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August 20, 2026

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Iraq seeks special Hormuz access from Iran in scramble to keep oil flowing

As Iran's parliament speaker holds talks in Baghdad, Iraq has asked Tehran for special consideration for its oil exports.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference at the site where Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a US airstrike in 2020 near the airport upon his arrival in Baghdad, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Iran’s Ghalibaf makes high-level visit to Iraq ahead of disarmament deadline

The Iraqi parliament speaker is calling on his Iranian counterpart to help Iraq export oil through Hormuz amid the regional conflict.

Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran's late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2026.

With talks stalled, Iran ups threats against Gulf, Europe: What to know

The threats have raised concerns that the conflict between Iran and the United States could expand beyond the region.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

UAE halts all trade ties with Iran after missile attack

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.

United Arab Emirates

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

Leon Neal/Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

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

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) on April 2, 2015, after Iran nuclear program talks finished with extended sessions. Iran and world powers reached a framework agreement on Thursday on curbing Iran's nuclear programme for at least a decade after eight days of marathon talks in Switzerland. The tentative agreement clears the way for talks on a future comprehensi

Zarif defends nuclear framework deal

While most officials and media in Iran have been supportive of the framework deal, some have expressed opposition.

A Saudi man explores a website on his laptop in Riyadh February 11, 2014. Syria's civil war has led to a new, greater threat of Islamist radicalism in Saudi Arabia that requires a more aggressive "war of ideology" on the Internet, says the man responsible for online monitoring in the kingdom. Remarks by the head of the Saudi Ideological Security Directorate (ISD) suggest that the unit, known for keeping tabs on liberal activists and women drivers as well as Islamist extremists, is turning its focus increasi

Saudi Arabia embraces high-tech lobbying

Saudi Arabia is tapping politically connected digital image-makers amid escalating tensions with Iran.

S-300 air defence mobile missile systems drive through Ukraine's Independence Day military parade in the centre of Kiev August 24, 2014. Armoured vehicles and soldiers, some of them hardened in battle, paraded on Kiev's main square on Sunday to mark Independence Day in a defiant show of the military force Ukraine's government hopes will defeat pro-Russian separatists in the east. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTR43I1W

Russia eyes Iranian arms deal after Lausanne

Russian officials are promoting the prospect of major arms sales to Iran after the Lausanne agreement, but any such deals appear to be an impossibility in the near term.

(L-R) Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wu Hailong, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarifat arrive to deliver statements following nuclear talks at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) April 2, 2015. Iran and world powers reached a framework on curbing Iran's nuclear programme at marathon talks in Switzerland on Thursday that will allow further n

Is Netanyahu responsible for Iran deal?

Instead of objecting to progress toward an Iranian nuclear deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should claim partial responsibility for removing or at least postponing the threat to Israel's security.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (2nd L), the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) wait with others for a meeting at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel March 28, 2015, in Lausanne. Iran and major powers are close to agreement on a 2- or 3-page accord with specific numbers that would form the basis of a long-term settlement aimed at ending a 12-year standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions,

Iran framework agreement should boost regional diplomacy

The P5+1 and Iran agree on "detailed political agreement" for nuclear deal; Saudi Arabia, Iran hasten Yemen’s collapse; Netanyahu, Erdogan weigh in on Yemen.

Major-General Amos Yadlin, Israel's chief of military intelligence, speaks at the annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv December 15, 2009. Israel is parlaying civilian technological advances into a cyberwarfare capability against its enemies, Yadlin, a senior Israeli general, said on Tuesday in a rare public disclosure about the secret programme. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS SCI TECH) - RTXRVGO

Yadlin says Iran deal‎ isn't a bad agreement

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Yadlin claims that Israel should not panic when faced with the Iranian agreement, but focus on clarifying several of its clauses and rehabilitating ties with the United States.

(L-R) German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarifat, Russian Deputy Political Director Alexey Karpov and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond are seen following nuclear talks at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) April 2, 2015. Iran and world powers reached a framework on curbing Iran's nuclear programme at marathon talks in Switzerland on Thursda

Iran, P5+1 reach 'historic' framework deal

Iran and six world powers announced a more detailed political agreement for a final Iran nuclear accord than was expected after turbulent nuclear talks.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 03: Roderich Kiesewetter, member of the parliamentary investigation committee into the activities of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) in Germany, gives a statement to the media during a meeting of the commission, on July 3, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The commission convened following revelations last year that the NSA had for years eavesdropped on the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leading German and European politicians. Recent documents released by fo

Germans deny signing GOP letter on Iran

Two German lawmakers tell Al-Monitor they never even saw the joint letter circulated by hawkish House members.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (3rd R) arrives at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel during an extended round of talks on Iran's nuclear programme, April 2, 2015, in Lausanne. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4VVCY

Breaking: Zarif, Rouhani announce preliminary Iran nuclear deal

A late night view of the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel during an extended round of Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, April 1, 2015. Major powers and Iran negotiated into the early hours of Thursday on Tehran's nuclear programme two days past their deadline, with diplomats saying prospects for a preliminary agreement were finely balanced between success and collapse. Picture taken April 1, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTR4VUES

Kerry, Zarif hold all-night Iran negotiations

After all-night talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a preliminary agreement on a nuclear deal with Iran is still not finalized.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif talks to members of the media while walking through a courtyard at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel during an extended round of talks in Lausanne April 1, 2015. Zarif said on Wednesday that the nuclear talks with the success major powers could succeed if they have political will to resolve Iran's 12-year old nuclear standoff. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4VSDR

Does Iran really want all sanctions removed immediately?

Iranian negotiations and analysts have shown more nuance in latest statements about the process of removing sanctions.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference in Ankara June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SXIL

Erdogan takes swipe at Iran

Observers are wondering why Erdogan is trying to drag Turkey into the region’s growing sectarian conflict.