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Iran

November 7, 2026

Tehran 1:24 pm

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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

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili listens during a news conference in Almaty February 27, 2013. Iran said nuclear talks with world powers were a "positive step", after two days of negotiations that ended in Almaty on Wednesday. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EC8O

Why Iran’s Supreme Leader Wants Jalili for President

With his loyalty to the supreme leader and lack of ties to established groups, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili appears to have Khamenei’s backing.

Babara pix.jpg

Iranian Activism Abroad Mirrors Low-Key Election Campaign

Iranians in the US and Europe try to mobilize support for free and fair elections to highlight restrictions in Iran's June 14 presidential vote.

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 man looks at the headline of a newspaper at a news stand in Tehran March 4, 2012. Hardliners allied with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei maintained their lead in the country's parliamentary vote, with partial results on Sunday showing supporters of the president trailing behind. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR2YT

Does Khamenei Have A Favored Candidate?

The perception of being Khamenei's candidate could mean 12 million votes in Iran’s presidential election.

Iranians sit next to electoral posters of Hassan Rohani (L) and Mohsen Rezai (C) in the religious city of Qom some 130 kilometres south of the capital on June 9, 2013. Iran elects on June 14 a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose eight years in office have been marked by stiff Western sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive and the economic turmoil they have caused. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Press Mostly Quiet In Run-up to Election

The crackdown on the media which started five months before the election has effectively stifled critical press inside Iran.

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. Iran has begun loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, one of the last steps to realising its stated goal of becoming a peaceful nuclear power, state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/IRNA/Mohammad Babaie (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTXTUIA

Iran’s Next President and The Third Nuclear Strategy

US President Barack Obama and Iran’s next president should expand the nuclear talks to include regional security matters, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Nabilloah Bagheriha of Iran's Persepolis (L) fights for the ball with Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira of Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor during their AFC Champions League soccer match at Tehran's Azadi stadium May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN SPORT SOCCER) - RTXOLC7

Sports an Issue in Iran's Elections

Iran's sports clubs have become politicized in recent years and are an issue in the presidential contest.

Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani attends a meeting of Iran's Assembly of Experts in Tehran on March 5, 2013. Iran's Assembly of Experts is an 86-seat body that selects the supreme leader and supervises his activities and holds sessions twice a year. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

New Poll on Iranian Election Shows Rouhani as Front-Runner

Iran's presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's outspokenness on important issues could propel him to the presidency at the last minute.

Rouhani's Biopic Surprises Iranian Voters

Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's 30-minute documentary on state TV has captured voters' attention.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian and Hezbollah flags during a demonstration, organised by Lebanese and Palestinian factions, against Israel's military operation in Gaza, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut November 17, 2012. Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - T

Hamas-Hezbollah Ties Deteriorate Over Syria

The second segment of a three-part series on Hamas reveals a sharp deterioration in its ties with a former close ally, Hezbollah.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref flashes the sign of victory as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry in Tehran on May 10, 2013. Iran began a five-day registration period for candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election, with a string of conservative hopefuls in the running but with key reformists yet to come forward, media reports said. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Candidate’s Wife An Electoral Asset

Hamideh Moravvej, wife of reformist presidential candidate Mohammad Reza Aref, is pushing boundaries in her frequent campaign appearances and style of dress.

Campaign pins of Iranian presidential candidate and lead nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili are displayed for sale at Tehran University in the Iranian capital on June 3, 2013. The eight candidates standing for president this month may differ on several issues, but when it comes to Iran's nuclear drive they are united in pursuing what they see as its peaceful atomic ambitions. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Candidates Vie For 'Party of the Wind'

Presidential candidates are jockeying for position among Iran’s political factions and for the unpredictable swing vote.

A cleric reads a book in the library of a religious research center associated with the seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 2, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB5VE

The Forbidden Libraries Of the Qom Seminary

While confiscated and sensitive books are kept hidden from most religious students and scholars in Iran's religious city of Qom, copies have thrived online.