https://www.rferl.org/z/651 RFE/RL journalists report the news in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We broadcast in 27 languages to 22 countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/651 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:22:00 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL When Kazakhstan launched Central Asia’s first large-scale cloud-seeding program on May 17, it called it a high-tech response to drought, water scarcity, and accelerating desertification. https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-cloud-seeding-central-asia-weather/33772843.html https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-cloud-seeding-central-asia-weather/33772843.html Sun, 07 Jun 2026 10:24:36 +0200 FeaturesAfghanistanIranKazakhstanKyrgyzstanUzbekistanThe Rundown Stories Kazakhstan has offered to host Iran's enriched uranium in order to streamline a potential peace deal between Tehran and Washington. The offer comes more than 30 years after a massive haul of weapons-grade uranium was taken out of the Central Asian country and flown to the US. https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-iran-project-sapphire-enriched-uranium/33773568.html https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-iran-project-sapphire-enriched-uranium/33773568.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:06:22 +0200 Photo GalleriesFeaturesIranKazakhstanPicksThe Rundown Headline Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea region occupied by Russia, is heavily dependent on Russian visitors for its economy. This summer, it faces major gasoline shortages, as Ukraine’s military drone campaign squeezes transport routes, making life even more difficult for vacationers. https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-ukraine-drones-gasoline-crisis-summer/33773507.html https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-ukraine-drones-gasoline-crisis-summer/33773507.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:43:08 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories The United States has reaffirmed its support for Armenia's sovereignty and democratic institutions amid growing concerns over what Western officials describe as an intensifying Russian campaign to weaken Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian ahead of the country's upcoming elections. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-support-armenia-election-rubio-trump-pashinian-russia/33773349.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-support-armenia-election-rubio-trump-pashinian-russia/33773349.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:14:03 +0200 ArmeniaFeaturesRussiaThe Rundown Stories Armenians go to the polls on June 7 in parliamentary elections in which the country’s basic foreign policy orientation is at stake. While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has pulled the country towards the West, Russia has responded with multiple moves aimed at halting the shift. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-economy-armenia-westward-tilt-elections/33773229.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-economy-armenia-westward-tilt-elections/33773229.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:49:41 +0200 FeaturesArmeniaRussiaThe Rundown Stories RFE/RL spoke with Lisa Gable, a former US ambassador who served during the George W. Bush administration and is now the chairwoman of World In 2050, about the prospects for diplomacy with Iran, the challenges of verification, and the broader geopolitical stakes of the current conflict. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-negotiations-promises-ambassador-lisa-gable/33773278.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-negotiations-promises-ambassador-lisa-gable/33773278.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:47:38 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Riding into Russia on a motorcycle to see his ailing father, Mikhail Loshchinin was detained at the border, tortured, and tried on a treason charge over a $245 transfer to a Ukrainian ex-girlfriend, he and relatives and supporters say. This week, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-prison-belgian-sentenced-treason-claim/33772656.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-prison-belgian-sentenced-treason-claim/33772656.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:07 +0200 RussiaFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories From Ukraine to Tehran, asymmetric warfare is redefining the modern battlefield. Superiority is no longer measured solely by jets and naval fleets, but by inexpensive unmanned drones. https://www.rferl.org/a/drones-iran-ukraine-russia-houthis-hezbollah/33772693.html https://www.rferl.org/a/drones-iran-ukraine-russia-houthis-hezbollah/33772693.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:52:16 +0200 IranFeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East The United States has sanctioned Iran’s largest cryptocurrency platform, in a move that could hurt ordinary Iranians and businesses, experts say. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-nobitex-us--sanctions-crypto-exchange-irgc/33772560.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-nobitex-us--sanctions-crypto-exchange-irgc/33772560.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:47:03 +0200 FeaturesIranThe Rundown Stories RFE/RL spoke with Jake Sotiriadis, an adviser to the US State Department, about whether these developments could signal the beginning of a diplomatic off-ramp between Washington and Tehran or merely a pause in a confrontation that still carries a significant risk of escalation. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-congress-war-sotiriadis/33772490.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-congress-war-sotiriadis/33772490.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:02:43 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East As Russia struggles to replace soldiers being killed in high numbers in the fifth year of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, these is mounting evidence of the military returning men to the war despite severe injuries and, sometimes, medical findings saying they are not fit for further service. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-casualties-wounded-return/33771000.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-casualties-wounded-return/33771000.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:56:45 +0200 RussiaFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Russian military vehicles painted in patterns resembling WWI-era dazzle camouflage can potentially hide them from Ukrainian drones, but AI experts say any vivid pattern has a short shelf life. https://www.rferl.org/a/zebra-dazzle-camouflage-ai-hornet-drones-russia-ukraine-invasion/33771856.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zebra-dazzle-camouflage-ai-hornet-drones-russia-ukraine-invasion/33771856.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 06:58:20 +0200 RussiaFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Families sharing single meals. Appliances sold to pay utility bills. Businesses gutted. Four Iranians inside the country describe an economy in freefall. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-us-war-sanctions/33771852.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-economy-us-war-sanctions/33771852.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:43:53 +0200 IranFeaturesEconomyThe Rundown Headline Diplomatic efforts to contain the widening Middle East crisis entered a critical phase this week as US officials sought to keep alive negotiations with Iran amid mounting tensions. RFE/RL spoke with Dania Arayssi, program head and senior analyst at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy. https://www.rferl.org/a/can-diplomacy-survive-analyst-dania-arayssi-on-iran-hezbollah-and-the-struggle-for-a-deal/33771631.html https://www.rferl.org/a/can-diplomacy-survive-analyst-dania-arayssi-on-iran-hezbollah-and-the-struggle-for-a-deal/33771631.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:34:49 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Frederick Flott, who died in 2006, was a longtime State Department diplomat around the world, as well as a CIA agent who worked under diplomatic cover. For years, the KGB tried to recruit him. Did it succeed? https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kgb-spy-espionage-mitrokhin-flott-secret-archive/33770150.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kgb-spy-espionage-mitrokhin-flott-secret-archive/33770150.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:07:11 +0200 RussiaFeaturesThe Rundown Stories Russia is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build schools and universities across Central Asia, reinforcing the use of the Russian language at a time when younger generations in the region are increasingly exposed to Western and Chinese influences. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:52:40 +0200 FeaturesKazakhstanKyrgyzstanRussiaTajikistanTurkmenistan Uzbekistan As Washington and Tehran edge toward a preliminary peace deal, renewed fighting in Lebanon has cast uncertainty over the diplomatic track. https://www.rferl.org/a/former-senior-trump-nsc-official-says-diplomacy-alive-as-us-iran-battle-for-leverage/33770891.html https://www.rferl.org/a/former-senior-trump-nsc-official-says-diplomacy-alive-as-us-iran-battle-for-leverage/33770891.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:41:12 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East A donation of 16 Gripen C/D fighter jets from Sweden to Ukraine has the potential to significantly impact the ground war with Russia, depending on what weapons will be provided with the jets, experts say. https://www.rferl.org/a/gripen-fighters-ukraine-war-impact-russia-aviation/33768477.html https://www.rferl.org/a/gripen-fighters-ukraine-war-impact-russia-aviation/33768477.html Sat, 30 May 2026 16:27:17 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Leaked documents examined by Schemes link a debunked report that claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai for his mother to a Kremlin-backed disinformation outfit hit with sanctions by the US, the EU, and the UK. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html Sat, 30 May 2026 10:55:48 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineSchemes: Investigating UkraineThe Rundown Stories When US President Donald Trump unexpectedly called on a number of Muslim-majority states to join the Abraham Accords in a social media post suggesting the move could pave the way for a broader peace arrangement with Iran, many responded with uneasy silence. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-abraham-accords-trump-saudi-pakistan/33768416.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-abraham-accords-trump-saudi-pakistan/33768416.html Fri, 29 May 2026 16:41:31 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown Stories