Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

Chinese People's Liberation Army troops attend training ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Aug. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 30, 2025
Defying West, China's Xi gathers 'Axis of Upheaval' for military parade
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un will attend the "Victory Day" parade on Sept. 3 — the first time they have appeared in public alongside Xi.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive for a signing ceremony during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Qingdao, China, in June 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
China's Xi prepares meeting of SCO security bloc to rival U.S.-led world order
The Chinese leader is likely to focus on what’s ahead for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at a time when Donald Trump upends U.S. alliances with the likes of India.
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2019. The U.K., Germany and France on Thursday triggered a 30-day "snapback” process that would lead to a resumption of sanctions originally lifted as part of a 2015 deal.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2025
European powers pull trigger to slap Iran with U.N. sanctions
The move will likely raise tensions between Tehran and the West amid a standoff over Iran’s atomic activities following Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on nuclear sites in June.
The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in Bushehr Province, Iran, on May 26. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran is legally obligated to allow inspections to resume and that they should begin "as soon as possible."
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2025
Iran site cleanup likely to erase evidence of nuclear work, research group says
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and repeatedly has said its program is for peaceful purposes.
A boy looks on next to floral tributes and an Australian flag at the Adass Israel Synagogue after an attack in Melbourne, in December 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2025
Synagogue arson suspect appears in court for attack Australia says was ordered by Iran
Australia has also ordered the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador over the December 2024 arson attack in Melbourne.
Iran's national flag flies over the Iranian embassy in Canberra on Tuesday, the day Australia's government said it is expelling Iran's ambassador, accusing the country of being behind antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 26, 2025
Australia expels Iranian ambassador over antisemitic attacks
Australian intelligence services reached the "deeply disturbing conclusion" that Iran directed at least two arsons, in Melbourne and Sydney.
U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance meet Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner  (far right) and Rwanda Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe (far left) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2025
Trump’s count of wars he’s ‘settled’ remains a matter of dispute
Looking to bolster his legacy as a global peacemaker, Donald Trump has boasted often in recent days that he’s ended at least six wars.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (center) chairs a meeting of a Cabinet session to discuss the issue of disarming Hezbollah at the presidential palace of Baabda, east of Beirut, on Aug. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 6, 2025
Lebanon plans to disarm Hezbollah by year-end
The unprecedented move forms part of a November ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah following months of hostilities.
A woman casts her vote during parliamentary elections in Qom, Iran, in March 2012. Regime change in the Islamic country is harder than many think, but it has the institutions needed for democracy if it happens.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2025
Iran is more prepared for democracy than many realize
Some commentators, like the economist Nouriel Roubini and the Stanford political scientist Abbas Milani, see regime change as plausible or imminent.
Afghans expelled from Iran arrive at a processing center in the border town of Islam Qala, Afghanistan, on July 10.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 28, 2025
Iran forcing out Afghans en masse after Israel spying claims
Iran is rounding up Afghan nationals due to accusations that non-documented migrants from the country spied for Israel and helped it launch missiles.
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2025
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
Located near Higashinakano Station, Pao Compound is an eclectic mix of restaurants, event spaces and an affinity for cultural exploration.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on June 26. The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, said to be an example of the “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down through short bursts of military power. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2025
The 'Trump Doctrine' is wishful thinking
The Donald Trump-ordered strikes on Iran, claimed to prove a unique “Trump Doctrine,” ignore decades of failed U.S. attempts to force adversaries to back down.
An aerial view from north of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant. Opposition parties are divided over whether Japan should utilize nuclear power while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a proponent of it, has avoided explicitly mentioning its stance in its campaign pledges.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 15, 2025
Energy policy debate falls dormant in Upper House election despite growing risk
Rising tensions in the Middle East have fueled concerns the Strait of Hormuz may be closed, dealing a blow to Japan's energy security.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on April 7. Trump’s unexpected strike on Iran shows how Israel’s influence overcame his reluctance for foreign wars.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
Trump’s Iran attack shows what it takes to win his military support
How did Israel convince Trump? Put simply, why did Trump, unlike previous presidents who considered it but held back, launch a direct strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
U.S. soldiers man a checkpoint on a road outside Tikrit, Iraq, in November 2003. Airstrikes alone won’t truly eliminate Iran’s nuclear program — only a costly ground invasion like the one that took down Saddam Hussein could do that.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
What will it take to end Iran's nuke program? An army.
Trump’s claim that the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program was widely disputed, with current estimates saying it was severely damaged and set back by 12 to 24 months.
Despite perceptions of Russian weakness after Israel’s attack on Iran, that conflict has helped Vladimir Putin by diverting U.S. resources, eroding support for Ukraine and possibly setting the stage for the war to shift in his favor.
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2025
The U.S. bombing of Iran was a win for Putin
The possibility of another war in the Middle East has sucked attention, energy and resources away from Ukraine.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the BRICS summit, at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2025
BRICS leaders condemn Gaza and Iran attacks, urging global reforms
With forums such as the G7 and G20 hamstrung by divisions and Trump's "America First" approach, the grouping has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the BRICS summit in Brazil on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2025
Russia and Iran relegated to the periphery as awkward BRICS guests
Even with just six of the 10 BRICS leaders present at a summit in Brazil, the grouping is already challenging the U.S.-led order.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila in February.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 5, 2025
Under pressure, Hezbollah weighs scaling back its arsenal
The internal discussions, which aren't yet finalized, reflect the formidable pressures the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group has faced since a truce was reached in late November.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, on June 12. Pezeshkian formally enacted the suspension of Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Iran ends cooperation with U.N. nuclear watchdog after Israel and U.S. strikes
Washington has described the decision as "unacceptable."

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past