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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 11:54 am

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

AFP via Getty Images

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

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

NAJAF, IRAQ: An Iraqi Shiite scholar (2nd L) lectures a student while another one (R) reviews his lesson at a religious school for clerics, known in Arabic as Haouza, in the holy city of Najaf, 160 kms (100 miles) south of Baghdad, 05 August 2006. The teaching method at the clerical school in Najaf has not radically changed since its establishment in 1056 AD, with the exception of adding natural sciences subjects to the curriculum. AFP PHOTO/ALI AL-SAADI (Photo credit should read ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty I

Najaf's Shiite seminaries enter 21st century

Throughout its history, the Shiite seminaries in Najaf, Iraq, have witnessed massive changes in curricula, with an expansion in the number and scope of subjects offered.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M32

Israel-Russia ties strong despite Ukraine

Both Israel and Russia value their growing strategic relationship.

(L-R) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) chat as they arrive to speak at the Tea Party Patriots 'Exempt America from Obamacare' rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13G43

House bill demands tougher line against Hezbollah

Bipartisan legislation introduced Monday in the House Foreign Affairs Committee pushes sanctions against financial institutions and satellite providers that aid Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam after his new government wins a vote of confidence in Beirut March 20, 2014. Lebanon's parliament gave a newly-formed cabinet a vote of confidence on Thursday, ending almost a year of political deadlock during which the country has been pulled further into the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HXY5

Next Lebanese president depends on Tehran, Riyadh

Influential regional players, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, are so far unable to agree on a presidential candidate in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) attend the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of Turkey-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Istanbul January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WZJV

The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemony

Saudi Arabia views Turkey's mix of democracy and Islam as a threat to its own regional role.

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 protester shows her green-painted palm in support of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi during a silent demonstration against the results of the Iranian presidential election in central Tehran June 17, 2009. The sign across her mouth bears a stamp of Mousavi's signature. Picture taken June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN POLITICS

Remember Iran's Green Movement?

President Hassan Rouhani will not open a new battlefront against hard-liners in pushing for the release of Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hussein Mousavi while the nuclear negotiations are taking place.

Supporters of the ruling AK Party wear Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan masks during an election rally in Konya, central Turkey, March 28, 2014. Erdogan pulled out of election rallies in central Turkey on Friday in order to rest his voice after weeks of campaigning around the country, his office said. Erdogan had difficulty speaking at rallies in southeast Turkey on Thursday ahead of Sunday's local elections. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIO

Turkey a 'political war zone' on eve of elections

Turkey's leaders look to Syria as a distraction from the latest domestic political crisis; the US Congress considers new sanctions on Hezbollah; Al-Monitor expands coverage of Russia and the Middle East.

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 holds Iranian rial banknotes as he waits for customers in Tehran's business district January 7, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2VZCL

Iran resumes monetary aid to Hamas

Dramatic regional events have sparked a warming of Hamas-Iran ties, but Hamas' relations with Hezbollah remain cool.

An Iranian man jumps over a fire to mark the last Tuesday of the Iranian calendar year in Tehran, Iran March 14, 2006. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl - RTR175XZ

Iranians ignore government limits on holiday celebration

Iranians celebrate the ancient Iranian holiday Chaharshanbeh-Souri on the last Tuesday of the year, despite the official discouragement of celebrating a pre-Islamic holiday.

The war on Twitter, the blowback from Ukraine

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan follows through on his threat to shut down Twitter, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar also crack down on social media; US-Russia collaboration on Syria and Iran is so far holding on, despite tensions over Ukraine.

An Israeli Air Force F-15I jet is seen in the background as Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (3rd R) speaks to reporters while standing next to Israel's armed forces chief Major-General Benny Gantz (R) and commander of Israel's Air Force Major-General Amir Eshel (4th R) during a presentation at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel April 30, 2013. Israel on Tuesday launched its first targeted attack on a militant in Gaza since a war in November, killing a Palestinian jihadist in an air strike that put f

Israel's defense minister speaks his mind about US

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's urge to vent his frustration in public is harming US-Israel ties.

People attend a rally called "We are together" to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in Red Square in central Moscow, March 18, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, signed a treaty on Tuesday making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. The flags display portraits of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and read "We are together!" REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF T

US-Russia confrontation could drift to Mideast

The question is whether Iran, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, in particular, will change their policies in the context of the US-Russia standoff.