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May 9, 2026

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China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Latest News

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a news conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) in Moscow, Russia, December 30, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina - RC2M5E9N6PCJ

Iran FM phones Abbas to discuss US peace deal

Given shaky relations between Iran and the Palestinian Authority, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's phone call to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came as a surprise.

Iranians gahter during the commemoration of the 41st anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC29YE9HSIHC

Iran marks revolution anniversary amid multiple challenges

The Islamic Republic marked the 41st anniversary of its founding as well as the 40th day after the US killing of its top general with state-organized rallies reflecting all-time-high anti-American sentiments.

A general view of Nahr Al-Umran gas refinery in Al-Dier District, northern Basra July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ CONFLICT ENERGY) - GM1E57H1M0K01

Intel: Iraq likely to continue importing Iranian natural gas under US waiver renewal

Iraqi officials have indicated that the United States is likely to renew a key Iran sanctions waiver that will allow Baghdad to continue importing Iranian natural gas to fuel its electricity needs.

A boy holding a placard with pictures of (L-R) President Hassan Rouhani, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, poses for camera in front of a model of Simorgh satellite-carrier rocket during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF10000304511

Iran vows to continue space program after satellite launch failure

Iranian officials have been adamant that the country’s space program will continue despite failures to launch satellites into orbit.

How Idlib escalation could affect Syrian Kurds

Syrian Kurds are pondering how to take advantage of Turkish-Russian tensions over Idlib, focusing on Turkish-controlled Afrin and not ruling out the prospect of fighting along with government forces if the conflict escalates.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

Rouhani faces winter of Iran's discontent

Iran’s hard-liners have already secured a takeover of the parliament in elections this month; Trump says any negotiations are totally up to Iran.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Vienna, Austria December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC2TND9X2QPB

Key nuclear watchdog reassures Washington it can still monitor Iran as deal unravels

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief is making the rounds in Washington this week to stress that his agency can still monitor Iran’s nuclear program as the nuclear deal unravels.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about his acquittal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC27VE985OCV

Europe worries as Trump seems to lose interest in new Iran deal

Europeans with embassies on the ground disagree with the belief by Donald Trump administration officials that the Iranian regime is on the brink of collapse, and that the administration can wait for Iran to surrender to a long US wish list.

Khamenei calls on Iranians to participate in parliamentary vote

Iran's supreme leader urged the people of Iran to vote in the upcoming parliamentary election out of duty to their nation as President Hassan Rouhani warned about the concentration of power in the country.

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 12: Actor Behrouz Vossoughi speaks onstage at the "Rhino Season" press conference during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 12, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage)

Iranian actors call on Rouhani to allow cinema legend to come home

Many of the Iranian actors who have supported President Hassan Rouhani are now calling in their favors by asking for veteran actor Behrouz Vossoughi's return to Iran after 40 years in the United States.

U.S. soldiers inspect the site where an Iranian missile hit at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison - RC23FE9R37HE

Intel: Space Force tracked Iranian missile strikes

Members of the Space Force helped track and detect the Iranian ballistic missiles that struck an Iraqi air base last month.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Guardian Council Chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati (top L) and Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah (R) listen to the opening speech during Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 8, 2011. Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lost his position on Tuesday as head of an important state clerical body after hardliners criticised him for bei

How Iranian hard-liners helped Reformists ahead of elections

Hard-liners are finding ways to ban Reformist candidates from elections, but this may play into the Reformists' hands.