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Iran

August 3, 2026

Tehran 5:23 am

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An Egyptian man looks at the Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier "Duhail" as its passes through the Suez Canal near the Egyptian port city of Ismailia on April 1, 2008. The vessel has a capacity of 210,100 cu.m making it one of the largest LNG carriers constructed to date. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How strike on Damietta port exposes Egypt's energy infrastructure risks

The unclaimed attack on the port of Damietta could draw Egypt further into the US-Iran conflict as experts point to growing threats to critical infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

A possible Hamas decision to disarm would represent more than a Gaza development, testing Iran's decades-old strategy of projecting power through regional allies.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Mourners carry one of the bodies of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) who were killed earlier in Diyala in central Iraq by US-Saudi strikes, during the funeral in Baghdad on July 29, 2026. The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 militants, including Iranians, according to the Hashed al-Shaabi. The US and Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by murtadha ridha / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Renewed Iraq attacks test Zaidi’s push to disarm Iran-backed militias

An attempt by Iraqi government forces to seize weapons belonging to an Iranian-backed faction encountered resistance, raising questions about Prime Minister Ali Zaidi’s pledge to disarm militias by Sept. 30.

Mustafa Salim

By Mustafa Salim

Latest News

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Iran’s new calculus: Strike first, talk later

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

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

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

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

Israel behind serial sabotage of Iranian tankers, report says

Israeli attacks have hit more than a dozen Iranian oil tankers in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba

Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together.

Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran

Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo."

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 24, 2020, shows him wearing a protective face mask as he gives a speech in the capital Tehran during a meeting of the national staff to discuss the issue of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by - / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / XGTY / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === (Photo by

Khamenei stands defiant on Iran’s regional military presence

In a speech replete with diatribes against the United States, Iran’s supreme leader defended his country’s controversial regional policies and accused Washington of “inverting the truth.”

Saudi Arabia to take ‘necessary measures’ to protect oil after drone attack

Riyadh wants international support to prevent future attacks, foreign minister says alongside Russian counterpart.

US hits Iranian officials with travel restriction over ‘gross human rights violations’

For the first time, the Biden administration targets alleged IRGC interrogators over inhumane detention of protesters.

US demands 'credible answers' from Iran on Robert Levinson's abduction

The Biden administration pledged to hold Iran accountable for the former FBI agent's disappearance 14 years ago.

Intel: US sends B-52 bombers back to Middle East amid attacks by Iran-linked proxies

Following drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia this weekend, it is not clear that the Pentagon's deterrence tactic is paying off.

Barred from traveling by their husbands, Iranian women suffer under unjust laws

While a new bill awaiting parliament’s approval aims to address gender discrimination and stop violence against women, it falls short in guaranteeing Iranian women equal rights.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Richard Ratcliffe, poses for a picture as he continues his hunger strike outside the Iranian Embassy on June 28, 2019 in London, England. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British citizen continues her detention in Iran where she has been for three years, on charges of plotting against the Iranian government. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

British-Iranian aid worker released from house arrest in Iran, faces new trial

Following the completion of her five-year prison sentence, Iranian authorities have charged Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with "spreading propaganda."

Israeli Defence Minister and alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz arrives at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem on December 2, 2020. - Gantz said his party will vote for an opposition bill to dissolve parliament, a move that could force a fourth election in under two years. (Photo by Alex KOLOMIENSKY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX KOLOMIENSKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Gantz informs Biden administration of updated Israeli plans to strike Iran

Israel's defense minster joins other officials in subtle warning to Washington over Iran nuclear talks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it thwarted plane hijacking

The perpetrator attempted to land the plane in a Gulf country, Iranian media reported the corps as saying. Many details surrounding the incident are unknown.