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May 1, 2026

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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

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan arrives at Damascus airport, on April 18, 2023. - Bin Farhan's is the first visit to Syria's capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi FM to visit Iran in first after China deal, Iranian press reports

The visit will be the first in years during which Saudi Arabia and Iran were locked in a bitter conflict that has been felt across the region.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi.

Interview

Oman FM says US, Iran 'close' on prisoner deal

Oman's foreign minister told Al-Monitor that the two sides are ironing out the details on a deal to release the prisoners.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi

Foreign Minister of Oman

Steel workers walk at the Iran National Steel Industrial Group facility in Ahvaz in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province on December 22, 2020. (Photo by Reza SOLEYMANI ROUZBEHANI / ISNA / AFP) (Photo by REZA SOLEYMANI ROUZBEHANI/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Iran’s mining sector become key contributor to economic diversification?

Decades-long neglect and mismanagement have produced a deficient mining industry in need of a major overhaul.

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) receives a commemorative decoration from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after a joint press statement at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on June 12, 2023.

Iran's Raisi hails 'new world order' in meeting with Maduro in Venezuela

Iran and Venezuela talked business as their economies continue to be battered by sanctions from abroad and skyrocketing inflation at home.

Israel-Iran cyber warfare has intensified in the last few years. Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel-Iran cyber warfare heats up, exploiting Israeli internal divide

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has used a false news campaign generated by a foreign state — probably Iran — to lambast anti-government protesters.

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

Presidents Nicolas Maduro and Ebrahim Raisi during their meeting in Tehran. June 11, 2022

Iran's president travels to Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela in anti-US blitz

The visit will take the Iranian president to three leftist countries with which Tehran shares both American sanctions and a vigorous anti-American agenda.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi watches combat drones alongside high-ranking officials and commanders during a military parade marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 18, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

UK MPs alarmed by report on British colleges helping Iran develop drones

British lawmakers demand that the government provide answers about whether international sanctions were breached.

Photo of Fattah hypersonic missile as it was unveiled on Iran's Press TV on June 6, 2023

Iran unveils first hypersonic missile 'Fattah,' says no system can intercept it

Boastfully adding to its already massive stockpile of long-range projectiles, Tehran appeared headed for a fresh collision course with Israel and its Western adversaries, which remain unnerved by Iran's missile program.

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.

Abandoned boats in Sikh Sar village at Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town, in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on Feb. 2, 2015.

Iran-Afghan water tensions surge amid drought, complicating Taliban ties

Even though Tehran stopped short of recognizing the Taliban government in Kabul, it has been one of the few countries that maintained diplomatic relations and retained its embassy in the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran on March 4, 2023.

IAEA chief rebuffs Israeli criticism, says Iran meets 'fraction' of commitments

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi noted that Iran made positive steps in enabling the inspection of its nuclear sites but is still a long way from fulfilling the March 4 agreement commitments.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran set to reopen embassy in Saudi Arabia after 7 years of closure

The move is the latest sign of rapprochement between the two countries since reaching a China-brokered deal to resume ties.