Iran-US tensions

The Liberia-flagged container vessel MSC Tasman VI and the Singapore-flagged container vessel Wan Hai 353 are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 19, 2026.

Iran attacks cargo ship off Oman, testing Trump’s Hormuz Strait deal

The first Iranian attack on a cargo vessel since the ceasefire comes as top US diplomat Marco Rubio huddled with Gulf Cooperation Council ministers in Manama to reject Iran's claims to control the Strait of Hormuz.

Jared Szuba

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

A worker at a market for fuel oil and automotive fuel on March 17, 2026, in Erbil, Iraq.

Explainer

After UAE and Qatar, could Iraq be next to leave OPEC?

Iraq is seeking a higher production quota as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has slashed oil revenues and plunged the country into a fiscal crisis.

Speaker of the Parliament of Iran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne on June 21, 2026.

Iran rejects Trump's claim frozen funds will buy US soybeans: What to know

Trump said Wednesday that the US would release “some” Iranian frozen funds and would use them to purchase corn, wheat and soybeans from American farmers.

Hamed Malekpour / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s IRGC warns against using 'highly dangerous' Hormuz route: What to know

Tehran is warning that Oman's temporary routes will not guarantee safe passage through the key waterway.

Latest News

CENTCOM commander heads to Israel, Gulf as Lebanon talks stall

Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Navy Adm. Brad Cooper testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 14, 2026, in Washington.

Jared Szuba

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

Oil falls below $74 as Hormuz traffic recovers after Iran war

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Analysis

Why Iran's generals are intensifying anti-US rhetoric amid negotiations

An Iranian man rides his motorbike past a billboard on May 28, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Explainer

Hormuz tolls, frozen funds pose early tests for US-Iran peace progress

AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield listens as Algerian Ambassador to the UN Amar Bendjama speaks.

US changes tune on Gaza ‘cease-fire’ as Rafah fears grow

Under pressure internationally and from Democratic voters, the Biden administration has begun to call for a "temporary cease-fire" in Gaza.

A man in Tehran holds a local newspaper reporting on its front page the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

A year on from Iran-Saudi thaw, little to show beyond photo ops

Despite the detente, the two sides appear to have adopted few tangible measures to narrow their long-standing differences over regional influence, while their covert divergence on the Gaza war has only added to the complications of their fragile rapprochement.

Men armed with rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and assault rifles ride in the back of a pickup vehicle parading before a large banner depicting the Koran, Islam's Holy Book, and Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the slain leader of Yemen's Houthi movement who was killed in 2004, during a pro-Palestinian rally in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Feb. 7, 2024.

US designation of Houthis as terror group comes into effect

The Houthi struck a Panama-flagged tanker ship in the Gulf of Aden with a missile as Washington restored its terror designation on the group in a bid to clamp down on its attacks on commercial shipping.

Iranian drone "Mohajer 10" is displayed Iran's defence industry achievements exhibition, on Aug. 23, 2023 in Tehran.

Iran's IRGC claims developing stealth drones that 'can hit any vessel'

Iranian missiles and drones are believed to have been fired by its regional proxies against Israeli and international ships, as the scope of the Israel-Hamas war expands across the region.

US seizes Iranian missile parts in Arabian Sea headed to Yemen's Houthis

The United States has struggled to choke off Iran's smuggling of weapons components to Yemen's Houthi rebels.

A pedestrian walks past a branch of a Lloyds Bank in London on Feb. 24, 2021.

Analysis

Iran's use of 2 UK banks to evade sanctions tests West's financial systems

The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Lloyds Bank and Santander UK provided accounts to companies with links to Iran’s intelligence services.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A civil defence team carries out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Arbil, on January 17, 2024. The IRGC have launched missile attacks on multiple "terrorist" targets in Syria and in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian state media reported on January 16

Are Iran-backed militias turning their drones against Syria’s Kurds?

Syria’s Kurdish-led militia has increasingly found itself in the crosshairs of attacks by Iran-backed militias amid tit-for-tat strikes between US forces and Iran’s proxies.

Jared Szuba

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

People watch as a vehicle that was hit by a drone strike, reportedly killing three people including two leaders of a pro-Iran group, is carried away in Baghdad on Feb. 7, 2024.

US brings retribution to Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad strike

The assassination of a Kataib Hezbollah commander in Baghdad on Wednesday came as the US military has struggled to intimidate Iran-backed groups without escalating towards direct conflict with Iran amid tensions over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Baghdad

Breaking | Last Updated: February 7, 2024, 10:37 pm

US strike in Baghdad kills Kataib Hezbollah commander as Iraq tensions simmer

A Telegram channel affiliated with Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) reported that Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a commander in Kataib Hezbollah, was killed in the attack.

An Iranian Navy warship takes part in the "National Persian Gulf day" in the Strait of Hormuz on April 30, 2019.

Iran plans joint naval exercise with Russia, China as Red Sea tensions soar

The trilateral drills will be the first this year that Iran is holding with the two powers, as it remains under Western pressure over involvement in attacks on international navigation in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Two bank employees count dollars and Iraqi dinars in Baghdad on Sept. 28, 2000.

Why Iraq's dinar is trading below official dollar rate amid new restrictions

A top US official visited Iraqi officials last week to discuss countering illicit finance and strengthening Iraq’s financial system.

A Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4s is being prepared to conduct further strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen at RAF Akrotiri on Feb. 3, 2024.

Pentagon vows more strikes against Iran-backed groups, rejects open-ended campaign

The Pentagon says it isn't planning for an open-ended campaign of retaliation against Iran-backed groups, even as Israel vows to expand its war in Gaza on to the Rafah area.