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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 1:22 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

Pakistani soldiers wear facemasks on the closed border of Pakistan-Iran in Taftan, as fears over the spread of the coronavirus escalate following an outbreak in neighboring Iran, Pakistan, Feb. 25, 2020.

Iran, Pakistan work to strengthen ties as Afghan situation remains fluid

Iran and Pakistan are talking about the strengthening of their military relations, in the face of the Taliban takeover in neighboring Afghanistan and the region's geopolitical changes.

Taliban

Iran to host Afghanistan’s neighbors for Oct. 27 talks

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the foreign ministers from Russia, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will meet in Iran for talks on Afghanistan next week.

Iran economy

Poll: Iranians blame economic woes on corruption, not sanctions

A new poll shows Iranians have unfavorable views of the Biden administration, the Taliban and Saudi Arabia, but favorable views of Iran-backed militias in the region, as well as Russia and China.

VIRGINIA MAYO/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says no negotiations happening in Brussels

Iran says the current discussion with the European Union is not a negotiation on the nuclear deal.

Mora nuclear

EU says no plans for Iran nuclear meeting in Brussels

A spokesperson for the European Union pushed back on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's claim that Iranian officials would be meeting with EU counterparts on Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, accompanied by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, right, speaks at a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Oct. 13, 2021.

Intel: Israel sees bad faith in Iran’s delay to return to nuclear talks

Israeli officials see diminishing prospects for a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, even if Iran sends negotiators back to Vienna.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

EU sends diplomat to Tehran as uncertainty grows over Iran deal

The envoy's visit came at a "critical" time as the Iranian side continues to remain vague on the timing of the talks over the revival of the nuclear deal.

Blinken Lapid

US envoy headed to Gulf to discuss ‘options’ on Iran’s nuclear program

With the Vienna talks stalled, US officials are warning that they have other ways to rein in Iran's nuclear enrichment.

Iranians use internet at a cybercafe in the center of the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2013.

Iran’s president calls for tighter internet control

Iran’s president called for tighter control of the internet while “digitizing” the economy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken warns Iran 'time is running short' on nuclear deal return

In a joint press conference with his counterparts from Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Blinken said the United States is prepared to pursue “other options” if Tehran doesn’t resume compliance under the nuclear deal.

STEPHANIE LECOCQ/AFP via Getty Images

Azerbaijan, Iran agree to de-escalate through dialogue

Following weeks of heightened tensions between the two countries, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian agreed to settle their differences through dialogue.

Iran air

Iran kicks off air defense drills amid tensions with Israel, Azerbaijan

The exercise comes as Israeli officials are reportedly seeking assurances that the Biden administration is ready for joint operations should nuclear negotiations in Vienna fail.