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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 7:44 am

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The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing economic fragility beneath Tehran's claims of control and resilience.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Latest News

Iran floats ‘plan B’ to defuse Hormuz standoff, delay nuclear talks

Iranian walks past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 22, 2026.

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland-2026 (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran FM meets Putin, Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

Iran FM meets Putin and Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

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

Saied Iravani, Iranian ambassador to the UN, attends a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN Headquarters on July 31, 2024, in New York City.

US troops may be in crosshairs as Iran blames US for Haniyeh killing

Iraqi militia Harakat al-Nujaba warned that the United States and Israel had "opened the gates of hell" following a US airstrike south of Baghdad that US officials said was unrelated to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran just hours later.

Palestinians carry a placard bearing the image of the leader of the militant Hamas group during a protest in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on July 31, 2024, denouncing his killing.

Iran vows revenge for Haniyeh killing amid questions over security failures

The attack exposed vulnerabilities in Iran's long-fought intelligence war with Israel and stirred up debates on possible Israeli infiltration within the Islamic Republic's security apparatus.

United Airlines passenger aircrafts are lined up at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Shekel drops 1.2% as United Airlines, Delta halt Israel flights after Haniyeh's killing

The currency fell by 1.2% after Hamas blamed Israel for the strike in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Bloomberg reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters after his meeting with the Egyptian president, at the Cairo airport, on June 10, 2024.

US says not involved in killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is “imperative” following the assassination of Hamas' political leader.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, speaks to the press after a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran on March 26, 2024. Haniyeh's visit to Tehran comes a day after a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council called for an "immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, leading to a "lasting" truce. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killed while visiting Iran

While no party has claimed responsibility, the Gaza-based militant group immediately accused Israel of being behind the killing.

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is greeted as he arrives for the swearing in ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, on July 30, 2024.

Hamas and Hezbollah officials in Iran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration, France’s Macron calls

Officials from the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia went to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration in Tehran amid significant tensions in the region.

AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s Khamenei reaffirms opposition to Azerbaijan’s corridor plan to Armenia PM

Iran remains opposed to an Azerbaijani corridor through Armenia that would cut off the Islamic Republic’s access to the Black Sea.

Armenia's foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, meets with his counterpart from Iran in Tehran on July 24, 2023.

Even as Iran denies $500M arms deal with Armenia, foothold in Caucasus is priority

The report came as Iran has been accused of siding with Armenia in its conflict with Azerbaijan, while Tehran is also advancing an agenda of influence in the Caucasus to counter the presence of its Western adversaries and Israel.

The Iran-flagged oil tanker ship Clavel is docked at Shahid Beheshti Port in the southeastern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, during an inauguration ceremony of new equipment and infrastructure at the port on February 25, 2019.

Amid US-sanction fears, can India, Iran move ahead with $370M port deal?

Will progress on the long-term bilateral agreement signed by New Delhi and Tehran on the development of the Shahid Beheshti port be stymied by US sanctions?

A police officer is seen in front of the Blue Mosque, housing the Islamic Centre of Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 24, 2024.

Iran summons German ambassador, furious over Islamic center closure

Iran, which has been running similar foundations in several Western countries, condemned the ban as an act of Islamophobia after Berlin found the center to be propagating "extremism and fundamentalism."

Debris litters a loading dock a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeida on July 21, 2024.

Analysis

Israel’s Yemen attack against Houthis warning to nuclear Iran

While concerns grow in Israel over the continued drone and missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, the real threat remains that of Iran.

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

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an NCAA championship team celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024, in Washington.

From Gaza to Iran: What Kamala Harris’ Middle East policy could look like

Harris has been described as more critical of Israel than President Joe Biden, but with similar views on Iran and relations with regional leaders, including in the Gulf.