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July 9, 2026

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Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.

(Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

US strikes strategic railway bridge linking Iran to China: What to know

The railway bridge also links Tehran and other southern cities to Mashhad, where large crowds are gathering for the burial ceremony on Thursday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

While President Donald Trump has declared the US-Iran memorandum over, Tehran's response suggests it is recalibrating — not abandoning — its strategy as military pressure increasingly eclipses diplomacy.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

US airstrikes hit Iran after tankers attacked in Hormuz

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to take off from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

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

An Iranian woman wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sits in a bus in the capital Tehran, on Dec. 30, 2020.

Bitter blame game in Iran amid coronavirus ‘explosion’

Iranian authorities are pointing the finger of blame at one another over the chaotic management of the recent skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rates.

limpet mine

Iranian ship, believed to be spy vessel, damaged by mine off Yemen

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said its ship suffered minor damage from a limpet mine attack, which The New York Times reports was carried out by Israel, off Yemen.

In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union (L) and Iran (R) attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 06, 2021 in Vienna, Austria.

Iranian source rejects removal of sanctions in segments

This week's talks in Vienna have brought officials closer to resolving the nuclear deal crisis, though Iran still insists on full sanctions removal.

Matt Gaetz

Man admits asking Gaetz's father for $25M to find FBI agent in Iran, denies extortion

Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent believed to have died in Iranian custody, is now wrapped up in Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz's legal drama.

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.