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Iran

May 6, 2026

Tehran 3:08 pm

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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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a conference in Tel Aviv University October 29, 2013. A planned release of 26 Palestinian prisoners has provoked feuding within Israel's governing coalition, already under strain from U.S.-brokered peace talks. Jewish Home, led by Naftali Bennett, then tried to get a proposal to freeze further prisoner releases past a ministerial committee, where members Netanyahu's Likud party voted it down on Sunday. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX

Israel Weighs Its Options

This week's regional conflicts include sluggish negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, another mysterious strike in Syria and Ayatollah Khamenei's "disappearance."

Hundreds of trucks bringing in diesel from Iran line up on a road as they head to the eastern province of Van in Turkey November 30, 2005. In the shadows of mountains bordering Iraq and Iran, Turkey's Hakkari province may one day be an outpost of the European Union. But for now, it feels cut off from the world. Picture taken November 30, 2005. To match feature Turkey-Southeast REUTERS/Fatih Saribas PP05120119 - RTR1AGKV

Five Trends in Iran-Turkey Trade, Energy Ties

International sanctions and regional tensions over Syria could still upset the uptick in Iran-Turkey economic relations, but the trend is positive.

Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani attends a news conference in Islamabad Frbruary 12, 2013. Larijani is in Pakistan to attend the first Speakers Conference of Parliamentary Association of ECO Countries (PAECO). REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DOPH

Iran Parliament Steps In On Nuclear Talks

Iran's parliament will seek to to assert influence in supporting the nuclear negotiations to ensure that red lines such as full rapprochement are not crossed.

Irani workers stand near as a security helicopter lands near the pipeline during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the inauguration of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, in the city of Chahbahar in southeastern Iran March 11, 2013. Ahmadinejad and Zardari marked the start of Pakistani construction on the much-delayed gas pipeline on Monday, Iranian media reported, despite U.S. pressure on Islamabad to back out of the project. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EUW9

Saudi-Backed Salafists Returning To Iran’s Border?

The sectarian war in Syria comes to the Iran-Pakistan border.

Political Forces Opposing Better US-Iran Ties Get Busy

As the next round of Geneva talks between Iran and the P5+1 nears, currents that oppose better US-Iran relations have become active but some signs of hope have also appeared.

Iranian military personnel participate in the Velayat-90 war game in unknown location near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran December 30, 2011. REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed Jafarnejad (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR2VQX9

Iran Nuclear Talks Overlook Terror

Progress in the nuclear talks may have taken terrorism off the agenda.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad March 24, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXXVJU

Maliki Seeks to Leverage US-Iran Opening

Security is at the top of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s visit to Washington, but he may also consider a US-Iran rapprochement as a means to strengthen his chances for a third term.

Reformist Newspaper in Iran Shut Down Over Imam Ali Article

While the first newspaper under President Rouhani's tenure has been shut down for covering a sensitive religious topic, there are signs that the days of mass newspaper closures have not returned.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif (L) speaks during a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad, September 8, 2013. The United States will ignite a fire across the Middle East if it attacks Syria, Zarif said on a visit to Iraq on Sunday, warning Western powers against warmongering. REUTERS/Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CU2

Will Tehran’s Iraq Policy Change Under Rouhani?

Considering Tehran’s increasing openness with the West, will Iranian policy toward Iraq change under its new president?

Iranian Official Discusses Regional Policies

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Amir Abdollahian discusses Iran’s policies toward Syria, Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Egypt in an interview with Al-Monitor.

Exiled Iranian Singer Moein Revives Memories of Another Iran

Exiled Iranian singer Moein conquered Washington this week, and with thousands of fans he sang and dreamed of his beloved homeland.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (L) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ivo Daalder (C) and European Union Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Pierre Vimont before a NATO Defense Ministers meeting with non-NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) contributing nations at NATO headquarters in Brussels February 22, 2013. Panetta is attending meetings and holding bilateral meetings with other NATO defense officials. REUTERS/Chip Somodevil

EU Official Says Iran 'Undoubtedly' Has New Approach to Nuclear Talks

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Pierre Vimont, deputy to High Representative Catherine Ashton, says it's “still rather difficult to conclude that they have presented a new policy.”