace military action
in Iraq. REUTERS/Bernie Nunez

RFS - RTRIJVM

'Jews Aren’t Our Enemies,' Says Iran Foreign Minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has weighed in on Judaism and Zionism, saying Iran makes a clear distinction between the two.

People with mobile phones film the Marine One while it takes off with U.S. President Barack Obama as he departs for Sweden and the G20 summit in Russia, from the White House in Washington September 3, 2013. Obama won the backing of key figures in the U.S. Congress, including Republicans, in his call for limited U.S. strikes on Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians. Obama will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and French

What Does Syria Crisis Hold for US, Iran?

The challenges of the Syrian crisis, and how Iran and the United States deal with it, will have a strong impact in the region.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tour a technology expo at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTR3F9EB

US Should Keep Focus on Syria, Not Iran

Iran's nuclear threat should not be part of the US congressional debate over whether to authorize airstrikes in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) testifies alongside Secretary of State John Kerry at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Syria on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 4, 2013. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet on Wednesday afternoon to proceed with its vote on an authorization for the use of military force in Syria, the panel's chairman said in a statement. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTX13792

Iran Plays Supporting Role In House Panel Debate on Syria

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee focus on potential adverse fallout from a US strike on Syria, including emboldening extremist opposition to Bashar al-Assad.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani speaks to the media after the International Conference on Nuclear Technology and Sustainable Development in Tehran March 5, 2005. Iran warned on Saturday it would return to making nuclear fuel and that the Middle East would get more unstable if the Islamic Republic was sent to the U.N. Security Council over its atomic programme. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi MN/AT - RTR40GY

US-Iran Nuclear Deal Hinges On Syria Vote

If US President Barack Obama fails to win the congressional vote on the authorization to use force against Syria, Iran will conclude a nuclear deal is out of reach.

Lebanon's Hezbollah scouts parade during a rally to mark 'Quds (Jerusalem) Day' in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 2, 2013. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech to hundreds of supporters in support of Palestinians in his first public appearance since last September. He has been living in hiding, for fear of assassination, since Hezbollah fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTX128J7

Hezbollah's Empty Threats Against Israel

Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Damascus and Tehran are all threatening to set Israel ablaze after any attack on Syria, but none of them has the interest or ability to follow through.