Iran-US tensions

In this US Navy released handout, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 1, 2026 at Sea.

Breaking | Last Updated: June 26, 2026, 5:44 pm

US carries out strikes in Iran after vessel attack

US forces struck Iranian coastal targets after Tehran was accused of attacking a commercial cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows to respond to Israeli military using neighboring airspace: What to know

Iran’s military headquarters said it “considers responding to these dangerous actions as its right” after alleging that Israeli jets have been operating in the airspace of neighboring countries near Iran.

President Donald Trump speaks during a Rose Garden Club dinner at the White House on June 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump calls Iran’s drone attack on cargo ship 'foolish violation' of ceasefire

The US president stopped short of issuing new threats, but called Thursday's drone attack "foolish."

Jared Szuba

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

Vance

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

The US-Iran decision to launch direct talks between the IRGC and CENTCOM in Qatar deepens the rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while heightening Israeli fears that Washington is shifting toward Doha and Tehran.

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

Latest News

As US talks stall, Hezbollah chief defiant, says Israel to leave Lebanon ’humiliated'

brahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

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.

Jared Szuba

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

Explainer

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

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

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

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

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends breakfast with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on September 18, 2023 in New York.

Blinken defends Iran prisoner swap at meeting with Gulf counterparts

The US secretary of state also touted the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, seen as competition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, ahead of the discussion with Gulf Cooperation Council member states.

Released American citizens landed in Qatar today.

Breaking | Last Updated: July 10, 2024, 12:33 pm

Iran frees 5 Americans in prisoner swap with US

A US-bound flight carrying a group of American detainees including Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi left Iran on Monday.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivers remarks at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on Sept. 21, 2022 in New York City.

Analysis

Will US-Iran prisoner exchange jumpstart diplomacy at UNGA?

Iran rejects IAEA inspectors; One year after the death of Mahsa Amini; Al-Monitor/Semafor "Middle East Global Summit" features King Abdullah of Jordan and Prime Minister Sudani of Iraq.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

Demonstrators hold placards reading "Women, Life, Freedom" as they demonstrate against the persecution of women in Iran, on Whitehall in central London on March 8, 2023.

Analysis

Mahsa Amini protests hardened Europe's view on Iran, but nuclear strategy unchanged

Experts believe that Iran's export of drones to Russia for the Ukraine war more fundamentally shifted European policy toward the Islamic Republic than the protests.

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

U.S. Capitol Building on May 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. Later today the House Rules Committee will meet to consider The Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bill made after a deal House Republicans and U.S. President Joe Biden's negotiators struck up to raise the debt ceiling until 2025. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Analysis

Where does Congress stand on Iran one year after the Mahsa Amini protests?

Members of both parties in Congress are critical of Iran’s crackdown against protesters, though there is disagreement over President Joe Biden’s approach towards Iran, including with regards to a recent prisoner exchange.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

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

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat cruises past an oil tanker off the port of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, on July 2, 2012. Iran has come up with several methods to foil the European insurance embargo on ships loaded with its crude, a sanction which may harm its vital exports as much as the EU oil embargo itself. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages)

Iran's IRGC claims to seize 2 oil tankers in Gulf

Iran claims to have captured two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf carrying smuggled fuel and arrested their crews.

Bahrain's Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sign a security integration and prosperity agreement at the US Department of State on September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

US touts Bahrain defense agreement as model for Middle East strategy

The upgrade to US-Bahrain ties marks the latest sign of Biden's emerging Middle East strategy following the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor at the G20 summit last week.

A general view shows the Iranian capital Tehran on January 7, 2023, with the Iranian flag fluttering in the wind. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Iran reveals names of 5 citizens sought in US prisoner deal

Washington and Tehran are on the verge of a deal that would see the exchange of five Americans for five Iranians, most of whom were accused or convicted of sanctions violations.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Iran UAE

Iran's thaw with regional rivals threatened by UAE, Kuwait disputes

The Islamic Republic's recent reconciliation efforts with its Arab rivals appeared to be on a bumpy road over disputes arising from the ownership of three Gulf islands and shares from the Durra gas field.

Oil tanker

How significant is latest US seizure of illicit Iranian oil shipment?

The US government said entities affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had sought to smuggle the oil to China.

One tanker transfers Iranian crude oil from another tanker off the shore of Karystos, Greece, for its transport to the United States at the request of the US judiciary, May 29, 2022.

Shipping company in Greece fined $2.4B for breaching Iran sanctions

In an agreement with the US, the illegal oil export was kept secret for almost five months amid fears of retaliation from Tehran.

Alireza Bigdeli (R).

Saudi Arabia, Iran exchange ambassadors as thaw continues

The exchange of ambassadors between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the first since 2016 and follows the resumption of relations between the two countries in March.