Iran-US tensions

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 23: A police officer stands holding a flag in Valiasr Square beneath a mural of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 23, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an extension of the current ceasefire between his country and Iran, despite Iran declining to attend the latest proposed round of peace talks in Islamabad. The focus of the war has shifted largely to the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides are trying to assert control over the critical m

Analysis

Araghchi’s Russia, regional tour tests path to breaking US-Iran deadlock

Iranian officials say dialogue remains open, but negotiations are clouded by intensifying hard-line domestic messaging and conflicting signals over Tehran’s red lines.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

Some Israelis worry the US president might force them to accept an unsatisfactory agreement driven by his inability to secure a tangible achievement in Iran.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel Ambassador to US Yechiel Leiter, US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at the White House in Washington on April 23, 2026.

Trump says Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks

President Trump said the second meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese envoys went "very well."

Latest News

Which airlines are cutting flights amid Hormuz fuel disruption?

Refueling trucks are seen at Southend Airport on April 17, 2026, in Southend, England.

Analysis

China gets around Iran blockade as Gulf courts Beijing

US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, 2026, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessel. (Handout Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Joyce Karam

Kuwait acquits journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin after 7 weeks in detention

Ahmed Shihab‑Eldin attends the Opening Night during the Doha Film Festival 2025 on Nov. 20, 2025 in Doha, Qatar.

Split over Maliki, Iraq’s Shiite bloc delays PM vote as deadline nears: What to know

Qais al-Khazali (L), head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, stands along with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after casting their ballots at a polling station in Baghdad on Nov. 11, 2025.

U.S. Army soldiers from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, man a defensive position at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Desmond Cassell/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E96MAPN

Pentagon steers away from brain trauma diagnoses after Iranian strike

Donald Trump downplayed the injuries of US troops stemming from an Iranian missile strike.

A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC156ACB6840

Intel: Iraq bank set to halt Iran gas transfers as US sanctions waiver expires

The Trade Bank of Iraq is expected to stop processing payments to Iran if US sanction exemptions expire next month.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Iraq's President Barham Salih during the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2020. The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC20LE9BTG35

Iraq president calls for restraint after meeting Trump in Davos

Stressing the need for reforms to address youth unemployment and security, Iraqi President Barham Salih said "this is not time for another conflict" after meeting with his US counterpart in Davos.

‘Pro bono’ lobbyists bet on regime change payday

Unpaid lobbying contracts can lead to lucrative connections by helping the right people get into power.

A man holds a picture of late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, as people celebrate in the street after Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2JBE917CLC

Donald Trump, the 'divine gift' to Iranian hard-liners

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who had advocated diplomacy with the West, has lost public support after the United States' assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, giving hard-liners an opening they can easily exploit.

General view of the debris of the Ukraine International Airlines, flight PS752, Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020 is seen in this screen grab obtained from a social media video via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. - RC26DE9NFQEP

Iran in tug of war over downed plane's flight recorders

The international probe into a Ukrainian plane downed by Iran is facing bumps as Tehran is refusing to transfer abroad the recovered black boxes, while admitting it doesn't know how to decipher the data.

Iraqi Christians pray during a mass on Christmas Day at St. George Chaldean Church in Baghdad, Iraq December 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RC292E9455EU

Iraqi minorities concerned about possible US troop withdrawal

Iraqi minorities are afraid that rising tensions between Iran and the United States might end the US troop presence in the country.

Iraq’s sidelined Sunnis weigh options amid US-Iran conflict

Iraq’s Sunni politicians, who are facing great challenges in managing areas still recovering from the damage caused by the Islamic State, worry that Iran-US tensions will have an added negative effect.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9R37HE

Pentagon receives late notice of US injuries in Iranian strike

Eleven US troops have received treatment for possible traumatic brain injuries stemming from an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Iraq.

Khamenei delivers Friday sermon after 8-year absence

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered the Friday sermon for the first time in eight years to address the important events in Iran over the last two weeks.

President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani sits in a shaft of window light as he greets U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC23HD91WQR6

Interview

Iraqi Kurdistan president: 'We are not scared of Iran, but we respect Iran'

Assessing the aftermath of Qasem Soleimani's death, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, calls for a reasoned, negotiated approach to Iraq's problems and for the Kurdish issue in the region.

Nechirvan Barzani

Nechirvan Barzani

President of the Kurdistan Regional Government

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departs following a briefing on developments with Iran after attacks by Iran on U.S. forces in Iraq, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago - RC2YBE938KJI

Intel: Why the Trump administration keeps dodging Iran briefings on Capitol Hill