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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 12:39 am

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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

Iranian rials are displayed in Tehran on July 31, 2019.

Iran’s plan to get rid of the subsidized exchange rate

Iran's subsidized exchange rate has failed to prevent the downfall of the rial — and a move to do away with it could actually help the economy.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

US unveils sanctions targeting Iran's drone program

The Treasury Department issued fresh sanctions on Friday targeting individuals and companies the United States says are supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ drone program.

Iran gas

Iran president says cyberattack not the first, won’t be last

Iranian officials said that no personal data was compromised in the latest cyberattack.

Iran prison

Iran lashes out at UN's latest report on human rights violations

The Islamic Republic questioned the credibility of the rapporteur’s latest account, saying it was founded on claims by "terrorist groups."

Iran plant

Iran responds to reports of Israel's $1.5 billion 'strike fund'

News about an Israeli fund designated for attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities has irked Iranian officials.

Iran talks

US envoy: 'Other tools' available if Iran nuclear diplomacy fails

Robert Malley said the US and its allies feel a "shared impatience" with Iran's delay in returning to the bargaining table.

Peyman Jebelli, chief of the world service for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

Iran's state broadcaster veers further right under IRGC control

Iran's already conservative, state-funded broadcaster appears ready to pursue an even more ideological approach under its new IRGC-linked director.

Mask-clad Iranians gather in a mosque in the capital, Tehran, to perform Friday prayers.

Friday prayers resume in Tehran amid fears of new virus surge

Services were held some 20 months after coronavirus concerns forced Iranian Health Ministry officials to bar Muslim worshippers from attending Friday prayers.

Iran internet

Iranian public fears government plan to restrict cyberspace

Critics say the plan harms free access to the Internet and social networking media, which small business owners rely heavily on.

An Azerbaijani national flag flies next to the medieval Khudaferin bridge in Jebrayil district at the country's border with Iran, on Dec. 9, 2020.

Iran tests drones amid simmering tensions with Azerbaijan

The exercise was held at a time of intensifying hostile rhetoric between Tehran and Baku, as Russia continues its cautious position in between.

Iran vaccine

Despite vaccination push, Iran nearing sixth wave of COVID

Despite rising vaccination rates, Iran sees a sixth wave of coronavirus on the horizon.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami.

Iran commander rejoices at US ‘defeats’

The IRGC commander was enumerating US failures in the region only hours after reports that Israel was allocating a special budget for a military strike on Iran.