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May 5, 2026

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (L), and European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted President Zelensky at the White House for a bilateral meeting and an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Macron casts doubt on Trump’s Hormuz operation as France-US gap grows

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed President Donald Trump for launching a unilateral operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz instead of pursuing a coordinated effort with Iran.

Meysam MIRZADEH / TASNIM NEWS / AFP via Getty Images

Iran strikes UAE’s Fujairah oil hub as US pushes Hormuz reopening

The United States launched an initiative to restart commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday as the UAE braced for fallout amid new missile and drone attacks.

United Arab Emirates

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

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

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says 'remarkable progress' made in Saudi Arabia talks

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said significant progress had been made during direct talks in Baghdad between the rival powerhouses.

A man holds a portrait of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari during a demonstration on the Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 13, 2020.

Iran admits ‘witness to torture’ died in custody

The prisoner had defied pressure from intelligence authorities to withdraw his shocking statements after he blew the whistle on “medieval-style torture” of executed political prisoner Navid Afkari.

A picture taken on January 13, 2020, during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a member the US forces walking past a drone in the Ain al-Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

Are Iranian threats to escalate in Iraqi Kurdistan more hot air?

US President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iran nuclear diplomacy shows faint pulse at UN

Signs of life at an extraordinary meeting of senior Middle East officials; also, updates from our correspondents on Israel, West Bank, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq … and more … all in about 1,400 words!

Iran's President's Ebrahim Raisi remotely addresses the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 21, 2021 at U.N. headquarters in New York City.

Iran’s president slams US in first UN speech

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi used the occasion of his first UN General Assembly speech to heavily criticize the United States.

A picture shows daily newspapers on sale at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021. Conservative and reformist newspapers showed rare unity in welcoming results of a conference yesterday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership in the bloc.

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

While the news that Iran will gain full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a psychological victory for the sanctions-hit country, it will take much more to achieve lasting economic impact.

An incoming passenger crosses with his luggage through a disinfection tunnel upon arriving on an Emirates flight at the Iranian capital Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on July 17, 2020.

Iran to lift visa restrictions to revive pandemic-hit tourism sector

Iran’s new tourism chief said the government will soon scrap visa restrictions, a plan that the struggling tourism sector has been desperately waiting for to get back on its feet amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says nuclear talks to resume in weeks

Iran's foreign minister plans to meet with top diplomats from JCPOA signatories at the UN General Assembly.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

UK foreign secretary to press Iranian FM on prisoners, nuclear deal

In her first overseas trip as new UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City this week.

An Iranian man reads a copy of the daily newspaper "Etalaat" bearing the headline "Iran is a new member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation", at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021.

Iran says SCO membership to end isolation

Iran is hoping to expand its economic ties after it enters the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Raisi to meet Putin as states mull Taliban recognition

In his first foreign visit as Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi will sit down with Russian and Pakistani leaders amid new regional dynamics triggered by the US departure from Afghanistan.

An undated image of Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Iranian nuclear negotiator replaced by hard-line protege

The appointment of the hard-line figure Ali Bagheri Kani at the Foreign Ministry has raised questions about ongoing negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal.