Steve Inskeep

The 14th century Persian poet Hafez remains venerated in Iran, even though he wrote of wine, romance and other topics not necessarily welcome in today's Islamic Republic.

Shiite-majority Iran is home to millions of Sunnis, including the Sunni imam who opened his door to NPR's Steve Inskeep in Tehran. "We live together nicely," he insists. But he must speak with care.

Iranians remain cautious about the future despite the lifting of some Western sanctions.

Ebrahim Pourfaraj started digging a giant hole in Tehran well before sanctions were lifted. He's betting Iran's economy will open up, attracting investors and visitors who've long been locked out.

The organization of donors led by Charles and his brother David has vowed to spend $889 million to influence the 2016 election. Yet he suggested to NPR he is merely playing defense, not offense.

The coal region of western Kentucky has managed to keep its mining industry alive through changing energy trends of the past few decades. That is, until now.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush provoked much reaction on social media this morning with a theory of Donald Trump's rise.

Bush says President Obama paved the way for it.

The former Florida governor made the remark in a year-ending interview with NPR News. Bush is trying to recover after ...

Britain rarely drops a bomb on Syria unless Michael Fallon approves it first.

British forces began bombing ISIS targets in Syria this month. And Fallon, a civilian who serves as secretary of state for defense, tells NPR that he insists on personally signing off before Royal Air Force Tornado warplanes ...

President Obama spoke Thursday, calling for thoughts and prayers for the victims of Wednesday's shooting in San Bernardino, and saying "we all have a part to play" in preventing such violence.

Investigators are combing through data for clues about motives in the San Bernardino attack. A married couple opened fire on a workplace holiday party and seemed to have planned at least the getaway.

After attending international climate negotiations, the president said, "I think the issue is just going to be the pace, and how much damage is done before we are able to fully apply the brakes."

President Obama's administration contends that refugees are not the true source of U.S. security concerns. Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, tells NPR that the real concern may be a person traveling as an ordinary tourist from Europe.

Johnson's department is tightening the visa waiver program, under which ...

Cecile Richards is walking a fine line: She paints the shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic as one of many attacks linked to "hateful rhetoric."

She doesn't specifically say that rhetoric motivated the attack Friday in Colorado Springs.

The president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America spoke with NPR ...

In one of the biggest health care mergers ever, Pfizer says it has clinched a deal to buy Allergan for over $150 billion. Pfizer says it plans to move its headquarters to Dublin to avoid U.S. taxes.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a self-described pro-immigration Republican, was the first to ask for a pause on Syrian refugees to be relocated to his state.

Did Vladimir Putin just trick himself into solving Syria's war?

A leading U.S. diplomat contends the answer is yes. Russia, he says, has so badly mangled its intervention in Syria that it may have little choice but to favor settling the conflict.

The diplomat, Tony Blinken, tells me that's the ...

Jay Inslee says he won't join the growing list of governors who say they don't want Syrian refugees within their state borders.

In an interview with NPR's Morning Edition, the governor of Washington state publicly welcomed refugees, citing the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, warning fellow governors against "fear," ...

Republican Sen. John McCain critiqued President Obama's strategy against ISIS today, casting doubt on claims that a political settlement may be near in Syria.

He also responded to Obama, who yesterday challenged critics of his administration's strategy. "If folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think ...

Steve Inskeep speaks with NPR's Scott Horsley in Washington, D.C., and Eleanor Beardsley in Paris to discuss remarks by the American and French presidents about the Paris attacks.

France has struck back at ISIS. French warplanes hit the capital of the region controlled by the Islamic State, the Syrian city of Raqqa.