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Iran

August 19, 2026

Tehran 6:58 am

29°C

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

Analysis

How failing US-Iran diplomacy is giving way to fresh confrontation

Iran's dismissal of secret talks with Washington comes as diplomacy is in impasse, the Strait of Hormuz remains contested and Iranian commanders signal a potentially more aggressive military posture.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Ships are docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on July 14, 2026.

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

The incident follows the UAE blaming Iran for strikes on ADNOC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

United Arab Emirates

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Oil nears $92 on UAE missile alert as Trump claims Iran talks stuck

Brent crude climbed near $92 a barrel on Tuesday, reaching its highest level this month amid new escalatory developments.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Explainer

Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defences activated near the airport in Erbil, on July 24, 2026.

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' of US-Iran deal

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on Aug. 14, 2026 in Garden City, New York.

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

An Iranian customer speaks with a bank clerk at the Export Development Bank of Iran in the capital Tehran on July 27, 2015. Iran's central bank chief said that Iran has assets of $29 billion in overseas banks that could be unlocked under a nuclear deal struck on July 14, far less than reported estimates of over $100 billion. AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Iran get its billions back?

Iranian officials have issued contradictory statements about the size of Iran's blocked foreign reserves.

Fabius takes over Tehran

The trip by the French foreign minister to Iran was the first in 17 years and signals deeper economic cooperation with Iran after the nuclear deal.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (R) welcomes his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad, July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1M0DY

Can Iraq bring Iran, GCC closer?

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent visit to Iraq sends several important signals — all centering on increasing regional security in the Middle East.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh June 11, 2015. Gulf Arab countries have offered support for Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup as criticism grows over the choice of the desert nation as the venue for world soccer's top event. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1G3S4

Will Saudi Arabia save Hamas?

Saudi Arabia's patronage of Hamas could help the movement's leadership regain the power usurped by its military wing and save it from collapse.

Israel, not Iran, started Middle East nuclear arms race

Claims that the Iran deal will spark a nuclear arms race in the region ignore the fact that Israel been leading the Middle East's arms race for the last 65 years.

Iran's dos and don'ts for talking about the nuclear deal

Iran's Culture Ministry believes the nuclear negotiations are a national security issue and specific guidelines must be followed in their coverage to prevent divisions in society.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Investors look at a computer screen supplying stock market information about listed companies on the Tehran stock exchange September 15, 2010. While U.S. diplomats were busy upping Iran's economic punishment over nuclear activities Washington fears are aimed at making a bomb, Iranian shares, which might have been expected to fall, have, instead, gone through the r

Foreign firms prepare to dive into Iran’s lucrative private equity market

Foreign businesses are scouring Iran in search of investment opportunities when sanctions are finally lifted based on the deal reached on the country's nuclear program.

Hamas visit to Riyadh strikes nerve in Iran

A Hamas delegation recently visited Saudi Arabia to bolster relations between both parties, as Iran fumed.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns (2nd L) talks with Vice Foreign Minister of South Korea Kim Kyou-hyun during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17N92

Burns: Implementation key to Iran nuclear deal

The first year of implementation of the Iran nuclear deal will be especially critical to ensuring its success and durability over the long haul, former US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns tells Al-Monitor.

Salehi speaks on 'secret side deal' with IAEA

In an interview with Iranian state television, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, talked about the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency of how the inspections of specific sites will be handled.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkish private sector gears up for Iran push

An end to international sanctions against Iran raises strong commercial prospects for Turkish companies on the Iranian market.

Former Shin Bet chief: Diplomatic stalemate keeps Bibi in power

Yaakov Peri tells Al-Monitor that the Israeli government is stable since the outgoing US administration has formulated its legacy and there is no diplomatic initiative to be opposed by right-wing coalition members.