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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 4:08 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

A picture shows the new Iranian drone "Mohajer 10" during Iran's defence industry achievements exhibition in Tehran on August 23, 2023. Iran unveiled on August 22 its latest domestically built drone that can fly at a higher altitude and for a longer duration with enhanced weapons capabilities, state media reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran showcases Shahed drones, missiles at Qatar's defense exhibition

This year’s Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference features Iranian drones, Russian warships and delegations from across Asia and Africa.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks at the General Assembly on Oct. 26, 2023, in New York City.

At Saudi OIC summit, Iran seeks Islamic world's 'decisive' action against Israel

In its relentless diplomatic offensive to isolate Israel, Tehran has so far failed to talk Islamic countries into severing economic ties with Israel.

An Iranian woman walks through a flooded road on Jan. 13, 2020.

Floods devastate Iran’s Baluchistan as losses exceed $40 million

Iran has been hit with severe flooding and significant drought in recent years, and the government has been accused of mismanaging the crises.

ranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (R).

Iran, Algeria to build closer energy, tourism ties

Europe is increasingly interested in Algeria as an alternative to Russia for gas supplies, while Iran is seeking to boost its own gas output amid continued US sanctions.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 01: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R)leaves after casting his ballots during the parliamentary and key clerical body elections at a polling station on March 1, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections and will also cast ballots for the Assembly of Experts, which selects and nominally oversees the work of Iran's supreme leader. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Two winners from Iran's elections: Hardliners and security crackdown

The ruling establishment scrambled to persuade voters, anticipating a record low turnout following its deadly crackdown on the 2022 unrest.

A man watches a video of Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, who was released in Tehran today after being arrested for his song in support of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on October 4, 2022. - Hajipour, a 25-year-old Iranian pop singer and songwriter, rose to fame for the song "Baraye", "For", in which he put together messages posted on Twitter about the reasons for protests. The emotional performance became a viral hit on different social media platforms, with million

Culture

Iran sentences 'Baraye' singer Shervin Hajipour to three years in jail

The singer’s hit "Baraye" became an anthem for the 2022 anti-government protests in Iran and his sentencing is the latest example of the Islamic Republic’s repression of those who took part in them.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (C) inspects the guard of honour upon his arrival for a state visit at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare on July 13, 2023. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s Raisi to make first visit to Algeria in 14 years as Africa ties grow

Algeria has maintained friendly ties with Iran as Tehran faces growing Western isolation.

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian news agency Sputnik on Dec. 7, 2023, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow.

Iran exports to Russia hit high of $2B as sanctions strengthen alliance

The significant jump in Iranian exports to Russia is indicative of the two states' increasing focus on joint solutions to circumvent international sanctions that have squeezed their economies.

The picture illustrates euro and United States 100-dollar banknotes bearing the portrait of US statesman, inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin next to Iran's rial banknotes, bearing a portrait of Iran's late founder of Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on September 30, 2012. Iran's currency, the rial, dived to a new low of around 29,600 to the dollar in open trading, losing over 60 percent of its value since the end of last year according to exchange tracking websites as draconian We

Will the value of the Iranian Rial collapse?

Bijan Khajehpour

Bijan Khajehpour

In Vienna, reporting on Iranian politics

An Iranian worker stands in front of a section of a pipeline after the project was launched during a ceremony with presidents of Iran and Pakistan on March 11, 2013 in the Iranian border city of Chah Bahar.ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline gets a reset, can it overcome sanctions?

As Tehran and Islamabad work to make progress on the Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline that has been decades in the making, the threat of US sanctions and financing challenges still remain.

This photograph taken on January 17, 2024 shows destroyed cars in the courtyard of a residential building following a drone attack in Odesa. Kyiv said on Jan. 17, 2024 that Russia had launched 20 Iranian-designed attack drones at targets in southern Ukraine overnight, and that its air defense systems destroyed all but one.

Two years into Ukraine war, Iran continues to play Russia enabler

Mounting international pressure and onerous sanctions do not seem to have deterred Tehran from its increasing involvement in the Ukraine war, as the Islamic Republic heavily invests in its alliance with Russia for survival.

Local residents inspect damages outside an apartment building after the overnight Russian drones attack in Kharkiv, Dec. 31, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv said on Dec. 31, 2023, it destroyed 21 of 49 Iranian-made "Shahed" drones fired by Russia overnight, adding that six guided missiles had also targeted the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

US sanctions target Russia’s production of Iranian attack drones

On the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration has rolled out new measures meant to counter Russia’s drone partnership with Iran.