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May 12, 2026

Tehran 1:44 pm

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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

A general view of the Arak heavy-water project, 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Tehran January 15, 2011. A group of ambassadors to the U.N. atomic watchdog toured an Iranian nuclear site on Saturday, state television reported, and Tehran accused the European Union of missing an historic opportunity by boycotting the visit. REUTERS/ISNA/Hamid Forootan (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY SCI TECH BUSINESS) - GM1E71G09FT01

Forget oil sanctions, end of nuclear cooperation waivers could quietly kill Iran deal

While the United States' stepping up of oil sanctions has gotten more attention lately, a greater threat to the nuclear deal involves the waivers allowing cooperation with Iran on nonproliferation.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the death anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RC16ADBF0A50

Iran leadership shrugs off US oil sanctions, pledges response

Iran's supreme leader says the US plan to cap the flow of his country's oil will lead nowhere, pledging a "response to the US hostility."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the US Department of State in Washington, DC on April 22, 2019. - The United States announced on Monday it will no longer grant sanctions exemptions to Iran's oil customers, potentially punishing allies such as India as it tries to squeeze Tehran's top export. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu gambles on Trump against Iran

Israel supports the American intention of increasing sanctions against Iran, though pushing Iran against the wall could fire up the Hezbollah front against Israel in Syria.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 4, 2008: A young girl and her mother in colourful veils look at books in a hall, at the 21st Tehran International Book Fair on the city's congregational prayer site on May 4, 2008 in Tehran, Iran. The annual event showcases 200,000 titles from 1700 domestic and 840 international publishers from 75 countries. The books will be presented under categories for General, Academic, Educational and Children's books. (Photo by Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Tehran’s biggest annual cultural event held amid ‘paper crisis’

The biggest annual cultural event in the Iranian capital kicks off amid a paper crisis and a controversy over rentierism tarnishing the publishing industry.

In this picture taken on April 21, 2019, Pakistani border security officials (R) and Iranian border security officials (L) shake hand each others at Zero Point in the Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan. - Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border "reaction force" following a number of deadly attacks by militant groups on their frontier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced April 22 after talks with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo credit sh

Iranian media hail Tehran-Islamabad joint 'rapid reaction force'

During a visit by Pakistan's prime minister to Iran, the two countries moved closer toward forming a joint rapid reaction force to combat border insecurity, a plan welcomed by Iranian media as a key achievement in bilateral ties.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the US Department of State in Washington, DC on April 22, 2019. - The United States announced on Monday it will no longer grant sanctions exemptions to Iran's oil customers, potentially punishing allies such as India as it tries to squeeze Tehran's top export. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images)

US cuts Iran oil waivers in move to force Tehran out of nuclear deal

Washington is letting sanctions waivers for countries that import Iranian oil expire as it tries to make Iran quit the 2015 nuclear deal before a UN arms embargo is lifted next year as part of the agreement.

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

Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, speaks during Tehran's Friday prayers July 16, 2010. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS RELIGION) - GM1E67G1K6U01

IRGC commander leaves sooner than expected

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promoted Hossein Salami to serve as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A man looks at exchange rates seen through the window of a currency exchange shop in Tehran's business district, Iran, January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF20000097685

How incompetence, sanctions jointly hit Iran’s economy

Facing stagflation, the Iranian authorities must shift course and de-politicize economic decisions such as foreign exchange policy and management of the country's money supply.

Iraq's Qaim border open to nonlocal PMU fighting in Syria

Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Units fighting in Syria cross the western Iraqi border with ease.

Iranian boxer Sadaf Khadem in action against French boxer Anne Chauvin during an official boxing bout in Royan, France, April 13, 2019. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC131CD9CE10

Did female Iranian boxer fight for championship or asylum in France?

Boxer Sadaf Khadem made history as the first Iranian woman to win an international match, but her choice to compete without hijab may prevent her from going back home.

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sit in the bucket of an excavator in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria March 20, 2019. Picture taken March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC115D5A9480

Syrian Kurds fear US sellout to Turkey on ‘safe zone’

Zarif meets Assad and Erdogan; is Erdogan banking on Trump to avoid S-400 sanctions?

Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) of Turkey and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend the international meeting on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan March 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - UP1EE3G0MWO1V

Iran moves to facilitate Turkey-Syria understanding ahead of Astana summit

The Iranian foreign minister’s recent trips to Damascus and Ankara suggest that Tehran is stepping up its efforts to facilitate and accelerate the political process to end the Syrian crisis.