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October 6, 2026

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Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran

Hormuz tanker attacks mount, putting oil flows at risk

Roughly a dozen reported attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz suggests Iran is once again dialing up the pressure as US economic sanctions plunge the rial to new lows.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad looks on during the 27th Gas Exporting Countries Forum ministerial meeting, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 23, 2025.

Iran’s economy deteriorates, oil minister resigns, workers protest: What to know

Iran’s oil minister has resigned amid mounting economic pressure from US sanctions and restrictions on the country’s exports.

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office

Analysis

Why Trump-Xi summit did not move the China needle away from Iran

Beijing's incentive to alienate Iran has shrunk as the war has dragged on.

Yun Sun

In Washington, DC, reporting on China-Middle East ties

nyse

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

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.

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

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

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

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

A British Royal Navy patrol vessel guards the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored anchored after it was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain July 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca - RC1FBC24FCC0

UK, Iran treading troubled waters after seizing tankers

The British navy is now escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz for safety reasons, as it remains to be seen if Iran and the United Kingdom can settle their maritime dispute.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan June 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RC18D8234850

Rouhani says Iran ready for 'respectful' negotiations

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that the country will not "surrender" but is ready to hold talks with the United States on reviving the nuclear deal.

Mark Esper talks to reporters as he arrives for the first day on job as New U.S. Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. July 24, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC188D6C2000

Intel: Pentagon chief says European-led Gulf initiative complements US

On his first day on the job at the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that a fresh European-led initiative to defend ships transiting the Gulf was complementary to the Donald Trump administration’s separate efforts to gather allies to protect shipping in the region.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson enters 10 Downing Street after meeting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to become Prime Minister and form a new government, in London, Britain July 24, 2019. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS - RC1D5AEAAC20

Unease in Iran as 'Trump's duplicate' becomes British PM

While politicians in Tehran were seeking a new opening with the UK after Boris Johnson found his way to 10 Downing Street, Iran's media received the news with little enthusiasm.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 22: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi (L) meets with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) as part of his visit in Tehran, Iran on July 22, 2019. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iraq seeks Iranian assistance to curb militias' reign

Iraq's prime minister made a surprise visit to Tehran to request Iranian help in controlling Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh attends a meeting with members of international media at his office in Gaza City June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1BDF2E2180

Hamas, let down by the Gulf states, revisits ties with Syria

Hamas’ leaders have been exploring the restoration of ties with Syria in light of Gulf countries' engagement with the United States on a peace deal and therefore their increasing normalization of relations with Israel.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, questions US Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, nominee to be Secretary of Defense, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 16, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Intel: Why 5 Democratic presidential hopefuls just rebelled against Trump’s new defense secretary

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 Tuesday to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary.

The lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building in McLean, Virginia, August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES) - GM1E48F0B7101

Iran claims massive counterespionage win

Iran claims it has dealt a "severe blow" to US intelligence in announcing the arrest of 17 individuals it claims worked with the CIA.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 22: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei (2nd R) meets Saleh al-Arouri (3rd R), deputy leader of Hamas, in Tehran, Iran on July 22, 2019. (Photo by IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Hamas' rapprochement with Iran endangers deal with Israel

The high-level Hamas visit to Tehran does not bode well for the movement's arrangement with Israel.

Iranian youth use their mobile phones as they rest at a park in Tehran, Iran, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RC1A55C54480

Iran struggles to mold 'revolutionary youth'

The Iranian government’s persistence in trying to force its preferred lifestyle on Iranians has failed to change the preference of a considerable segment of society for a more relaxed way of life.

A boat of Iranian Revolutionary Guard sails next to Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, at Bandar Abbas port, in this undated handout photo. Iran, ISNA/WANA Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B8D53F530

Iran says tanker crisis can be resolved diplomatically

A spokesman for the Iranian administration said the tanker crisis between Iran and the United Kingdom could be solved through diplomacy.

US troops return to Saudi Arabia after 16 years

US troops are returning to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 16 years as tensions with Iran rise and the kingdom finds itself increasingly isolated in Yemen.