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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 12:14 pm

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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.

A money changer waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2VZCM

What will lifting sanctions do to Iran's rial?

The removal of sanctions will likely substantially strengthen the rial and could lead to a wave of cheap and wasteful imports into Iran, economists have warned.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University June 19, 2009. Khamenei on Friday demanded an end to street protests that have shaken the country since a disputed presidential election a week ago and said any bloodshed would be their leaders' fault. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGI

Khamenei: We will not negotiate under 'specter of threats'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's harsh words were likely a response to comments by US Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, who have suggested that the military option is still on the table.

Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie (L) looks on as US Vice President Joseph R. Biden (C) and Amos J. Hochstein, US State Department Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, talk before the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative Luncheon during the Caribbean Energy Security Summit at the US Department of States January 26, 2015 in Washington, DC. Leaders from around the Caribbean attended the summit to discuss energy and regional issues. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo cre

Price impact of Iranian oil uncertain, says US official

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, says Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in renewables, international oil companies are returning to Egypt and Israel needs get its regulatory house in order if it wants foreign investments in offshore natural gas.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gestures to to a colleague before the start of
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 29, 2015. McConnell and Abe were scheduled to meet later in the day. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX1AUYN

Congress ponders next step for rejecting Iran deal

Republicans won't let a veto threat stop them from voicing their opposition.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor in Maryland February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RFDP

Arab states worry over Senate's 'Jewish State' debate

An Iran bill amendment could create an uncomfortable precedent for Arab allies of the United States.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (C), Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, takes part in the funeral of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh January 23, 2015. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king of the world's top oil exporter. King Salman moved swiftly to appoint Mohammed Deputy Crown Prince on Friday, hours after he took the throne following the death of King Abdullah. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: ROYALS RELIGION OBITUARY) - RTR4MMDK

Saudi re-reshuffle turning point for relations with Tehran

King Salman's recent reshuffling of key positions and statements by the grand mufti and Iran's supreme leader point to strife between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Southern Popular Resistance fighters gather on a road during fighting against Houthi fighters in Yemen's southern city of Aden May 3, 2015. Between 40-50 Arab special forces soldiers arrived in Aden on Sunday and deployed alongside local fighters against the Houthi militia, a spokesman for the Southern Popular Resistance said. REUTERS/Stringer - RTX1BC8V

Saudi Arabia, Iran both losers in Yemen war

Despite the announcement of the end of Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, Saudi Arabia seems to have failed militarily, while Iran may have lost on the political level.

Nurses prepare Iranian woman Arezoo Abassi in the operating room as she gets ready for a surgery on her nose at a surgical clinic in Tehran May 29, 2007. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTR1Q8AF

Iran cancels popular sitcom for mocking country's hospitals

A TV comedy highlighting and mocking many of the problems of Iranian health care has been canceled after complaints from a medical association.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at the New York University (NYU) Center on International Cooperation in New York April 29, 2015. Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday offered assurances that Tehran is committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of the seizure of a commercial ship by Iranian forces a day earlier. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTX1AULC

Zarif's denial on political prisoners sparks backlash

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reiterated over Facebook his claim that Iran does not jail anyone for their political beliefs.

An army officer looks at a Felix Airways plane, destroyed by an air strike at the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 29, 2015. Jets from a Saudi-led alliance destroyed the runway of Yemen's Sanaa airport on Tuesday to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, Saudi Arabia said, as fighting across the country killed at least 30 people. Airport officials said the strikes set a civilian aircraft operated by Yemeni Felix Airways ablaze. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Saudi shake-up underscores stakes in Yemen

Saudi credibility on the line in Yemen; al-Qaeda’s “free rein” in Yemen; Iraq seeks balance, distance from Saudi-Iranian rivalry; Iran’s Reformists still waiting for Rouhani to deliver; Syrian government intensifies attacks on rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

Fighters loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad go through weapons near a tank after regaining control of Hamreet, a town south of Damascus, in the Daraa countryside March 1, 2015. Government forces say they've regained control of this and many other villages in the south - wresting them back from rebel hands. A general made the announcement on state television, saying a large number of Nusra Front fighters were killed and their weapons destroyed.The gains were said to happen on Friday and Saturday in a

Iranian doc follows Afghan fighters in Syria

The film, which was broadcast on an unofficial government channel, shows why Afghans living in Iran are fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (L) arrives with his uncle King Salman (R) to greet U.S. President Barack Obama at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. King Salman's appointment of his nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince makes him 2nd in the line of succession and he becomes the first grandson of the kingdom's founding monarch to take an established place in the line of succession. Picture taken January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SA

Saudi palace intrigue sparks speculation

Saudi King Salman's unprecedented personnel changes and other moves have many wondering what might come next from the House of Saud.