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July 18, 2026

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Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement brandish their weapons as they rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon in Sanaa on April 10, 2026.

Yemen's Houthis raise Red Sea stakes for Trump

With President Donald Trump ratcheting up his threats, will Iran play its Houthi card?

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City, June 19, 2024.

Iran strike damages Kuwait power, desalination plant: What to know

Kuwait, the world’s most water-stressed country, urged residents to reduce electricity and water use following the attack.

Latest News

Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Interview

Why Strait of Hormuz no longer rattles oil markets as much: IMF

A ship sails off the coast of Ajman on July 10, 2026.

Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour

Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund

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

Egyptian armed forces Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid Hegazy (R) looks on as Joseph Leonard Votel, Commander of United States Central Command, speaks during a meeting with the Gulf cooperation council's armed forces chiefs of staff in Kuwait City on September 12, 2018. - Gulf Arab army chiefs, including Qatar's military commander, are meeting with US Central Command officials for talks on defence cooperation. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images)

Is this the start of Arab NATO plan?

The Arab Nato plan promoted by US President Donald Trump to counter Iranian influence is being recurrently heard among the political quarters of the countries participating in the Arab Shield 1 drills in Egypt.

People carry coffins during a funeral of the victims of assault that killed 25 people, in the streets of the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, Iran September 24, 2018. Tasnim News Agency/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC18F3BB4390

Iran denies execution of 22 for Ahvaz attack

Iranian officials have denied that those behind the attack on the Sept. 22 military parade in Ahvaz have been executed.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk at the Vahdettin Mansion, during a summit on Syria, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. Kayhan Ozer/Pool via REUTERS - RC1258FD9310

Why Iran did not attend the Europe-Russia-Turkey summit on Syria

While some have questioned Iran’s absence at the recent four-way summit on Syria between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Turkey, the reality is that Iran likely saw only negative outcomes stemming from its participation in the meeting at this time.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands at a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC16134E6CB0

Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria

Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammon, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (L to R) pose for a grou

Iranians and the nuclear deal

President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal is not merely undermining his moderate Iranian counterpart but also the longer-term prospect of US engagement with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a bilateral meeting during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1720F3A620

Israel pins hopes on American sanctions against Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pin their hopes on the American sanctions against Iran to destabilize the Tehran regime and force it to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

Saudi Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer Al-Sabhan (L) speaks with Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev during a Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC19F177B570

Russia braces for new diplomatic push on Syria

Russia's frenzy of diplomatic and military activity around Syria in recent days suggests Moscow is pushing its own initiatives before a new UN envoy on Syria takes the reins and before Democrats take control of the House in the United States.

An Iranian man works at a drugstore at the Nikan hospital in Tehran on September 11, 2018. - Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously ruled Washington should remove barriers to "the free exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities" as well as airplane parts. Iran produces 96 percent of the drugs it uses, according to the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries, but imports more than half the raw materials to make them. (Photo by

US sanctions hit Iranian patients once again

The US reimposition of sanctions is once again disrupting ordinary Iranians’ access to vital medicines and medical equipment.

Hamas, Palestinian factions back Iran against US sanctions

Hamas and other Palestinian groups have reaffirmed their solidarity with Iran since the United States reimposed more sanctions on Tehran.

Israeli celebration of ties with Gulf states premature

The visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Oman is Sultan Qaboos’ way of signaling to Israelis what peace could look like, should they end the occupation of the Palestinians.

United Arab Emirates

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. Cem Oksuz/Pool via REUTERS - RC1C2A6030C0

Erdogan plays big: A grand bargain in Syria with Trump and Putin?

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plays a big gambit with American and Russian counterparts, but can he win?

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) makes remarks a day after the Midterm Elections, in which the Senate Republicans retained their majority as the House saw Democrats sweep into control, and a possible return as Speaker for Pelosi, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Theiler - RC1CC87E23E0

Iran says not pinning hopes on Dems winning midterms

Despite Democrats winning the US midterm vote, Iran says it makes no difference who takes over Congress, citing decadeslong hostility by Democrats and Republicans alike.