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May 13, 2026

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Kuwait unveils Iran IRGC infiltration plot, arrests 4: What to know

According to Kuwaiti authorities, four suspects arrested earlier this month after attempting to enter the country illegally via the sea confessed to belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and planning attacks against Kuwait.

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.

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.

Latest News

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

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)

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

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

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

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

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ekaterina Zaharieva, Bulgaria's deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs pose for family photo at the Middle East conference at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RC15EF32E9B0

Veteran peace hands see growing Israeli-Arab alignment in Warsaw

While the Palestinians boycotted the meeting in Poland, a number of Arab delegates showed an interest in engaging with US plans for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan walk during their meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 14 February 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1506773F00

Turkey fails to win green light for safe zone at Syria summit

Iran and Russia’s leaders tell President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he must acquire consent from Damascus to launch an offensive in northeast Syria against Kurdish forces.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 14 February 2019. Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B409F5F40

Russia, Turkey, Iran discuss Syria amid simmering disagreements

Putin, Erodgan and Rouhani meet to discuss Syria's future for the first time since Trump announced the United States would withdraw troops from Syria.

Persepolis' female fans cheer for their team during the second leg of the AFC Champions League final football match between Iran's Persepolis and Japan's Kashima Antlers on November 10, 2018, at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Stadium gates gradually open for Iranian women

Years of campaigning is bearing fruit and victory seems just around the corner for civil and women's rights activists in Iran, who have gone the extra mile in convincing the state to open soccer stadiums to Iranian women.

Relatives of a member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, who was killed by a suicide car bomb, mourn at Isfahan airport, Iran February 14, 2019. Morteza Salehi/Tasnim News Agency/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC174550BE30

Iran says foreign spy agencies behind terrorist attack in southeast

Iranian officials have blamed foreign countries for supporting terrorists that killed 27 border guards belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk during the family photo at the Middle East conference at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RC18F180B8B0

Trump allies hijack Warsaw summit with calls for Iran war, regime change

Giuliani's meeting with Iranian opposition group and Israeli prime minister's tweet about war with Iran gets conference on promoting peace in the Middle East off to problematic start.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at Lazienki Palace in Warsaw, Poland February 12, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel - RC1C3AD88330

Iran says Warsaw meeting will only escalate Mideast crises

Iranian officials and media outlets are still busy panning US efforts to advance an anti-Tehran agenda at a two-day conference in the Polish capital, saying the event will only fan the flames of chaos in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1C1651BBA0

Why did Netanyahu confirm Israeli attack in Syria?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel attacked Iranian targets in Syria on Feb. 11, reflecting the intensified battle by the Israel Defense Forces against Iranian entrenchment there.

Newt Gingrich, former US Speaker of the House attends "Free Iran 2018 - the Alternative" event organized by exiled Iranian opposition group on June 30, 2018 in Villepinte, north of Paris. (Photo by Zakaria ABDELKAFI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI/AFP/Getty Images)

Gingrich considered registering as a lobbyist for Iran regime change

The former House speaker sought advice late last year on whether to register as a foreign agent for the Iranian opposition.

TOPSHOT - An Iranian woman raises her fist amid the smoke of tear gas at the University of Tehran during a protest driven by anger over economic problems, in the capital Tehran on December 30, 2017.
Students protested in a third day of demonstrations sparked by anger over Iran's economic problems, videos on social media showed, but were outnumbered by counter-demonstrators. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian photographer reclaims iconic image used in controversial Trump tweet

Iranians react against harsh messages by officials in the United States on the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

People walk past a campaign poster of Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and the head of a new political party, Israel Resilience, in Jerusalem, January 29, 2019 REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC16AFABDBD0

Ahead of elections, Israel fears foreign cyber meddling

Israeli experts warn against foreign manipulation on social networks ahead of the elections, but also against lack of regulation in the war against cyber-attacks.

Helicopters fly from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during a resupply mission with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in this U.S. Navy handout picture taken in the Gulf of Oman April 13, 2015 and released April 20, 2015. The U.S. Navy sent the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort cruiser, USS Normandy, from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea on Sunday. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, denied reports the ships were on a mission to intercept Iranian arms

Navy's reversal on 355-ship goal raises doubts on countering Iran

The US Navy will re-evaluate plans to grow its force to 355 ships, a move that could upset the Fifth Fleet’s Middle East strategy.