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Iran

July 31, 2026

Tehran 2:49 am

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A woman stands next to Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24, 2026.

Iran’s new calculus: Strike first, talk later

An increasingly emboldened Tehran has put President Donald Trump in a bind.

This aerial photo shows a tanker unloading imported crude oil at a terminal port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on June 25, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images) / China OUT

China cuts deal with Houthis, adjusts for long US war with Iran

China is cutting its own deals and gaining wartime leverage as the Trump administration scrambles to contain the war and reopen Hormuz.

In this handout photo provided by the US 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.

US carries out strikes in southern Iran after IRGC attack on Jordan airbase

The US says the strikes were retaliation for an attempted IRGC ballistic missile attack on a US airbase in Jordan as Iranian state media report explosions in the country's south.

Latest News

Oil jumps 8% as US-Iran war pressures Saudi Arabia, explosions hit Egypt

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2026, in New York.

Exclusive

Saudi Arabia to announce Red Sea coalition to counter Houthi threats

Houthi soldiers stand guard on a missile carrier during an official military parade marking the ninth anniversary of the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, on Sept. 21, 2023.

Amberin Zaman

Jared Szuba

By Amberin Zaman , Jared Szuba

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

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi says Iran will not retreat on demands in nuclear talks

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says that his country will not back down on its positions in the nuclear deal negotiations.

A large screen shows a news program featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the opening of the virtual BRICS Summit.

Iran weighs benefits of BRICS membership

While joining the bloc has its upsides, it will be extremely difficult for Tehran to get full benefits from BRICS without the complete lifting of Western sanctions.

Erdogan Putin

Erdogan, Putin set to meet in Tehran

The Turkish, Iranian and Russian leaders are set to meet in Tehran next week amid lingering Turkish threats against Syrian Kurdish groups. Putin and Erdogan will separately discuss the Ukrainian grain crisis.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Raisi links regional dust storms to Western hegemony

Tehran recently hosted a regional summit on addressing the dust storms that have ravaged the area over the past two years.

An Iranian woman leaves a pharmacy next to shuttered shops at Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran, Aug. 16, 2021.

Iranian pharmacy has new take on 'wall of kindness'

The measure helps poor people obtain medicine amid rising inflation in Iran.

Debris from a destroyed car litter the street at the scene of an explosion near a grocery store, following bombardment at in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv on April 18, 2022.

US: Iran aims to send drones to Russia for use in Ukraine

White House releases intel linking Iran to Russia's war on Ukraine just days before President Joe Biden is set to meet Israeli, Arab leaders.

A picture taken on February 18, 2017, shows a general view of a bridge in the Iranian city of Ahvaz during a sandstorm.

UAE, Iran to cooperate to fight dust storms

Dust storms in the region have been severe.

A giant poster featuring Iranian director Jafar Panahi is displayed in front of the Berlinale Festival Palace.

Iran arrests three filmmakers over protests

Iran arrested Jafar Panahi after he was looking into the case of two other filmmakers accused of involvement in anti-government protests.

Iran economy

Unprecedented inflation hammers Iran

Iranians have grown accustomed to high inflation and rising prices, yet recent macroeconomic trends are unprecedented.

Abdollahian

Why IRGC issue won’t go away

Even if the US terrorist designation is not lifted, and there is agreement on the JCPOA, the IRGC will still be the power broker of Iranian domestic politics.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets Josep Borell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (R), as Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora (C) looks on, at the foreign ministry headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on June 25, 2022.

Analysis

Ahead of Biden Mideast trip, Iran nuclear deal looms large

US president to blend diplomacy and deterrence in approach to Iran, region.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

Iran galvanizes regional diplomacy amid impasse in nuclear talks

Iran's chief negotiator traveled to Oman a day after Qatar's foreign minister visited Tehran in what seemed to be diplomatic efforts for an impetus to US-Iran nuclear talks.