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Iran

August 4, 2026

Tehran 7:48 pm

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TOPSHOT - This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that beg

Analysis

Another US-Iran truce, same Hormuz standoff: What comes next

Since February, two major diplomatic efforts have produced temporary pauses in fighting, but neither has translated into a lasting agreement.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

Realizing it has little to no influence over President Donald Trump’s decision-making, the Israeli government has remained silent on the possibility of the United States and Iran resuming negotiations.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.

US military options narrow as Trump calls off Iran strikes: What to know

Left with few good military options that won't risk triggering major Iranian regional retaliation, American officials aim to return to the negotiating table with arguably fewer cards.

Latest News

Explainer

Iran-Oman Hormuz route talks near 'completion': What to know

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L), Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2nd L) and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi (R) attend a meeting in Muscat, Oman, on June 22, 2026.

Iran hangs 2 over alleged Mossad ties as executions mount: What to know

This photograph shows a banner featuring photos of Iranian protesters allegedly killed by the regime during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome, on July 16, 2026.

Oil falls 5% after Trump calls off Iran strikes, says Hormuz deal agreed

SAEED KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

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

Intel: Democrats advance legislation to restrict Trump’s Middle East war powers

House Democrats advanced three provisions today that would broadly curtail President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct offensive military action across the Middle East — and the world — should they become law as part of the annual defense spending bill.

Iran executes former Defense Ministry employee who it claims spied for CIA

Iranian state media reported that the man sold information on Iranian missiles to the US intelligence agency.

A picture taken on September 2, 2014 in the Iranian capital Tehran shows bronze statues displayed in the courtyard of the "Qasr prison", a former prison hosting political prisoners that was turned into a museum in 2012. The building was built in 1790 at the time of Qajar king, Fath-ali Shah by the Russian architect Markov before it was converted into a prison in 1929. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran executes three political prisoners, upholds more death verdicts

Iran’s judiciary said death penalties against three political prisoners have been upheld while confirming that three other prisoners had been sent to the gallows.

Iran probes another blast at industrial complex

The explosion is the latest in a series of explosions at facilities across Iran.

Iranian officials defend deal with China

Iranian officials say they are still working out the details of the Iran-China agreement but defended the agreement on principle.

A Iranian man carries a portrait of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, on the 40th day of his killing in a US drone strike, during commemorations marking 41 years since the Islamic Revolution, in the capital Tehran on February 11, 2020. - Thousands of Iranians massed for commemorations marking 41 years since the Islamic Revolution, in a show of unity at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. The celebrations mark the day that Shiite cleric Khomeini returned from exile and ousted the shah'

Intel: CENTCOM commander says Soleimani strike won’t deter Iran forever

The top commander of US military forces in the Middle East says he believes the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani has only temporarily deterred Iran from pursuing its goal of pushing US troops out of the region.

Iran government squeezed over ‘secretive’ deal with China

Pressure is mounting on the Iranian government to release specifics of a contentious, long-term partnership agreement with Beijing, which some critics fear could effectively turn Iran into a Chinese “colony.”

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (R) and Ismail Haniya, Palestinian Hamas premier of Gaza, raise their hands upon the latter's arrival for a meeting in Tehran on February 10, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran offers unconditional support to Hamas, Islamic Jihad

Hamas is sparing no effort to restore its relations with Iran, which announced that it will provide all necessary support to the Palestinians facing the Israeli annexation plan of the West Bank.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Kanye West arrives at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

What would President Kanye West's Middle East policy be?

Rapper Kanye West has yet to develop a foreign policy platform for his announced presidential candidacy, but his past lyrics, tweets and travels may reveal some of his views.

Iranian lawmakers attend a session at the Iranian parliament in Tehran on May 28, 2020. - Iran's newly formed parliament elected the former Tehran mayor Mohamad Bagher Ghalibaf as its speaker, consolidating the power of conservatives ahead of next year's presidential election. State television said the 58-year-old received 230 votes out of the 267 cast to secure the post, one of the most influential positions in the Islamic republic. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Nine Iranian MPs test positive for coronavirus

Iran has continued to see a rise in coronavirus-related deaths as the virus spreads across provinces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad Zarif (C) attends during the inaugural session of the new parliament in Tehran on May 27, 2020, following February elections. - The 11th legislature since the Islamic revolution of 1979 opened as the country's economy, which has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus, gradually returns to normal. Rouhani, who is in the final year of his second and final term, called on MPs, collectively and individually, to place the "national interest above special interests", "party

Iran’s Rouhani stands by foreign minister after parliament slurs

The fragility of the Iran nuclear deal and its bleak prospects have given Iran’s hard-liners the upper hand in their domestic battle against moderate forces.

Afghan boys play football at the Shahid Nasseri refugee camp in Taraz Nahid village near the city of Saveh, some 130 kms southwest of the capital Tehran, on February 8, 2015. Some 5000 Afghan refugees live at the camp which is run by the Iranian Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants' Affairs (BAFIA), the World Food Program (WFP) and UNHCR. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 950,000 registered Afghan residents in Iran -- some of whom have never even set foot

As Iran applauds BLM, Afghan minority short on rights

While the Iranian government points to the "Black Lives Matter" movement as proof of American hypocrisy, Iran's Afghan minority has a different take.