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August 6, 2026

Tehran 12:50 pm

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Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

US stock markets soar to new records amid Hormuz deal hopes

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average are on track for their best five-day performance since April 2025.

Latest News

US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Analysis

Why Iran is fighting to keep Hormuz at center of US negotiations

Two brothers watch oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

ERBIL, IRAQ - JANUARY 08: Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq on January 08, 2020. (Photo by Azad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

As Khamenei boasts of 'slap' at US, Zarif says revenge 'concluded'

Tehran-Washington tensions are reaching all-time highs after Iran hit US military bases in neighboring Iraq with ballistic missiles.

Residents look at a crater caused by a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok ,Iraq, January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC2KBE9RW1T9

Did Iran missiles carry message for Kurds?

Iran's ballistic missile attack on US military targets in Iraq may have been a warning to the Kurds not to stand with the United States.

Has the time come for US-Iran negotiations?

Iran's attack on a US military base in Iraq resulted in no casualties, possibly opening space for US-Iran negotiations.

Israel’s defense minister not focused on defense

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has made several controversial decisions that evidently serve his political agenda but not Israel’s security.

Haniyeh’s visit signals Hamas seeks stronger Iranian alliance

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh's busy schedule when he visited Iran for the funeral of Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani indicates Hamas seeks to forge a deeper alliance with Iran and obtain additional support.

Nasrallah calls for regional action against US military

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, called for expelling US troops from the region in response to the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, adding that US military assets will be targeted.

Saudi-led attacks on civilians threaten fragile Yemen truce

Escalation seems to be looming in Yemen in the wake of numerous artillery shellings of a local market, despite a supposed truce between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen’s warring parties conflicted over Soleimani’s killing

Yemen’s warring parties had differing reactions to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, pointing to Yemen's deepening sectarian schism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (not pictured) in Budapest, Hungary November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo - RC2F6D90DV3Y

What has Erdogan learned from Soleimani's killing?

As tensions between Tehran and Washington escalate, Turkey has to make difficult choices.

U.S. President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1B49CC86F0

Iranian missiles strike coalition installations in Iraq

Iran fired 15 ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing US and coalition troops on Tuesday night, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed to Al-Monitor, in a possible escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran after a Pentagon drone strike killed a top Iranian military leader last week.

A drone and armored vehicles serve as a backdrop as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9HDU3K

Iraqi base housing US troops hit as Iran tensions escalate

Iran launched an attack against Iraqi bases housing American troops with over a dozen ballistic missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes questions during a news conference in the Press Briefing Room at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC24BE9BAMTN

Pompeo mocks claim Soleimani was part of Iraq-brokered Iran-Saudi indirect talks

The US secretary of state discounted the Iraqi prime minister's claim that on the day Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, he was going to pass on an Iranian message as part of indirect Iranian-Saudi communications.