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Iran

August 19, 2026

Tehran 9:09 am

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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

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

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (seated) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as he prepares to leave the Austria Center in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2015. Iran and six major world powers reached a nuclear deal on Tuesday, capping more than a decade of on-off negotiations with an agreement that could potentially transform the Middle East, and which Israel called an "historic surrender". REUTERS/US State Department/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR S

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