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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 7:02 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

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian protesters remove a satellite dish from a building near the gate of the British Embassy in Tehran November 29, 2011. Dozens of young Iranian men entered buildings inside the British embassy compound in Tehran on Tuesday, throwing rocks, petrol bombs and burning documents looted from offices, Iranian news agencies reported. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN

Iran’s Basij concedes confiscating satellite dishes not working

The head of Iran's Basij organization said that instead of confiscating satellite dishes from homes, authorities should speak to homeowners to persuade them to give up the satellite dishes, which he believes are part of a cultural invasion of Iran's enemies.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani gives a news conference on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York September 26, 2014. Rouhani said on Friday "courageous decisions" must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable". REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47VNA

Reformist editor: No one pledged ‘allegiance’ to Rouhani

An op-ed by an Iranian Reformist editor says that President Hassan Rouhani, despite his winning the 2013 presidential election, does not have people's automatic support, in contrast with previous elections.

Iran's Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi celebrates beating China's Xiao Di in their men's Greco-Roman 98 kg gold medal wrestling match at Dowon Gymnasium during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: SPORT WRESTLING) - RTR48BNP

Wrestling’s Curby Cup next move in US-Iran sports diplomacy

An event founded in the memory of a young American wrestler provides a new pathway for advancing people-to-people ties between the United States and Iran.

Senate to wrap up defense bill

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 15.

Iranian former Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref (C), attends the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) party meeting in Tehran on January 15,2015. Iranian reformers gathered in Tehran, the first since 2009, with the ambition to return parliament to conservative control in the 2016 parliamentary elections, taking advantage of the momentum that carried Hassan Rohani to president in 2013. AFP PHOTO/ ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Are Reformists, Rouhani heading for split?

After supporting Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections, Reformists expect Rouhani to repay them with support in the parliamentary elections, but that may not be the case.

Negotiators of Iran and six world powers face each other at a table in the historic basement of Palais Coburg hotel in Vienna April 24, 2015. Nuclear talks are making good but slow progress as they work towards a June 30 deadline for a final deal, Tehran's senior negotiator Abbas Araqchi said on Friday. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader - RTX1A5EA

Iran talks may go into overtime

Negotiators are focused on the June 30 target for reaching a final Iran nuclear deal, a US official said June 10, but brinksmanship may push Iran talks past the deadline as each side waits to see if the other will make concessions.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives to attend the closing statement for the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta April 23, 2015.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside - RTX19YAE

Is Iran on the right track to managing inflation?

To make the economy stable and predictable, the government needs to put an end to its borrowing habit and cut spending in a significant way, economists believe.

Former Iranian president and election front-runner Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani casts his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 17, 2005. Iran holds presidential election on Friday under international scrutiny for its nuclear programme, its rocky relationship with the United States and by observers keen to see which direction the Islamic Republic will move in now that the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami has ended. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj CJF/DY - RTREON2

Iran court upholds sentence of Rafsanjani's son

An appellate court has upheld the corruption case against Mehdi Hashemi, son of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani (2nd R) pays his respects to the grave of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran June 16, 2013. Reuters/Fars News/Seyed Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10Q4E

Khomeini's supporters defend extravagant shrine

Critics have assailed the apparent lavishness of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine, saying he would have opposed the "palace-like" building.

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Iran MP emerges as Instagram rabble-rouser

Conservative Iranian parliament member Mehdi Koochakzadeh has taken to Instagram to attack his political rivals, attracting over 2,000 followers in just over a month.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright testifies at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington September 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) - RTX8UA8

Ex-Obama adviser: Missile defense may avert GCC proliferation

Retired Gen. James Cartwright, a former commander of US Strategic Command, says that missile defense could persuade Persian Gulf states to forswear nuclear weapons despite their concerns about an upcoming nuclear accord with Iran.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) smiles as he attends the 66th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ROEW

Former Ahmadinejad vice president arrested

Hamid Baghaei, former vice president for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the second Ahmadinejad era Cabinet member to be arrested on alleged corruption charges.