Sanctions

currency exchange in Tehran

Iran currency dips to new low of 1.2M per dollar as sanctions bite: What to know

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, the rial has plummeted.

Supporters of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood take part in a protest in the village of Sweimeh, near the Jordanian border with the occupied West Bank, on May 21, 2021.

Analysis

Trump’s Muslim Brotherhood move rekindles US debate over Islamist movement

The executive order targeting Muslim Brotherhood chapters comes after President Trump weighed designating the entire movement in his first term.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Syria signs deals with ConocoPhillips, Novaterra Energy: What to know

Syria signed a memorandum of understanding with US energy companies ConocoPhillips and Novaterra Energy to develop and explore gas fields as Damascus works to revive the country’s battered natural gas sector.

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with US President Donald Trump at White House in Washington on Nov. 10, 2025.

Trump buys time with Syria sanctions waiver as Congress wrestles over repeal

Before his Oval Office visit, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with a key lawmaker whose support is needed to repeal the Caesar Act.

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Analysis

Sharaa in Washington: Can US charm offensive boost Syria’s reconstruction?

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JULY 16: Members of Syria's civil defense work amid the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Syria's defence ministry headquarters on July 16, 2025 in Damascus, Syria. A spokesperson from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Wednesday that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the headquarters of Syria's defence ministry and a site near the presidential palace in Damascus. The strikes come amid an escalation in conflict between Syrian government forces and Druze militia in the southern Sy

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

UN Security Council votes to lift sanctions on Syria's Sharaa

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (off frame) during the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on Sept. 24, 2025.

Iran doubles down on Venezuela support as Trump ups threats: What to know

A woman waves an Iranian flag during a rally against Israel's attacks on Iran, in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to call for world peace in Caracas, on June 19, 2025.

Feature

Families of Americans missing in Syria urge Caesar sanctions relief

A Syrian man inspects the prison of Saydnaya, north of Damascus on Dec. 16, 2024.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

MBS holds call with Putin, talks oil prices as Blinken visits Saudi Arabia

The IMF projected that Saudi Arabia’s economic growth will slow to 2.1% in 2023 from its 3.1% forecast in May, after the kingdom cut more oil production on Sunday.

Iranian soldiers stand next to an Iranian Kheibar missile (R) and a Shahab-3 missile (L) during a rally marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) day, in street at the capital Tehran, on April 29, 2022. - An initiative started by the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Quds Day is held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

US sanctions target Iran's ballistic missile ties with China

The latest barrage of US economic sanctions came just hours after Iran unveiled what it claimed to be its first hypersonic missile.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, June 5, 2023.

Analysis

Venezuela's Maduro visit to Saudi Arabia is another signal to US

Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Relations Yvan Gil said Monday that cooperation projects in oil and gas, petrochemicals and infrastructure were addressed in Jeddah.

By Salim A. Essaid

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

US sanctions Iranian firm over internet censorship

The Treasury Department says that the technology company Arvan Cloud has a close and collaborative relationship with Iran's intelligence services.

Men hang the national flag next to posters of President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate for the Presidential election, in the Syrian capital Damascus on May 17, 2021.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 30, 2023, 2:42 pm

US unveils Caesar sanctions on Syrian money service businesses

The sanctions targeting a pair of money service businesses are the administration’s second use of the bipartisan Caesar Act.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets with Oman’s Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, and his accompanying delegation on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Iran’s Khamenei hails thaw with Egypt, Saudi Arabia during Omani sultan visit

The potential rapprochement falls within Tehran's hard-liners' recent push on the reset button in Iran's ties with Arab rivals to reposition itself in the regional power play, avert economic collapse and fight off international isolation.

Raisi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Iran-Pakistan cooperation complicated by sanctions, porous border

Newly inaugurated power line and border marketplace mark progress, but sanctions hinder completion of long-delayed pipeline.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022. - Iran's president will host his Russian and Turkish counterparts for talks on the Syrian war in a three-way summit overshadowed by fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, Russia ink $1.6 billion rail deal to rival Suez Canal

Iran and Russia agreed to build a railway between two Iranian cities as they continue to develop their trade relations despite US sanctions.

The flags of Iran (R) and of the UAE (L).

UAE official discusses cooperation with Iran’s roads minister

The UAE and Iran continue to maintain cordial economic and political ties, despite US pressure.

United Arab Emirates

A man walks past a poster of President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate for the Presidential election, in the Syrian capital Damascus on May 17, 2021. - A Syrian former minister and a member of the Damascus-tolerated opposition will face Bashar al-Assad in this month's presidential election, the constitutional court said. The Assad-appointed body approved only three out of 51 applications to stand in the May 26 ballot, among them the 55-year-old president himself, widely expected to win a fourth mandate. (Photo

US lawmakers unveil bill targeting normalization of Syria’s Assad

The legislation would expand the list of sanctionable targets under the Caesar Act and require an interagency report on the administration's counter-normalization strategy.

People flee the southern part of Khartoum as street battles between the army and paramilitaries continue, on April 27, 2023.

Biden issues new Sudan executive order authorizing sanctions

President Joe Biden paved the way for sanctions on members of Sudan’s warring factions but stopped short of imposing them.

Iranian employees of Saipa auto plant assemble a Tiba (Gazelle) car in the central city of Kashan on May 9, 2010. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the largest automobile factory in the Middle East with a capacity of producing 150,000 cars a year, creating 4,000 jobs directly and 20,000 indirectly in the region. The Saipa factory will produce a new small car called Tiba costing between 80 and 90 million Rials (8,000 to 9,000 USD) for lower-middle class population. AFP PHOTO/ISNA/ALIREZA SOTA

Iran's SAIPA signs $497 million car deal with Russia, Belarus

Iranian carmaker SAIPA will export vehicles to Belarus and Russia following a similar agreement with Venezuela.