https://www.rferl.org/z/23310 The main story of the day from RFE/RL Central Newsroom. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/23310 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:11:44 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL US Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the Republican Party's most influential voices on foreign policy and among Ukraine's strongest supporters in Washington, died on July 11 after what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness." https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:40:08 +0200 NewsThe Rundown Headline With bridges cut and a drone blitz on shipping, Russian-occupied Crimea is reeling from a relentless Ukrainian campaign of targeted drone strikes. Vladimir Putin has said the peninsula he seized in 2014 has a “sacred meaning” – but life there is becoming increasingly intolerable. https://www.rferl.org/a/no-gas-no-lights-no-comms-no-tourists-ukraine-s-crimea-blockade-starts-to-bite/33801579.html https://www.rferl.org/a/no-gas-no-lights-no-comms-no-tourists-ukraine-s-crimea-blockade-starts-to-bite/33801579.html Sat, 11 Jul 2026 13:11:11 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, has identified a Russian prison doctor accused of subjecting Ukrainian inmates to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-prison-sexual-abuse-ukraine-torture/33801065.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-prison-sexual-abuse-ukraine-torture/33801065.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:42:56 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline The US military said it had launched new strikes on targets in Iran just hours after President Donald Trump said a cease-fire accord with Tehran was "over" and threatened to "hit them [Iran] hard tonight." https://www.rferl.org/a/us-strikes-iran-trump-threat/33799674.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-strikes-iran-trump-threat/33799674.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:36:42 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The NATO summit in Turkey got off to a rocky start, with US President Donald Trump slamming Spain for failing to spend on defense and other alliance members for refusing to pitch in during the Iran war. But by the end of the day, unity was the key word from leaders, including the US president. https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-unity-takeaways-summit-turkey-rutte-trump/33799567.html https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-unity-takeaways-summit-turkey-rutte-trump/33799567.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:53:34 +0200 News AnalysisNewsIranUkraineThe Rundown HeadlineEurope Iran's clerical establishment has shown time and again it has few rivals at staging a mass funeral. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's was a spectacle built to be seen as a referendum on the Islamic republic's popularity. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khameneu-funeral-referendum-human-rights/33798717.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khameneu-funeral-referendum-human-rights/33798717.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:16:13 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region early on July 6, striking residential buildings and killing at least 27 people while injuring nearly 100, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian strike. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-zelenskyy-russia-attack-nato-putin/33797564.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-zelenskyy-russia-attack-nato-putin/33797564.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:01:26 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was absent as funeral prayers for his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were held early on July 5, more than four months after he was killed during US-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war in the Middle East. https://www.rferl.org/a/mojtaba-khamenei-absent-ali-khamenei-funeral/33797118.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mojtaba-khamenei-absent-ali-khamenei-funeral/33797118.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:48:20 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The first day of the multiday funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei passed without any sighting of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded him. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-funeral-mojtaba-absence/33796666.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-funeral-mojtaba-absence/33796666.html Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:45:19 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown Headline The body of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was laid in state in Tehran on July 3 as authorities began a week of funeral processions for the slain cleric. https://www.rferl.org/a/mixed-feelings-iranians-khamenei-iran-funeral/33795536.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mixed-feelings-iranians-khamenei-iran-funeral/33795536.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:35:53 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The morning after Russia's deadly overnight strikes on the Ukrainian capital, local resident Maryna stood in shock on the damaged street, watching her apartment engulfed in flames after leaving the shelter. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-missile-and-drone-strike-ukraine/33794481.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-missile-and-drone-strike-ukraine/33794481.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:09:26 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineThe Rundown Headline A rogue statement from top clerics and a censored prime-time broadcast: two bizarre incidents that have exposed deep, unprecedented fractures inside Iran’s elite establishment. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-division-us-deal-khamenei/33793970.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-division-us-deal-khamenei/33793970.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:47:50 +0200 News AnalysisIranNuclear TalksThe Rundown Headline Once-feared patrols that enforced Iran’s compulsory hijab rules have largely vanished from the streets, and uncovered hair is now commonplace. But the law remains, and the change is uneven, uncertain, and still contested. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hijab-police-women-rights/33792781.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hijab-police-women-rights/33792781.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:54:35 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline The disruptions to Russia's energy sector due to its war with Ukraine are having a ripple effect in Central Asia, with fuel prices rising across the region and governments scrambling to find alternative sources to meet demand. https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-gas-fuel-prices-russia-war/33791115.html https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-gas-fuel-prices-russia-war/33791115.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:47:44 +0200 FeaturesKazakhstanKyrgyzstanRussiaTajikistanRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline A fragile truce between Iran and the United States appeared increasingly shaky early on June 28 as both sides accused one another of violating an interim agreement meant to halt months of fighting, amid renewed missile, drone, and air strikes across the Gulf region. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-hormuz-cease-fire-violation-kuwait-bahrain-trump/33790546.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-hormuz-cease-fire-violation-kuwait-bahrain-trump/33790546.html Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:17:20 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East The debate over Iran's potential agreement with the United States has spilled beyond the country's political class and into the religious establishments and street gatherings that have long served as the Islamic republic's most loyal base of support. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-eulogists-deal-us-hardliners-split/33789530.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-eulogists-deal-us-hardliners-split/33789530.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:03:28 +0200 IranFeaturesNuclear TalksThe Rundown Headline The doubling of bread prices in Iran is yet another indicator of the deteriorating state of the economy as ordinary Iranians describe cutting meat, skipping meals out, and struggling to buy their children toys. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-bread-economy-poor-us-war/33788675.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-bread-economy-poor-us-war/33788675.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 01:00:23 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Amid an ongoing row between Washington and Tehran over whether international monitors can verify Iranian compliance with its nuclear nonproliferation commitments, former officials have told RFE/RL that the scale, scope, and degree of access are crucial to the success of inspections. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-verification-nuclear-iaea/33788603.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-verification-nuclear-iaea/33788603.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:25:20 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East Iran has pushed back against US claims that any frozen Iranian assets released under a framework deal would be used to buy American agricultural products but stopped short of ruling it out, as the proposal sparked a sharp backlash from the country’s hard-liners. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-assets-us-agriculture-farmers-food-backlash/33787940.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-assets-us-agriculture-farmers-food-backlash/33787940.html Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:47:57 +0200 IranNewsNuclear TalksThe Rundown Headline Officials from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers held talks in Brussels for the first time on the repatriation of Afghans despite sharp criticism from rights groups that the European Union was legitimizing the hard-liners amid continued signs they are cracking down further on women. https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-taliban-meeting-outcry-activists-deportations/33787206.html https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-taliban-meeting-outcry-activists-deportations/33787206.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:08:09 +0200 NewsAfghanistanThe Rundown HeadlineEurope