Opinion Today: How Tehran won the world
Here’s what we’re focusing on.
Opinion Today
June 16, 2026
A group of men wave Iranian flags outside a building in Tehran.
Photo illustration by Tam Stockton for The New York Times; source photograph by Vahid Salemi/Associated Press

Notable

Iran, once a pariah, emerges victorious. “From the blackest margins of the old order — isolated, sanctioned, ignored and reviled as a ruthless, repressive state — Iran has become, in the eyes of many, an example of necessary defiance, and courage.”

— Azadeh Moaveni, contributing Opinion writer

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The verdict on Biden is in. “Is it that Biden communicated poorly or that he didn’t quite believe it all himself?”

— Carlos Lozada, Opinion columnist

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Can this new political party change Israel? “Its very existence challenges the long-held idea that it is normal or makes sense for Palestinians to vote just for Palestinian parties or for Jews to vote just for Jewish parties, regardless of the issues at stake.”

— Mairav Zonszein, contributing Opinion writer

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Spotlight

An illustration featuring a very colorful rendering of congressional district lines superimposed on a garden, with many design flourishes on top of it all.
Jon Han

What if Both Parties Gerrymandered to the Max?

How the scramble for partisan advantage could further distort the country’s politics.

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ICYMI

A garish spectacle of American decline. “This is an administration capable of immense, epic destruction, but unable to create much besides spectacle.”

— Michelle Goldberg, Opinion columnist

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In Your Words

Re: One City Might Have Just Cracked the Housing Crisis

D

Dave

New Jersey

The housing crisis boils down to people who are upset that they cannot afford to live exactly where they would like to live. Homeowners should not be shamed and vilified for protecting the best interests and quality of life of their families. Unrestrained high density housing inevitably leads to more traffic, noise, pollution, overcrowding and crime. People who oftentimes use their life savings to move their family to a safe and desirable area should continue to use whatever leverage they have to make the overbuilding stop.

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