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May 1, 2026

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

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 threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

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.

Latest News

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

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

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.

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. special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, Robert Einhorn (R) speaks as Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes looks on during a news conference at the Information Resource Center of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul August 2, 2010. REUTERS/Truth Leem (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY BUSINESS) - RTR2GZAI

US message on enrichment helped open Iran channel

Secret US-Iran diplomatic contacts got underway after US President Barack Obama conveyed a message that the United States would be prepared to accept limited Iran enrichment program in a serious nuclear agreement.

Israeli strike kills family having coffee

Members of the Hamad family were sitting drinking coffee in front of a relative’s home when an Israeli strike claimed their lives.

People point to an iron dome missile trail, after an iron dome was fired to intercept an incoming rocket, during an air raid siren warning of a rocket attack in Tel Aviv July 12, 2014. Hamas militants launched ten rockets at Tel Aviv on Saturday, causing no casualties or damage, in the largest salvo yet on Israel's main business hub, since Israel launched its Gaza offensive against the Islamist group, five days ago. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3YB2W

The sirens of Tel Aviv

The people of Tel Aviv insist on maintaining normalcy by going to the beach and watching the World Cup, despite the rockets flying overhead, yet, something in the city has cracked this time around.

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 member of the Iranian army air force looks up as other members of the air and land force pray during Friday prayers in Tehran February 10, 2012. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2XM1P

Iranian military vows to uphold cultural norms

Iran’s military has called the breaking of cultural norms a national security threat and urges all government institutions to help it enforce the law.

Militant Islamist fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags

US, Iran security cooperation could help save Iraq

Tehran and Washington must act together to manage the crisis in Iraq before the volatile divide between Shiites and Sunnis becomes an all-out sectarian war and destabilizes the region.

American athletes get star treatment in Iran

Sports diplomacy is on the rise again between the United States and Iran, spearheaded by American wrestlers.

Iranian lawmakers want to restrict Khatami from public

Former President Mohammad Khatami is under the spotlight once again, with some conservative parliamentarians asserting he is banned from public engagements, while others deny their claim.

The Paris office of Iran Air is draped with a black shroud, July 7, 1988, following the downing of an Iran Air A-300 Airbus with 290 passengers aboard in the Gulf on Sunday. The USS Vincennes mistakenly fired a missile at the civilian airliner. REUTERS/Phillipe Wojazer - RTR1Q8SV

Iran remembers US downing of passenger plane

On the anniversary of the downing of Iran’s Flight 655 by the United States, Iran still mourns the act of violence that played a major role in US-Iran hostility.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand during a military-style training in Najaf June 20, 2014. Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3UW3C

Did Shiite fatwa save Baghdad from 'Islamic State'?

Iraqi Shiites have rallied to defend the capital from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), with few visible signs of Iranian fighters.

Iran's deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leaves the Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 4, 2006. The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board of governors voted on Saturday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council over concerns Tehran is secretly seeking atomic weapons, a diplomat said. REUTERS/Michael Dalder - RTR15UJ5

Iran negotiator: Nuclear program limits will have 'time frame'

As Iran and the UN Security Council meet for the last round of nuclear talks, negotiators from Iran say that the final agreement will be temporary.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq, July 19, 2013. REUTERS/Karim Kadim/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11RSP

Ahmadinejad’s legal case still open, says Iran judiciary

The Iranian judiciary’s spokesman has said that various charges are still being investigated against former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials in the banking and oil sectors.

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

Iran's opposition leader and former presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi (C) attends Friday prayers in Tehran July 17, 2009. QUALITY FROM SOURCE. REUTERS/ISNA (IRAN POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR25RB8

Motahari says Supreme Leader called house arrests a 'favor'

Parliament member Ali Motahari has said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei considers the continued house arrest of the Green Movement leaders a lighter punishment than the alternative: imprisonment.