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October 4, 2026

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Analysis

Gulf oil exports are back, but how durable is recovery?

Middle East oil exports rebounded in September as Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz erodes, but markets have hardly celebrated a crude revival that could prove short-lived.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

For Iran, the easier part may have been getting Washington out, but it may now have to struggle turning the absence into durable influence and reviving its allied militias without provoking instability.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

Trump’s integration policies build on Gulf, Turkey ties and Syria success

Iran’s influence, and the potential for renewed conflict, complicate progress in Iraq.

A Caspian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 lands at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 17, 2014.

Turkey seizes Iran’s Caspian Airlines jet over $3.4M debt

The court-ordered seizure at Istanbul Airport comes as Iranian carriers face mounting pressure from sweeping new US aviation sanctions.

Latest News

Analysis

As Iran’s grip on Hormuz weakens, what leverage does Tehran have left?

A woman crosses a street near a giant billboard erected on the facade of a building depicting a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps placing his foot on a US sea drone, reportedly seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, in Vanak Square in Tehran, on Sept. 24, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

After indirect talks, new US sanctions target Iran's weapons supply

Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles are seen on display beside a large portrait of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Baharestan Square in Tehran on Sept. 28, 2026.

Saudi stocks hit wartime low as Aramco slides, Gulf oil exports rebound

Iran’s rial hits record low as pressure on oil exports mounts

A man counts Iranian rial notes

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

Why Iraq may opt to avoid lawsuit over Soleimani killing

Iraqi political parties have abstained from involving Iraq in the preparation of a judicial file involving the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus, as they walk in the street in Tehran, Iran February 25, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2Q7F9UZ1JB

Fast-spreading coronavirus pushes Iran closer to lockdown

Despite conflicting reports, Iran's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic is rising a few weeks ahead of the country’s New Year holidays.

Can this veteran singer save Kurdish people's forgotten tunes?

Kurdish singer Mazhar Khaliqi says the Kurds should use globalization and technology to carry their musical tradition beyond the borders of the Middle East.

Iran says Qom 'almost stable' after coronavirus outbreak

Iran’s Health Ministry has assured the public it is addressing the corona outbreak that has killed at least 12 in the country.

Iranians show their ink-stained fingers after they cast their votes during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran February 21, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC205F9PK7BA

Iranians go to polls as hard-liners expect big win

Iran's parliamentary elections are widely seen as a one-sided contest that favors hard-liners.

Iran struggles to regain control of post-Soleimani PMU

After the loss of Soleimani and Muhandis, Iran is struggling to reorganize and reunite different PMU factions that previously operated under the guidance of Soleimani on behalf of Iran’s interests in Iraq.

Coronavirus in Iran prompts fears of spread in Iraq

The outbreak of coronavirus in Iran prompted a wave of anti-Iranian sentiment among Iraqi protesters, who called for the closure of the border.

Palestinian Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh welcomes Hamas members who went missing in Egypt a few years ago, after their arrival in Gaza City February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC18F17FF320

Egypt may find Gaza more appealing without Haniyeh

Although tensions between the Egyptian authorities and Hamas were expected to escalate amid reports that Egypt had banned Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh from returning to Egypt and subsequently to Gaza, Egyptian analysts expect relations to be more relaxed in Haniyeh's absence.

Head of the Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati delivers a sermon during Tehran's Friday prayers August 21, 2009. Hardline Iranian cleric Jannati urged the judiciary on Friday to arrest the leaders of post-election unrest, in what appeared to be a reference to defeated moderate presidential candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS RELIGION) - GM1E58L1HAE01

US sanctions Iranian Guardian Council members, holds off on UN snapback penalties

The Trump administration is coming under pressure from anti-Iran deal advocates to find a way to trigger the "snapback" of UN sanctions this year.

A woman walks past parliamentary election campaign posters in Tehran, Iran February 19, 2020. Picture taken February 19, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2I4F99WETN

Iran’s parliamentary elections a vote on Rouhani's economy

Iranians head to the polls Feb. 21, with Reformists largely sidelined, to elect their 11th parliament since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A general view of the Iranian parliament in Tehran, Iran June 25, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1189997B90

Far-left current rises from among Iranian hardliners

Iran’s ultraconservatives have given birth to their worst nightmare — a group so left-leaning that hardliners consider them would-be communists.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif speaks with the media on the sidelines of a security conference in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Alasdair Pal - RC29GE9EYNMU

Iran says Zarif met with US senator for ‘public diplomacy’

Iran’s foreign minister says his weekend meeting with a US senator in Germany was a diplomatic effort to get his nation’s voice heard by the American people.