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May 1, 2026

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This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff intensifies, Trump must choose between military escalation, a limited diplomatic deal, or continuing a pressure campaign against Iran.

AFP via Getty Images

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

Latest News

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

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

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, September 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FG0R

Netanyahu meets Obama amid US Iran diplomatic push

In a meeting between Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Obama and Vice President Biden, the US stressed diplomacy must be exhausted with Iran.

Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, October 1, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FHCG

Netanyahu to UN: Keep pressure on Iran

Netanyahu urged the United Nations to keep economic pressure on Iran claiming that while the Islamic Republic will not cross Israel's red line, it is positioning itself to build a nuclear bomb as quickly as possible.

U. S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman arrives for a meeting on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10C74

Top US Iran negotiator: Onus is on Iran to propose nuclear plan

During a senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iran, under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman urged law makers to hold off on new sanctions until the next round of P5+1 talks are held so the administration could determine if the Iranians were serious about a nuclear deal.

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

An Iranian lawmaker welcomes Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf (2nd L) at the Iranian Parliament during a ceremony to mark Parliament day in Tehran December 1, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN ANNIVERSARY POLITICS) - RTXRBH8

Labor Ministry opposes Tehran's proposal for gender segregation

Iran's Labor Ministry has warned that the separation of the sexes in Tehran's municipal administration could provoke an international backlash.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) arrives at a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. U.S. and Iranian officials emerged upbeat on Thursday from a meeting on Iran's nuclear program but both sides also sounded a cautionary note, with the United States saying there was more work to do and Iran insisting on quick sanctions relief. REUTERS/Eric Thaye

Kerry: Opportunity for Iran diplomacy cracking open

While Kerry has not announced plans to join the P5+1 Iran Nuclear talks, there are hints he might do so despite his aides advising against it.

Customers use computers at an internet cafe in Tehran May 9, 2011. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and countless others were banned shortly after the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the huge street protests that followed. Seen by the government as part of a "soft war" waged by the enemies of the Islamic Republic, social networking and picture sharing sites were a vital communication tool for the anti-Ahmadinejad opposition -- more than a year before they played a similar rol

Iranians, irked by Netanyahu comment, tweet photos of their jeans

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offended many young Iranians by falsely saying in an interview that the citizens of the Islamic Republic were not free to wear jeans or listen to western music.

Iran's supreme leader calls on Muslim world to arm Gaza

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has asked Muslim countries to ignore calls by the West to disarm Gaza.

British Foreign Minister William Hague (L). gestures as he meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the beginning of their bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York September 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jason DeCrow/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13X4E

Negotiators beat back disinfo ahead of Iran nuclear talks

Ahead of the next round of P5+1 talks, US officials have denied claims that there is a secret nuclear agreement between the US and Iran and that the US has seen an Iranian proposal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media after a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. U.S. and Iranian officials emerged upbeat on Thursday from a meeting on Iran's nuclear program but both sides also sounded a cautionary note, with the United States saying there was more work to do and Iran insisting on quick sanctions relie

Will Iran go big in Geneva?

The six world powers expect Iran to present a more practical nuclear proposal, but Iran has urged the media and others not to speculate.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C) arrives to meet with the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at UN Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. Iran's new government began its first talks on its nuclear program with the United States and five other world powers on Thursday, with the Iranian foreign minister taking a seat next to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a rare high-level contact between th

Diplomats from P5+1 meet in Geneva, Kerry flies home

Iranian media expressed disappointment that US secretary of State John Kerry and other P5+1 foreign ministers would not join the nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the media after a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. U.S. and Iranian officials emerged upbeat on Thursday from a meeting on Iran's nuclear program but both sides also sounded a cautionary note, with the United States saying there was more work to do and Iran insisting on quick sanctions relief. REUTERS

US on Iran talks: No one should expect breakthrough overnight

Western diplomats have said that they are hopeful for the nuclear proposal Iran is set to give at the next round of P5+1 talks, but caution not to expect an immediate breakthrough.

US. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (R) arrives with U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford (2nd L) for a meeting on Syria at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva June 25, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX110CI

West praises 'useful, detailed' Iran nuclear proposal

During the latest round of P5+1 talks on Iran's nuclear program, the Islamic Republic presented a nuclear proposal in a meeting that all parties described as substantive and productive.