Iran-US tensions

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump spoke by phone separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the situation in Iran and the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

The rial had another collapse in late 2025, triggering massive protests and riots in the country that were ended by a forceful government crackdown.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026 in the Mediterranean Sea.

Breaking | Last Updated: April 29, 2026, 2:24 pm

Pentagon: Iran war has cost US estimated $25B so far

A supplemental request won’t be delivered to Congress until the Pentagon fully assesses the war’s cost, a top budget official told House lawmakers.

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

Latest News

Why UAE's decision to leave OPEC is major shift for cartel

MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Despite Trump pressure to limit Israel's Lebanon attacks, Aoun-Netanyahu meeting still unlikely

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

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

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

Bahrain strips 69 people of citizenship for 'glorifying' Iran attacks

People walk along an alley at a bazaar in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on March 11, 2026.

In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union (L) and Iran (R) attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 06, 2021 in Vienna, Austria.

Iran official says Tehran relied on prior agreements at Vienna talks

An Iranian official has said that their country’s draft of recommendations was based on the nuclear deal and did not discard the previous round of talks.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani.

Israel weighs options, timing of possible military strike on Iran

Despite deadlock in Vienna, expert/technical talks may have a faint pulse.

Ghaani

Iran's Quds Force chief warns US as hopes for nuclear accord fade

Esmail Ghaani implied that Iran is able to strike at the US in ways it once could not.

VLADIMIR SIMICEK/AFP via Getty Images

Iran accuses Israel of poisoning nuclear talks

Iran's sharp rebuke followed reports that Israel had shared intelligence with Western partners alleging that Iran's nuclear enrichment has nearly reached weapons-producing levels.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Nov. 30, 2021.

The Takeaway: Israel’s military threats shadow Iran nuclear talks

Erdogan digs in on lira; Egypt, Ethiopia tensions rise again over Nile Dam; Assassins "carefully planned" attack on Iraqi PM; Iraqi Shiite scholars ponder post-Sistani era; Children become breadwinners in besieged Idlib; The return of Mohammed Ali Pasha’s palace … all in less than 1,200 words.

US Navy sailors stand guard aboard the USS Sirocco patrol ship while docked at the US 5th Fleet Command in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on Dec. 17, 2019.

Jordan to support US Navy unmanned drone task force in Red Sea

The Royal Jordanian Naval Base at Aqaba will host the US 5th Fleet's Task Force 59 to test unmanned surface craft in the coming weeks.

Demonstrators hold Iranian flags during a protest on Sept. 15, 2018, against the torching of the Iranian Consulate and the Hashed al-Shaabi party (Popular Mobilisation) headquarters during recent protests in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Iran-linked militia calls up thousands of volunteers to fight US forces

An IRGC-linked armed faction in Iraq has urged men across the country to take up arms against any US forces remaining after Dec. 31, claiming to have received tens of thousands of "calls" from citizens willing to help.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Iran denounces US sanctions over election interference

Iran said the new sanctions imposed on a group of Iranians for alleged election meddling were a continuation of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign.

The amphibious assault ship USS Essex sails off the coast of Dili, East Timor, Oct. 31, 2001.

Iranian helicopter made 'dangerous' approach to US Navy ship, Pentagon says

Iran and the United States are upping the ante in the Gulf ahead of a planned return to negotiations in Vienna.

The Iranian national flag is seen outside the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters during the agency's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on March 1, 2021.

Iran negotiator says goal in Vienna is to undo 'illegal sanctions'

Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program will resume on Nov. 29 after a five-month pause.

Chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami (R) delivers a speech.

The Takeaway: Iran says US must show goodwill ahead of nuclear talks

Saudi Arabian beach riles conservatives; Turkey responds to Erdogan health speculation; Arab-Israeli legislator vindicated by budget; Alexandria’s global warming worries; Egypt offers divorce counseling; Pharaoh’s honey bees still buzzing; all in less than 1,500 words!

A billboard depicting Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy units observing a US warship in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran's IRGC praises forces in Gulf of Oman incident

Iran claims its naval forces thwarted a US attempt to confiscate oil from an Iranian tanker, yet Washington denies the incident even occurred.