Iran

• First rain of autumn falls in Iran's capital, but the drought-ravaged nation needs far more - Rain fell for the first time in months in Iran's capital Wednesday, providing a brief respite for the parched Islamic Republic as it suffers through the driest autumn in over a half century. The drought gripping Iran has seen its president
• Iran arranges diplomatic visit to Abraham Accords member Kazakhstan - Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian's trip is part of a broader Iranian outreach to countries in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian prepared for his trip to Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning
• U.S. Deports Second Planeload of Iranians, Officials Say - In the past, the United States deported Iranians individually on commercial planes. But two months ago, the Trump administration reached a deal with Tehran to coordinate the return of Iranian citizens.
• Superpower Competition: The Missing Chapter in Trump’s Security Strategy - President Trump is shifting from discussion of the long-lasting competition among the world’s biggest economies and nuclear powers.
• One Step From Citizenship, Some Find It Alludes Their Grasp - Sweeping immigration changes by the Trump administration have resulted in the cancellation of naturalization ceremonies, the last step in the process of becoming a citizen.
• Iran's famed singer Googoosh recalls family, exile and life in the spotlight - For Googoosh, Iran's most-famous singer, life always has been balancing act of one kind or another. It began as a child, performing with her acrobat father who balanced her on a chair atop another chair resting only on his chin. Then late
• U.S. Pauses Immigration Applications From Nations on Travel Ban List - The pause, which will halt green card and U.S. citizenship processing for broad swaths of people, deepens a remarkable crackdown on legal immigration pathways in recent days.
• Iran seizes Eswatini-flagged vessel for smuggling fuel - Iran seized an Eswatini-flagged ship carrying 350,000 liters of smuggled fuel off Bushehr, detaining its 13 crew amid ongoing efforts to curb fuel smuggling. Iran seized on Sunday an Eswatini-flagged vessel carrying 350,000 litres of smuggl
• Fed Up With the Taliban, Pakistan Expels Masses of Afghans - Labeling Afghans a national security threat, Pakistan has forced out about a million this year, depriving them of a haven from Afghanistan’s turmoil.
• In brief glimpses of Tehran, an AP journalist sees a changing and challenged Iran - As you enter Iran’s capital, it starts with only occasional glimpses — a passenger in a car speeding by or a pedestrian trying to leapfrog through Tehran’s notorious traffic. More and more, Iranian women choose to forgo the country’s manda