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A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 4:31 pm

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Latest News

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

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

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.

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

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

Getty

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

Still image taken from a U.S. military handout video purports to show Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) removing an unexploded limpet mine from the side of the Kokuka Courageous Tanker, June 13, 2019. Courtesy U.S. Military/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1520E6C0B0

Furious Iranian officials claim sabotage in tanker incident

After the United States accused Iran of being behind the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran accused Washington of "sabotage diplomacy."

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

A money changer holds Iranian rial banknotes as he waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - GM1E8171GCD01

Iran’s central bank tightens grip on national payment system

Iran’s central bank is increasingly closing loopholes in the country’s payment system that allowed for destabilization of the monetary and foreign currency markets.

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) demonstrate their skills during a rehabilitation military exercise at a graduation ceremony in Basra, Iraq January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC1DDE9A9E60

Iran-backed militias struggle to resist US pressure

Feeling the burden of US sanctions on Iran, the Popular Mobilization Units are flexing their muscles in Iraq, trying to strengthen their position.

Members of various Palestinian armed factions take part in a news conference, in Gaza City September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1A5369ABA0

Iran determined to arm West Bank Palestinian factions

Iran has been very busy on the world stage recently, but it is reiterating its intention to provide weapons to Palestinian factions in the West Bank to help them carry out operations against Israel.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem January 6, 2019. Oded Balilty/Pool via REUTERS *** Local Caption *** - RC1DF8CE4950

US, Israeli, Russian security chiefs to meet in Jerusalem

The upcoming meeting of Israeli, American and Russian national security leaders in Jerusalem is a major diplomatic achievement for the Israelis, particularly their prime minister.

An Iranian navy boat tries to stop the fire of an oil tanker after it was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, June 13, 2019. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1D5E81AD00

US blames Iran for Gulf tanker attack

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo points finger at Iran in Thursday's attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) gives a joint press conference with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Saadabad Palace in the capital Tehran on June 12, 2019. - Japan's visiting Prime Minster Shinzo Abe called on Iran to play a "constructive role" for peace in the Middle East on Wednesday after meeting in Tehran with President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

Khamenei to Abe: Iran will not negotiate 'under pressure'

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the United States violated the original 2015 nuclear deal and cannot be trusted for talks on another accord.

Saudi soldiers stand in line at an airfield where Saudi military cargo planes land to deliver aid in Marib, Yemen January 26, 2018. Picture taken January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC1D0C8D9D00

Congress opens several new fronts in bid to block Gulf arms sales

The House joined Senate efforts to stop the Donald Trump administration from selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

An employee works with her laptop at Takhfifan company in Tehran, Iran January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF20000100032

How Iran’s startup sector can realize its potential

Iran’s startup scene is rapidly growing and holds great potential, but shortcomings remain and a failure to address them will undermine the sector.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and officials in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2019. Hamed Malekpour /Tasnim News Agency/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC17D940E9C0

Iranians expect little from Japan’s mediation efforts

Japan's prime minister is in Tehran for what is widely seen as an attempt to calm escalating US-Iran tensions, but few people there expect miracles.

Freed Lebanese businessman Nizar Zakka, who had been detained in Iran since 2015, gestures as he arrives at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC115C2D85E0

Iran frees 'American-Lebanese spy'

Tehran has freed Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national and American resident, who was serving a 10-year jail term in Iran for espionage, but there is no clear indication of a wider prisoner swap deal with the US government.

Ex-Tehran mayor's murder case stirs infighting among Reformists

Confession to murder by Tehran's ex-mayor was perhaps the last thing Iran's already troubled Reform Movement needed ahead of key parliamentary polls next year.