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Iran

May 16, 2026

Tehran 6:49 pm

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Women shop from a street vendor at Enghelab Square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 11, 2025.

Analysis

From hoarding to unemployment: Iran's economy buckles under US pressure

Iran's fast-rising inflation is driving aggressive state market controls, exposing deeper structural strains from war, sanctions and declining consumer confidence.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on March 13, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war is exposing a growing Saudi-UAE divide

Reports on Emirati and Saudi strikes suggest Gulf monarchies moved beyond passive defense — but followed sharply different strategies.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

Latest News

Uptick in Chinese tankers transiting Hormuz amid Trump-Xi summit

Jag Vasant, an Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that transited through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East war, remains docked at an offloading terminal along the coast in Mumbai on April 1, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Iran looms large over Trump’s China visit, but breakthrough unlikely

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) is escorted by China's Vice President Han Zheng (R) upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

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

Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sit on the stand of an Iraqi money dealer on June 19, 2014, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. President Hassan Rouhani said on June 18 Iran would do whatever it takes to protect revered Shiite shrines in Iraq against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

Iranian lawmakers block cuts to cash handouts

Iran's parliament has dramatically weakened the administration's proposed plan to end cash subsidy payments in a politically motivated backlash against the cost-saving effort.

Turkish-Iranian trade revived amid growing cooperation in Syria

Turkey and Iran have reversed a four-year downturn in bilateral trade as collaboration in Syria increases, but the possibility of a setback remains real.

Mideast braces for war: Israel vs. Iran-backed Hezbollah

Israel is threatening a new war against Hezbollah and its weapons plants in Lebanon and Syria.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Motorists travel on a highway in Tehran as the city is covered in dust July 6, 2009. The government closed private educational centres, state offices, industrial units and military bases for two days and raised its pollution alert status due to the dust, which an official from Tehran's environment office attributed the source to dust from dried marshland in Iraq blown towar

Iran prepares to boost jobs, clean air by revamping auto fleet

The vast fleet of dilapidated vehicles on Iranian roads may disappear sooner than thought, though not everyone is optimistic about Tehran's latest attempt to get it done.

Russia's UN veto sign of warming ties with Iran says Khamenei adviser

Russia’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran in Yemen’s civil war is a sign of the growing ties between Tehran and Moscow, according to a top adviser to the supreme leader.

Sunsets 'tricky bit' in transatlantic talks on Trump Iran demands

Diplomats say sunset clauses that eventually will ease limits on Iran’s enrichment capacity are proving the most difficult issue in US-European negotiations to meet Donald Trump’s Iran ultimatums.

State Department OKs nuclear monitoring system for Iran

The State Department has approved US exports that will help a UN agency set up nuclear monitoring stations inside Iran to strengthen the nuclear deal.

Iran’s Islamic Azad University rocked by layoffs of pro-reform professors

In Iran, conservative elements appear to be targeting pro-Reformist professors at Islamic Azad University.

Abandoned boats in Sikh Sar village at Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town, in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on February 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians call for soft power now to head off future water crises

At a conference on water, Iranian officials called for moving to resolve potential water disputes with neighbors peacefully, in light of expected drought and other water problems.

IRAN, TEHRAN - MAY 16: Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi (R) holds hands with former presidential candidate and mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C), as he greets his supporters during a campaign rally at Imam Khomeini Mosque in the capital Tehran on May 16, 2017 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's presidential election on May 19 is effectively a choice between moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani and hardline jurist Raisi, with major implications for everything from civil rights to relations with Wa

Iranian conservative duo rumored to be gearing up for parliament run

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s conservative rivals appear to be gearing up to enter parliament.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan chats with Jordan's King Abdullah as they pose for a group photo during an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey, December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC1F351E9400

Jordan and Turkey get cozy

Jordan and Turkey are boosting political, trade and economic ties amid regional challenges and shared interests in the outcome of nearby conflicts.

MUNICH, BAVARIA - FEBRUARY 18: In this handout photo Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up what he claims is a piece of an Iranian drone that was shot down after it flew over Israeli territory at the 2018 Munich Security Conference on February 18, 2018 in Munich, Germany. The annual conference, which brings together political and defense leaders from across the globe, is taking place under heightened tensions between the USA, together with its western allies, and Russia. (Photo by Lennart Pre

Will Israel act against Iran?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toughened his speech against Iran, but the reality on the ground raises questions as to whether or not the Cabinet will follow up in deeds.