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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 3:44 pm

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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

Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey January 2, 2014. Picture taken January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yaser Al-Khodor (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX170UO

Iran calls for end to foreign support for extremist groups in Syria

An Iranian diplomat also notes his country’s active support for chemical disarmament and humanitarian relief corridors in Syria.

A resident buys a newspaper from a kiosk in Baghdad February 23, 2009. A boom in local media since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 has given Iraqis a choice between some 200 print outlets, 60 radio stations and 30 TV channels in Arabic, Turkmen, Syriac and two Kurdish dialects. Yet most media outlets remain dominated by sectarian and party patrons who use them for their own ends, and have yet to become commercially sustainable enterprises let alone watchdogs keeping government under scrutiny, the favoured Wes

Iraqi media also characterized by political, sectarian bias

Media outlets in Iraq have become widely recognized as platforms for propaganda to garner political support.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (R) shakes hands with Lebanese Christian leader and head of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun during the eighth session of the national dialogue between political leaders at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, near Beirut March 9, 2010. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - RTR2BEYN

Lebanon government talks stall again

Developments at the Geneva II conference and in the Western-Iranian nuclear talks may have stalled Lebanon’s government formation

Exiled Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah delivers a speech during a conference in support of Palestinians in Tehran on February 28, 2010. Israel has lost its "raison d'etre" and its presence in the region causes instability, Iranian media quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying at the conference attended by top Palestinian militant leaders. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas isolated as Iran boosts ties with Islamic Jihad, Fatah

A high-level Islamic Jihad delegation visited Iran one week after a senior Fatah official made a similar trip, leaving Hamas isolated.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (L) and Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari attend a joint news conference in Baghdad January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17DOX

Controversy surrounds alleged Iraq-Iran arms deal

An Iraqi diplomat has been reported as claiming that Baghdad will sign an arms deal with Iran, but other officials from both sides refute his alleged assertions.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki attends a meeting with Arab foreign ministers at Arab League headquarters in Cairo September 12, 2011. Arab League ministers agree to submit a Palestinian bid for statehood to the United Nations, while the EU earlier said it has still not decided on a united position regarding a Palestinian bid. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2R7MQ

Palestinian foreign minister open to Iran visit

In an exclusive interview, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said he would accept an official invitation to visit Tehran if such an offer were made.

The beginnings of an Israel-Iran reset?

Israel may be reassessing the Iranian threat, as Iran shows its reach in Palestinian politics.

Iranian activist lauds rise of 'citizen journalism' in Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, prominent Iranian journalist-activist Isa Saharkiz discusses politics and reform under President Hassan Rouhani.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) passes Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFG

Iran opens new chapter in relations with Russia

While Moscow and Tehran have historically been neither friend nor foe, and challenges remain, shared interests on Syria, counterterrorism, security and energy could move Iran and Russia increasingly toward more comprehensive strategic cooperation.

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

Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a ceremony to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran's Azadi square February 11, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR2XN6M

Hamas unfazed by Fatah outreach to Iran

Syria is still a sticky issue between Hamas and both Fatah and Iran.

MUNICH, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 2: (L-R) Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, US Senator Christopher Murphy and chairman and organizer of the 50th Munich Security Conference (MSC)Wolfgang Ischinger attend a panel discussion during the 50th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in the Bayerischer Hof hotel on February 2, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The Munich Security Conference is to open with

Iran, Israel and the politics of gesture

Iranian and Israeli officials are listening to each other at international conferences.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends the annual Munich Security Conference February 2, 2014. REUTERS/Lukas Barth (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX184O6

Israeli security officials recognize change in Iran

Although Israel is keeping its military option on the table, Israeli defense officials privately acknowledge that Iran is undergoing a "historic" change.