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May 6, 2026

Tehran 11:45 am

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Iran "to make a sensible choice" and resume negotiations.

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Parker Song / Getty Images

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

Why Iran’s regime didn't break: The hidden networks behind its survival

Mahmoud Karimi, a maddah, leads a mourning ritual during the Muslim month of Muharram in the lead-up to Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in Tehran on July 3, 2025.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

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

US Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, talks with reporters at the White House after a meeting on Iran with President Obama in Washington, DC, November 19, 2013. US President Barack Obama met with key Senate committee chairpersons and ranking members about Iran, urging them to hold off on more sanctions against the regime in Tehran over its nuclear program. AFP PHOTO / Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Senate holds off on new Iran sanctions

US President Barack Obama’s meeting with congressional leaders offers a reprieve from the Senate moving ahead with sanctions legislation on Iran, at least until December.

Civil Defence personnel extinguish a fire on cars at the site of the explosions near the Iranian embassy in Beirut November 19, 2013. The cultural attache Ebrahim Ansari at the Iranian embassy in Beirut was among at least 23 people killed in two explosions on Tuesday, Lebanese sources said. Lebanese Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said the explosions wounded 146 people. REUTERS/Ahmad Yassine (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX15JQX

Iran Embassy bombing: Repeat of Iraqi model in Lebanon?

The suicide bombing targeting the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on Nov. 19 shows that al-Qaeda has established both tactical and ideological cells in Lebanon.

Soldiers, policemen and medical personnel gather at the site of explosions near the Iranian embassy (L) in Beirut November 19, 2013. Two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, security sources said, killing at least seven people and damaging buildings in the embassy compound. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15JOF

Lebanon enters 'third stage' of suicide bombings

Tuesday’s suicide attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut represents a new stage of violence in Lebanon, with Lebanese citizens targeting their compatriots at home.

Subdued Ashoura in Iran's holy city of Mashhad

This year there appeared to be a more subdued Ashoura to commemorate Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in Iran's holy city of Mashhad.

U.S. President Barack Obama walks out after speaking about the violence in Egypt while at his rental vacation home on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard in Chilmark August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12MDQ

Israel, Egypt, Gulf fear US betrayal

Israel has become part of an unexpected alliance with the Gulf countries, Egypt and Jordan, all disappointed by the US administration's lack of Middle East understanding.

Iran’s Twitter offensive

Iran's Twitter blitz is designed to create the conditions for a nuclear deal with Iran.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian students hold up their hands as a sign of unity as they form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) to show their support for Iran's nuclear program in Isfahan, 450 km (280 miles) south of Tehran November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY EDUCATION) - RTR2U1ID

Fathoming Iran's nuclear intentions

Iran is already a civilian nuclear power; international safeguards should be enough to prevent it from getting the bomb.

Saudi film captivates Israeli moviegoers

"Wadjda" opens a window into Saudi society and the phenomenon of feminism there, unknown to the Israeli public.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) speaks next to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton during a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Zarif and Ashton said on Sunday they hoped Iran and six world powers would reach an agreement when they gather again in 10 days, adding that the latest round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme was something all delegations can build on.REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157

Saving the Iran deal – and the Syrian state

Ratcheting up sanctions on Iran risks a chance to end the war in Syria.

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

A construction worker uses a jack hammer to remove support pillars for the final floor of a high rise building in north Tehran April 15, 2010. The municipality said they had built one too many floors than their permit allowed. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked 5 million Tehranis to evacuate the capital since they know their sprawling metropolis is due for a

Rouhani tackles unfinished projects

Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s plans to create jobs by subsidizing projects with small and medium-sized enterprises were a failure, leaving the new president to pick up the slack.

France's President Francois Hollande delivers a statement to the media at the residence of Israel's President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem November 17, 2013. Hollande assured Israel on Sunday that France would continue to oppose an easing of economic sanctions against Iran until it was convinced Tehran had ended a pursuit of nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15H77

France charm offensive alienates Palestinians

French President Francois Hollande's much publicized support for Israel will ensure the Palestinians keep France away from US-led peace talks.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Kerry said on Sunday that world powers had come closer during negotiations with Iran in Geneva to a deal on reining in its nuclear programme and that "with good work" the goal could be reached. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157AB

Time to close deal with Iran

An agreement with Iran would be a win, if not a breakthrough, for US interests and allies in the Middle East. (Updated)