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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 5:49 pm

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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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Sidewinders of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 86 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)on June 28, 2016 in the Mediterranean Sea.

US aircraft carrier returns to Middle East as Suez Canal opens

The USS Eisenhower arrives in the Gulf region as the Biden administration kicks off indirect talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Alarm in Iran as pandemic numbers shoot back up

Iranian officials are talking about a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic with infections more than doubling since last week and hospitals in Tehran near capacity.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh gestures during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 22, 2021. Iran hailed as a "significant achievement" a temporary agreement Tehran reached with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog on site inspections. That deal effectively bought time as the United States, European powers and Tehran try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement that has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it.

Iran talks tough ahead of indirect nuclear negotiations with US

Iranian and US officials will not meet directly in Vienna tomorrow amid the first negotiations aimed at a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, officials have said.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on July 7, 2019, shows (L to R) Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to each other during a joint press conference at the presidential headquarters in the capital, Tehran, on July 7, 2019. Iran will begin enriching uranium beyond a 3.67% cap set by a landmark nuclear deal "in a few hours," the Islamic Republic's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on July 7, 2019.

Iran: no direct or indirect talks with US officials in Vienna

Heading into talks in Vienna on the JCPOA, Tehran maintains its position that Washington must remove sanctions first.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (C) arrives to address parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 3, 2019. In the address, he ruled out holding any bilateral talks with the United States, saying the Islamic Republic is opposed to such negotiations in principle. He also said Iran was ready to further reduce its commitments to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal "in the coming days" if current negotiations yield no results by Sept. 5.

Will Iran’s supreme leader allow Rouhani’s last wish to come true?

As Washington and Tehran make small progress on resolving their dispute over the 2015 nuclear deal, it remains unclear whether Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will support President Hassan Rouhani's efforts to negotiate.

2018 Istanbul protest against Saudi actions in Yemen

Could Turkish involvement in Yemen free Saudi Arabia?

The Muslim Brotherhood and sources close to the Turkish government are arguing that Saudi Arabia could find a face-saving exit from the Yemen conflict it has been looking for by cooperating with Turkey.

Antony Blinken and Borrell

US views EU-led Iran nuclear talks as a 'positive step'

Representatives from China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain will meet virtually with Iran on Friday to discuss the possible return of the United States to the nuclear accord.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (C), sign an agreement in the capital Tehran, on March 27, 2021.

Zarif throws full weight behind contentious Iran-China deal

Iran’s foreign minister went to lengths to reject criticism and justify a long-term deal with China, which many Iranians fear is a package of concessions.

Rouhani with Khamenei portrait behind

Iran's Rouhani: 'We have to pursue negotiations daily'

Rouhani makes a public plea that Iran has waited two months and should hold talks on reentry into the nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, are pictured during the signing of an agreement in the capital, Tehran, on March 27, 2021. Iran and China signed what state television called a "25-year strategic cooperation pact," as the US rivals move closer together.

Can China balance ties with Iran and the GCC?

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi must take care not to "underestimate the differences" between Iran and the GCC countries.

Iran' Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi (R), in Tehran on Feb. 21, 2021. Iran said it had held "fruitful discussions" with the UN nuclear watchdog chief, ahead of a deadline when it is set to restrict the agency's inspections unless the United States lifts painful sanctions. Grossi's visit comes amid stepped-up efforts between US President Joe Biden's administration, European powers and Iran to salvage th

Iran shuns reported US offer on nuclear deal

A US proposal reportedly demanding Iran halt its current nuclear enrichment in exchange for sanctions removal was turned down by the Iranian side.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, pose for a picture after signing an agreement in the capital, Tehran, on March 27, 2021. Iran and China signed what state television called a "25-year strategic cooperation pact" today as the US rivals move closer together. The agreement, which has been kept almost entirely under wraps, was signed by the two countries' foreign ministers, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Wang Yi, an AFP correspondent reported.

Iran, China sign long-term economic deal

The deal between Iran and China is more of a “road map” than a specific deal.