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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 11:54 pm

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed President Donald Trump for launching a unilateral operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz instead of pursuing a coordinated effort with Iran.

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

The United States launched an initiative to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday as the UAE braced for fallout amid new missile and drone attacks.

United Arab Emirates

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

Latest News

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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.

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.

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

European powers blast Iran's uranium metal production

France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn Iran's move as one that would undermine the nuclear agreement.

Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken removes his face mask to speak during a welcome ceremony at the State Department in Washington,DC on January 27, 2021. - (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel campaigns against the US rushing to negotiate with Iran

A report issued by the Israel Defense Forces about Iran two years away from a nuclear bomb was designed first and foremost to calm the American sense of urgency over negotiating with Tehran.

A police officer walks around during an inauguration ceremony of new equipment and infrastructure at Shahid Beheshti Port in the southeastern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, on February 25, 2019. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran, India discuss upgrade in strategic ties

New Delhi and Tehran are resetting strategic relations, "fast-tracking" transit trade opportunities and building on commonalities.

Iran holds military drill in southwest

Khuzestan province has a presence of Arab separatist groups and is strategically located near Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a press conference with Turkish President and Iranian President after their summit in Ankara, on September 16, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

In letter to Putin, Khamenei says Iran 'will not wait'

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a personal note about the nuclear deal and strengthening ties.

Pandemic forces Iran to cancel mass marches for revolution anniversary

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Iran’s state-organized marches marking the anniversary of its 1979 revolution had to be reduced to vehicle parades. Yet Iranian officials found their own ways to address tensions with the West.

Iran, Russia, China to conduct joint naval exercise in Indian Ocean

Russia continues to seek opportunities to expand its influence in the Middle East, the head of CENTCOM said Monday.

A picture taken on March 12, 2019 shows Iranian Minister of Intelligence Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi (C-R) attending a session of Iran's Assembly of Experts in the capital Tehran. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran could seek nuclear weapon if cornered, threatens intelligence minister

The rare statement from Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi comes as the US administration vows to lift sanctions only if Iran resumes full compliance with the nuclear deal.

TOPSHOT - Iranian health worker Sara Gudarzi receives the COVID-19 vaccine as the country launches its inoculation campain, at the Imam Khomeini hospital in the capital Tehran, on February, 9, 2021. - The inoculation effort for 80-million-plus population is starting with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, authorities have said, as the novel coronavirus has infected 1.4 million people in Iran and killed more than 58,500, according to the health ministry. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Ge

Iran begins vaccination rollout

Iran has started vaccinating medical workers with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, but officials say general coverage could take over a year.

Iran’s foreign minister discusses ending war in Yemen with UN envoy

Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Martin Griffiths in Tehran on Monday as the US renews a push to end Yemen's war

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 24, 2020, shows him wearing a protective face mask as he gives a speech in the capital Tehran during a meeting of the national staff to discuss the issue of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by - / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / XGTY / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === (Photo by

Iran, US spar over nuclear deal return

Iran and the United States are clashing over which country will return to its commitments under the nuclear deal first.

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts after a German-French Security Council video conference with German Chancellor, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 5, 2021. (Photo by Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP) (Photo by THIBAULT CAMUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

France, not US, offers to involve Israel in talks with Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not react publicly to the statement by French President Emmanuel Macron over the need to involve Israel and Saudi Arabia in talks with Iran.