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Iran

April 27, 2026

Tehran 4:57 am

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 23: A police officer stands holding a flag in Valiasr Square beneath a mural of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on April 23, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an extension of the current ceasefire between his country and Iran, despite Iran declining to attend the latest proposed round of peace talks in Islamabad. The focus of the war has shifted largely to the Strait of Hormuz, where both sides are trying to assert control over the critical m

Analysis

Araghchi’s Russia, regional tour tests path to breaking US-Iran deadlock

Iranian officials say dialogue remains open, but negotiations are clouded by intensifying hard-line domestic messaging and conflicting signals over Tehran’s red lines.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is moored at a LNG berth in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, prefecture April 8, 2026.

IEA delivers grim gas supply forecast as oil notches 15% weekly rise

A wave of new LNG supplies will be delayed for at least two years due to war-related damage to Qatari energy infrastructure, according the International Energy Agency's latest market update.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Trump angling for Lebanon deal to offset Iran missteps

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) holds a signed "Make America Great Again" hat while (L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanon Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad listen to US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Lebanon Ambassador to the US and Israel Ambassador to the US, at the White House in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026. US President Donald Trump met Lebanese and Israeli envoys at a new round of peace talks Thursday, with Beirut seeking a one-month extension of a

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

Which airlines are cutting flights amid Hormuz fuel disruption?

Refueling trucks are seen at Southend Airport on April 17, 2026, in Southend, England.

Analysis

China gets around Iran blockade as Gulf courts Beijing

US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, 2026, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessel. (Handout Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Joyce Karam

Who is Ahmad Vahidi, IRGC chief and hard-liner against nuclear compromise?

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi speaks at a candidates' registration office in Tehran on May 30, 2024, during the first day of registration ahead of the country's presidential election.

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

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Could US state sanctions on Iran unravel nuke deal?

Critics of the nuclear agreement say states have it in their power to kill it, but do they really?

Tehran, IRAN: An Iranian girl gives her drawing to a teacher in the clasroom at Sizdah Abban school in north of Tehran 01 October 2006. Iranian students went back to school a week ago. US President George W. Bush signed into law yesterday a set of sanctions targeting foreign countries that continue nuclear cooperation with Iran and sell it advanced weaponry. The measure, passed by the Senate Saturday after clearing the House of Representatives a day earlier, came as Iran and the European Union are engaged

For Iranian teachers, another day, another rial

Iranian teachers face a crackdown in response to their protests for better conditions.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the Royal Court, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, May 7, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Harnik/Pool - RTX1BXMV

The king finally comes to town

King Salman of Saudi Arabia won't find solutions to his country's deepest problems during his visit to Washington.

Soleimani: US power in region has declined

Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani addressed Iran's Assembly of Experts about regional issues including Iraq, US influence and the wars in Syria and Yemen.

US veterans fight over Iran deal

Congress is getting mixed messages from Americans who’ve battled Tehran.

State Department: Middle East needs 10-year plan including pressure on Iran, improved US relations with Sunni countries

The international community allotted the Iran agreement at least 10 years, a time frame that, according to a State Department official, may be necessary "to stabilize the region and to implement the two-state solution."

Turkey’s protracted PKK problem

Although many Kurds do not like the leftist and secular agenda of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the PKK has shown great resilience, in part as the result of the fragmented Iraqi and Syrian states and political missteps by Turkey.

DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA - JULY 2: US and Saudi officials spread debris 29 June on plastic sheets as they continue to gather evidence in the 25 June bombing outside the Khobar Towers complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The explosion killed 19 and injured some 260. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

With Khobar bomber's arrest, Saudi Arabia deals blow to Iran

With the recent arrest of the Khobar Tower bomber, Saudi-Iranian tensions have been elevated to new levels.

Iranian clerics, filmmakers face off over religious movie

In Iran, controversy erupts as "Resurrection," an award-winning film about a Shiite imam, is banned over objections from senior clerics.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waits for his microphone to be adjusted to start delivering a speech during a press conference in the capital Tehran on August 29, 2015. AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Rouhani serve a second term?

Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in an interview that only a quarter of the president's term has passed and that he will serve eight years as president.

Iranian ambassador to the UAE: Iran wants to remove tensions with neighbors

Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Iranian ambassador to the UAE, blames Saudi Arabia for many of the problems in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (R) at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Carter flew into Saudi Arabia for meetings on Wednesday with King Salman and his security leadership to reassure the kingdom of America's support after Washington struck a nuclear deal with its arch-rival Iran. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool - RTX1LBXR

Saudi king wants Obama to tackle Iranian 'mischief'

King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud will make clear during his White House visit that Riyadh’s lukewarm support for the Iran nuclear deal depends on the United States keeping Tehran in check.