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Iran

May 1, 2026

Tehran 12:08 am

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This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff intensifies, Trump must choose between military escalation, a limited diplomatic deal, or continuing a pressure campaign against Iran.

AFP via Getty Images

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

Latest News

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Rahim Rahimov

In Baku, reporting on Middle East-Caucasus ties

Mehrnaz Samimi

In Washington, DC, reporting on Iranian culture

Members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard show their skills in attacking a naval vessel.

Iran warns of more ship seizures in defiance of US Marines' Gulf deployment

Tehran ratcheted up its rhetoric against Washington in the wake of fresh American reinforcement in the Persian Gulf, prompted by the Iranian "harassment" of international commercial ships there.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

UK sanctions entities in Turkey, UAE, Iran for alleged role in Ukraine war

It is not the first time Britain has sanctioned companies from these countries for their alleged role in the 18-month-old conflict.

Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left.

Why is US sending 3,000 Navy, Marines force to Persian Gulf?

The Pentagon has not yet specified the Marines' role in deterring Iran from interfering with commercial shipping and threatening neighboring Arab states.

ISSEI KATO/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s foreign minister meets Japanese counterpart in rare Tokyo trip

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's visit to Japan comes amid mounting tensions in the region over Iran’s nuclear activities and attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf.

TOPSHOT - A member of a Ukrainian volunteer unit and a computer science student Valdemar, 19, poses in the unit's gun position used to counter threats during air-raid sirens, in a suburb of Kyiv on February 28, 2023. - Colonel "Smak" and his Ukrainian volunteer unit of 80 civilian volunteers take turns day and night keeping watch for incoming threats: Iranian-made "Shahed" explosive drones launched by the Russians. Since October, the unit - whose machine gun dates back to the 1920s - has shot down three suc

Analysis

Can Iran's Shahed drones in Ukraine help ease tension with Russia?

Tensions that emerged after Iran summoned the Russian ambassador over Moscow's comments on disputed islands with the UAE has once again highlighted the limits of trust in bilateral relations between the two.

Anton Mardasov

By Anton Mardasov

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran inks deal with Pakistan as pipeline project drags

The five-year partnership seeks to facilitate and double the current bilateral trade, which has been complicated by US sanctions on doing business with Tehran.

Navy Gulf

Analysis

Biden considers raising stakes for escalation with Iran in Gulf

Iraq’s quiet may be misleading; Israel-Hezbollah tensions increase; Russia depends more on Iran than the reverse; Raisi visits Africa.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Christopher Nodine/US Navy via Getty Images

Pentagon aims to use Marines to defend commercial tankers from Iran

Iran’s retaliation for US seizures of sanctioned oil shipments has drawn the military back into the Persian Gulf, but will the Biden administration authorize it to engage?

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan arrives at the Elysee Palace for a working lunch with France's President, in Paris, on July 18, 2022. - Emmanuel Macron welcomes the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, nicknamed MBZ, at the Elysee Palace on July 18, 2022, whose state visit "will confirm the strong ties" between France and the rich Gulf oil country, the Elysee Palace announced on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MA

Iran president Raisi invites UAE's MBZ to visit Tehran

The invite was extended on the same day that Iran conducted a naval drill on Abu Musa Island, which is disputed with the UAE.

United Arab Emirates

Iranian women walk in the street on a rainy day in the capital Tehran, on December 4, 2022. - Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.women (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

11 Baluchi men executed in Iran as morality police returns to streets

The executions are seen as a way to intimidate the public, while the morality police resumed its work to enforce Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (R) shake hands during his state visit to Uganda at the State House in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 12, 2023. (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA / AFP) (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

In turnaround, Iran eyes economic opportunity in African ties

Tehran is diversifying its international ties and learning to secure small benefits from relationships instead of looking for big benefits from world powers.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Mideast heat

Culture

From Egypt to Iran, heatwave compounds Middle East electricity problems, climate change burdens

Countries like Iraq are particularly susceptible to climate change, as recurring blackouts make it harder to stay cool indoors.