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Iran

April 6, 2026

Tehran 4:24 pm

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A police speed boat patrols the port as oil tankers and high speed crafts sit anchored at Muscat Anchorage near the Strait of Hormuz on March 30, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Analysis

Hostage to Hormuz, can Gulf rewire future energy flows to bypass Iran’s chokepoint?

As the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts around 20% of global oil supply, experts point to opportunities and challenges facing a renewed push to develop alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, addresses parliament over the war in the Middle East at the congress in Madrid on March 25, 2026.

Analysis

Why Spain took Europe's lead in opposing US-Israel war in Iran

Like with the Gaza war, Madrid has taken a vocal role in opposing the monthlong Iran conflict.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A view of the B1 bridge is pictured, a day after it was destroyed by a strike in Karaj, around 20miles (35kms) southwest of Tehran, April 3, 2026. US President Donald Trump said on April 2 the tallest bridge in Iran had been destroyed, hours after threatening to bomb the country "back to the Stone Ages." (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Analysis

Why Trump's infrastructure-focused strikes risk hardening Iran's war posture

Targeting infrastructure has opened a new phase in the US-Israel-Iran war, hardening Tehran's stance and pushing the conflict toward attrition with fewer off-ramps.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Smoke rises from an area of Kuwait's international airport after a reported drone strike on April 1, 2026. Kuwait's civil aviation authority said that the Gulf state's international airport had come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at a fuel depot. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) / Kuwait OUT / KUWAIT OUT

Iran strikes Gulf again, hitting Kuwait refinery as UAE shuts gas hub

Kuwait’s desalination plant and key refinery have been damaged, and the UAE has suspended Habshan operations after debris from intercepted missiles caused a fire.

Latest News

US rescues 1 crew member after fighter jet downed over Iran

A US Air Force (USAF) F-15E Eagle fighter jet, is pictured as it prepares to land at RAF (Royal Air Force) Lakenheath, east of England, on June 15, 2020. - The UK Coastguard launched a search and rescue operation Monday to find the pilot of a US fighter jet that crashed during a training mission in the North Sea. The US Air Force said the F-15C Eagle went down after taking off from the RAF Lakenheath base near the town of Mildenhall in eastern England. The base is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, which has op

Argentina expels Iranian diplomat after listing IRGC as 'terrorist' organization

Argentina's president, Javier Milei, delivers a speech during a ceremony to commemorate the 44th anniversary of the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands on April 2, 2026.

US strike on Iran suspension bridge hints at looming shift in war strategy

B1 bridge

Europe diesel at four-year high above $200 as Iran war disrupts supply

This photograph shows a sign displaying the daily price panel for SP98, SP95 and diesel at a gas station in Paris on April 2, 2026.

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

Iranians shop in the capital Tehran's grand bazar on November 3, 2018. - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that President Donald Trump has "disgraced" US prestige and would be the ultimate loser from renewing sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Trump announced in May he was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions, sparking outrage among world powers who say Iran has been complying with commitments to restrict its atomic programme. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran consumer prices remain stubbornly high despite rial recovery

Despite the Iranian national currency's comeback, consumer prices have yet to see commensurate drops due to price rigidity and uncertainty over the country's economic future.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran speaks during the first meeting of national security secretaries of Afghanistan, China, Iran, India and Russia, in the Iranian capital Tehran on September 26, 2018. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

After US-Taliban talks, Iran also confirms dialogue

After years of accusations, Iran has confirmed that they have held talks with the Taliban.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC16BE0EE700

How Iran sees 'post-America' Syria

Rather than gloating, Iran has adopted a cautious approach to the US withdrawal from Syria as it examines whether and how it will impact Washington’s greater strategy to contain its regional role.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C-R) submits documents outlining his budget for 2018-2019 to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (4th-L) in the capital Tehran on December 25, 2018. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani presents budget bill in raucous parliament session

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani presented his government's budget bill, which includes several belt-tightening measures in anticipation of US sanctions, to a chamber of furious lawmakers.

Iraqi border eyes Iran influence as US plans Syria pullout

After the retaking of IS-held territory across the border and the US announcement it would pull its troops out of Syria, Iraq’s western Anbar is grappling with the prospect of increased Iranian influence amid joblessness, a lack of electricity and reports of cross-border drug smuggling.

Iran's leading reformist politician Saeed Hajjarian smiles as he receives guests at home following his release from prison in Tehran on September 30, 2009. Iran granted bail to Hajjarian, who was arrested in the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hotly disputed June re-election. A key member of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front who survived a 2000 assassination attempt, Hajjarian was among scores of reformist activists and journalists detained when the regime cracked down on the prote

Soul-searching Reformists debate whether to run in Iran’s next polls

Wary of having lost their political capital amid deepening public disapproval of President Hassan Rouhani’s performance, Iranian Reformists are debating whether and how to participate in coming parliamentary and presidential elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks withh Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the opening ceremony of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC19136AAEC0

Trump buries the hatchet with Erdogan over Syria

The US troop withdrawal could also lead to a return of the 'art of the deal' with Putin.

Esteghlal and Persepolis fans sit separately during their Iran Serie A soccer match at the Azadi (freedom) stadium in Tehran October 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - GM1DWJHVHFAA

Uncertainties abound as Iran moves to privatize its two biggest soccer clubs

Iran’s Cabinet has given the green light to the privatization of the popular Esteghlal and Persepolis soccer clubs, but from the debts to the losses, the process promises to be rocky at best.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu leave a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, at the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, France, November 11, 2018. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS - RC14BD6A5800

Erdogan gets his wish from Trump in Syria, but now what?

Ankara fears that US President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to exit Syria could become a pyrrhic victory, as four main concerns could widen security vulnerabilities and trouble Turkey's president domestically.

Israeli soldiers chat as they stand near the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DE3AFB000

Israel concerned over American exit of Syria

US withdrawal from Syria leaves Israel alone in the campaign against Iranian entrenchment there.

A policeman inspects the wreckage of a car bomb which exploded in front of a police station in the city of Chabahar, on December 06, 2018 in southern Iran. - A suicide bomber killed at least two people outside the police headquarters in the port city of Chabahar in restive southeastern Iran, according to a revised official toll. (Photo by STR / TASNIM NEWS / AFP) (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

How insecurity in Iran's southeast could benefit UAE, Pakistan

Regional rivalry over maritime trade has intensified speculations in Iran about possible Emirati-Pakistani involvement in the recent terror attack in the southeastern port of Chabahar.

Turkish observation posts are seen on the Turkish side as Kurdish protesters gather to protest near the border wall separating Turkey from Syria in the western Syrian countryside of Ras al-Ain on December 20, 2018. - Syrian Kurdish forces said they will keep fighting the Islamic State group in eastern Syria unless they come under Turkish attack, after their US allies announced their withdrawal. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian analysts welcome US withdrawal from Syria

Iran's government has not officially reacted to Trump's announcement of a US withdrawal from Syria, but Iranian analysts have welcomed the news.