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August 26, 2026

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Demonstrations in Tehran, Iran

Analysis

How Iran is readying for economic protests as Trump escalates pressure

Iranian authorities are bracing for unrest as US pressure collides with a battered economy, fuel price indecision and fresh memories of bloodshed.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump arrives at Myrtle Beach International Airport on Aug. 21, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Trump says Hormuz mine-free as Iran, Oman agree to clear them

The US president again says Hormuz is clear of mines as Iran and Oman announce their plan to clear the strait.

BAY ISMOYO / AFP via Getty Images

China warns US not to interfere with Iran trade: What to know

China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing was firmly opposed to what it called “illegal unilateral sanctions” and would take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its rights.

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Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

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

In 'warning shot,' US threatens sanctions on Iran’s trading partners

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent addresses the audience during opening remarks at the Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism at the State Department on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bessent spoke alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as they discussed the rise of far-left political terrorism as a transnational threat. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Oil falls 1.8% as traders await 'toughest' sanctions on Iran

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

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

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah walk together during a brief appearance for the press as they meet at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2026.

In aftermath of Iran attack, Rubio hosts Kuwait FM: What to know

The meeting came a day after an Iranian strike on Kuwait International Airport killed one person and wounded more than 60 others.

AFP via Getty Images

As Iran seeks leverage, can US enforce Lebanon-Israel ceasefire?

The US-brokered ceasefire plan is already showing cracks.

A general view shows the reactor building at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran on Aug. 20, 2010.

Iran's covert nuclear risk higher after war as IAEA access constrained: Report

Iran is estimated to possess about 440.9 kilograms, approximately 972 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60% purity, just below the 90% level considered weapons-grade.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 02: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 02, 2026 in Washington, DC. In his first public hearing since the start of the war in Iran, Rubio is testifying on the State Department’s FY2027 budget request. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rubio says Mojtaba Khamenei alive, ‘increasingly engaging’ with intermediaries

The top US diplomat said Iran’s uranium stockpile and enrichment levels are “highly technical matters” that could take months to resolve.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

‘Iranians threatened Trump and he folded’: Beirut veto leaves Netanyahu exposed

Trump’s reported intervention to block an Israeli strike on Hezbollah in Beirut has exposed growing tensions with Netanyahu and raised questions about the Israeli prime minister’s ability to sustain his wartime political narrative ahead of elections.

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

People hold portraits of the dead at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Mosque to commemorate those killed in the current US-Israeli war as well as previous wars on May 24, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Tehran's hardening rhetoric signals uneasy path for US talks

Iran's leadership is increasingly portraying negotiations with Washington not as compromise but as a continuation of confrontation by other means.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics