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May 11, 2026

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A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 3:38 pm

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Latest News

China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

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

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news briefing following the talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev, Ukraine August 19, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko - RC1613F3F6B0

How long will Iran tolerate Israeli operations against it?

According to recent foreign reports, Israel is continuing to expand its operations against Iranian targets.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland Ville Skinnari meets Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammed Javad Zarif, in Helsinki, Finland, August 19, 2019. Lehtikuva/Markku Ulander via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FINLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN FINLAND NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS - RC1ECD803310

Zarif makes fresh push to save Iran deal, ease Gulf tensions

Iran's foreign minister has embarked on a long journey in search of workable diplomatic solutions to save the battered nuclear deal and resolve heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf.

A crew member takes pictures with a mobile phone on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1491345A00

Iran calls for compensation for Gibraltar tanker seizure

Iranian officials have welcomed the release of the Iranian tanker seized by the UK.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson conducts flight operations while underway in the Arabian Gulf in this U.S. Navy handout photo dated April 4, 2011. He may have been America's enemy number one, but after U.S. forces killed him in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden was afforded Islamic religious rites by the U.S. military as part of his surprise at-sea burial on Monday. The body was transported to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which brought him to his final resting place somewhere in the north

Putin’s Gulf security plan depends on Trump

The Russian president plans to roll out his regional initiative to calm Gulf tensions next month — but are the United States and the EU ready to let Putin step up in the Gulf?

Is Iran’s national broadcaster being pushed to brink of irrelevance?

Iran's national broadcasting monopoly IRIB continues to play a partisan role in the country.

Hoopla over minor Iranian election may herald big fallout in 2020

A normally negligible local election in the Iranian capital has brought the country’s political groups face to face, revealing that bigger clashes may be ahead as Iran’s 11th parliamentary elections draw near.

Iranian Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a campaign meeting at the Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RC174E47D960

Iran judiciary chief defends internal corruption probe

Iran’s judiciary has embarked on an anti-corruption probe that has involved members of the former judiciary team.

Iran reaffirms support for Houthis as rift splits Saudi coalition

Iran's supreme leader has called on Yemen's Houthi rebels to put up tougher resistance to what he deems a Saudi-Emirati conspiracy to partition the war-ravaged country.

Fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn (L), amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (C), and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe transit the Arabian Gulf, according to the U.S. Navy in this picture released on July 24, 2019. Kyle Carlstrom/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS- THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1A0335D650

Zarif says foreign ships making Gulf 'less safe'

Iranian officials continue to push back against the naval presence of the United States and United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an event marking 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shomron Local Council in the Jewish settlement of Revava in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1F9F7652C0

How the Saudis help Netanyahu in his pre-election campaign

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that by boasting about ties with Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he can distance the conflict with the Palestinians from the election agenda.

TOPSHOT - A fighter of the Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) flashes the victory gesture while carrying a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher during the advance through the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from Islamic State (IS) group control, on August 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

As US pressure increases on Iran-backed militias, they turn to Iran

Iran-backed PMU factions are under intense pressure from the Iraqi government and the public, leading them to Iran.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani as Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (3rd R) and other members of the Iranian delegation stand next to them during an official meeting at the Millennium Hotel near the United Nations on September 18, 2017, in New York. / AFP PHOTO / LUDOVIC MARIN (Photo credit should read LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Rebuking Trump, French FM defends Iran mediation efforts

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian directly rebukes Trump and insists France will continue "mediation efforts" with Iran "to avert a wider conflict."