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April 29, 2026

Tehran 5:09 am

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The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing economic fragility beneath Tehran's claims of control and resilience.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Latest News

Iran floats ‘plan B’ to defuse Hormuz standoff, delay nuclear talks

Iranian walks past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 22, 2026.

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland-2026 (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran FM meets Putin, Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

Iran FM meets Putin and Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

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

Tehran art auction attracts buyers, controversy

Tehran's biggest art auction attracted accusations of money laundering as well as record bids.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 30, 2015. Kerry and Zarif held a "productive" meeting in Vienna on Tuesday, the State Department said, as negotiations on curbing Iran's nuclear program were extended. REUTERS/State Department/Handout FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVI

Momentum for Iran deal builds

The Iran nuclear talks have been extended until July 7 as the Iranian and US officials present in Vienna express optimism and mutual reassurance.

Khamenei adviser: IS warned about Iraq shrines

The military adviser for Iran's supreme leader said the Islamic State was warned about approaching Shiite shrines.

A 900-year-old sycamore tree (plane tree), which is one of the eldest trees in the Iranian capital, stands in the courtyard of the shrine of Emamzadeh Yahya in downtown Tehran on December 30, 2014. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

New developments grow where Tehran's historic sycamore trees used to stand

Tehran's sycamore trees on Valiasr Street are being cut down to make room for businesses and developers; because the trees have a protected status of sorts, it is believed that some are being intentionally dried out in order to kill them.

A policeman waits outside the venue of nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria, June 28, 2015. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Sunday that a last-minute deal between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear programme was still possible. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTX1I4II

Critics make last-ditch effort to hamper Iranian deal

US skeptics are putting maximum pressure on negotiators ahead of June 30 deadline.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits between U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (L) and Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano during a meeting at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 29, 2015. Iran is backtracking from an interim nuclear agreement with world powers three months ago, Western officials suggested on Sunday, as U.S. and Iranian officials said talks on a final accord would likely run past a June 30 deadline. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I8AB

Reality of deal sets in for Iran, P5+1

A senior US negotiator suggested that all parties, but particularly the Iranians, may be experiencing some eleventh-hour jitters.

White smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, indicating a new pope has been elected at the Vatican March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out on Wednesday, signaling that Roman Catholic cardinals elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. REUTERS/Tony Gentile (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3EXR7

Awaiting 'white smoke' in Vienna

An Iranian source tells Al-Monitor that it is Iran, not the US Congress, that needs reassurances as nuclear talks in Vienna approach the deadline.

A serviceman carries a air-to-ground missile next to Sukhoi Su-25 jet fighters during a drill at the Russian southern Stavropol region, March 12, 2015. Russia has started military exercises in the country's south, as well as in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine last year, news agency RIA reported on Thursday, citing Russia's Defence Ministry. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4T425

Did Moscow’s 'air defense' diplomacy land Saudi deal?

After decades of disappointment, it appears Russia might finally become an arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, after also reaching deals with Iran and Egypt.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY STUART WILLIAMS
Iranian Hossein Shariatmadari, director of the hardline Kayhan (Universe) newspaper group for the past 15 years, sits next issues of the newspaper at his office in Tehran, 16 September 2007. Ridiculing the latest US threats against Tehran and advocating the need to expose traitors, Shariatmadari remains one of the most ardent champions of Iran's Islamic system. Appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, few in Iran can match Shariatmadari's authority

Iranian newspaper warns against showing enthusiasm for US

The Kayhan paper, sensing a nuclear deal is imminent, is worried about certain media outlets depicting the United States in a positive light.

Ebrahim Yazdi, secretary-general and chairman of Central Council Freedom Movement of Iran, speaks during an interview at his home in northern Tehran June 15, 2009. Iranian opposition politician Yazdi has been released from jail a day after he was detained while in hospital, a source close to him said on June 19, 2009. Yazdi, who heads the banned Freedom Movement, was one of scores of reformist activists detained since Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election. Picture taken June 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mortez

Former Iran FM warns of continued Iran-Saudi tensions

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iran's first foreign minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution talked about the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Rouhani administration and the lack of respect for the law within the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 27, 2015. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said much hard work still needs to be done to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I13O

Zarif travels to Iran after nuclear talks with Kerry

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif departed nuclear talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry and P5+1 diplomats in Vienna June 28 for consultations in Tehran, as officials say they will need a few days past the June 30 deadline to try to conclude the nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) at a hotel in Vienna, Austria June 27, 2015. Senior U.S. and Iranian officials said much hard work still needs to be done to bridge significant differences on an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTX1I13O

Did Khamenei blur his own red lines on sanctions?

Supreme Leader Khamenei gives strong backing for Iran’s negotiating team heading into Vienna talks; Assad holds off on hitting Islamic State, for now; Israel forced to clarify position on Jabhat al-Nusra; Egypt seeks to counter Turkey’s role in Syria.