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Iran

May 6, 2026

Tehran 5:11 pm

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Iran "to make a sensible choice" and resume negotiations.

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Parker Song / Getty Images

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

Latest News

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

An undated image of Liberian flagged tanker MT Mercer Street.

Two reported dead in attack on Israeli-operated ship near Oman

Iran was suspected in the attack on the UAE-bound Mercer Street, which is connected to an Israeli billionaire businessman.

Iranian boys ride their bicycles in Adimi village in Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan, Feb. 2, 2015.

Top Sunni cleric laments Iran's discrimination against minorities

In his scathing criticism, Mawlawi Abdul-Hamid also recognized the ongoing protests in Khuzestan province, which in his view, should not be reduced to the water crisis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint-press conference with Kuwaiti foreign minister in Kuwait City on July 29, 2021.

Blinken: Iran nuclear talks ‘cannot go on indefinitely’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments came as negotiations over the landmark accord remain stalled.

A police officer patrols in front of banners put up by members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

US condemns violence against protesters in Iran

The US condemnation comes as rights groups accuse Iranian authorities of a violent crackdown on protests that erupted earlier this month over severe water shortages in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Khamenei

Iran's supreme leader says 'cowardly' US cannot be trusted

As Iran awaits a new president set to take office Aug. 3, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the West cannot be relied upon in future negotiations.

Ghalibaf

Iran protests gain momentum despite deadly crackdown

The protests that rocked the oil-rich province of Khuzestan have spread to other areas despite the government's iron-fist response and severe internet disruptions.

Iranians use internet at a cybercafe in the center of the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2013.

Iran's parliament suspends controversial internet bill

Iran's parliament has decided to temporarily suspend a controversial bill that would block Iranians from major social media websites.

Muweis canal of Nile River in northern Egypt

How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East

Al-Monitor reporting shows the increased risks and relevance of water security for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia; Iran and Iraq; and Israel and Jordan.

2019 ahvaz street scene

Khamenei calls largely Arab province of Iran 'loyal' amid protests

Protesters in oil-rich Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran want clean drinking water, among other things.

An Iranian woman surfs the internet at a cybercafe in central Tehran on Jan. 24, 2011.

Watchdog: Internet disrupted in Iran amid water protests

The internet is heavily restricted in Iran, and the government initiated an internet blackout in 2019 during widespread protests in the country.

Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses reporters at the Interior Ministry headquarters.

Ahmadinejad accuses 'ring' in Iran intelligence of espionage

The serious allegation marked a new episode in the ex-president's confrontations with the Revolutionary Guards and its powerful intelligence branch.

An Iranian man rides a motorbike at Enghelab Square in the center of the capital, Tehran, on July 20, 2021, as authorities tighten restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tehran begins another round of coronavirus lockdowns

Iran has announced a new wave of restrictions in red zones as well as the capital.