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May 6, 2026

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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.

Latest News

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

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (C) is approached by staff members after a news conference in New York September 27, 2013. New Iranian President Rouhani said on Friday he wanted talks with major powers on Iran's nuclear program to yield results in a short period of time and that the improved mood in U.S.-Iranian relations could lead to better ties. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX142AH

Iran: US Has Time, Rouhani Doesn’t

If the Iranian president makes the United States a decent offer in the Geneva negotiations, it should take it — and build on it to deal with regional issues and Iran’s support for terrorist groups.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal shakes hands with a man as he leaves the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip December 10, 2012. Hamas leader Meshaal ended his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Monday with a pledge his Islamist movement would strive to heal political rifts with Palestinian rivals who hold sway in the occupied West Bank. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BF9S

Meshaal to Tehran: Return of the Prodigal Son?

News outlets report that Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas' political bureau, will soon visit Iran to rebuild ties strained over Syria.

Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid gestures as he speaks during the opening of the summer session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem April 22, 2013. Lapid is seeking spending cuts of 18 billion shekels ($5 billion) and tax increases of 5 billion shekels as part of the 2013-2014 budget framework, a spokeswoman for Lapid said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXYVXA

Lapid Draws Own Red Line on Iran

Israel’s finance minister has said Iran should have no centrifuges and no plutonium at all.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen through a glass door as he arrives to deliver joint statements with Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman (not pictured) in Jerusalem October 7, 2013. Zeman began on Monday his three-day visit to Israel. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FOTH

Netanyahu's Lost Battles Against West on Nuclear Iran

The fate of Iran’s nuclear project will be sealed over the next few months, thus any agreement between the West and Iran that allows it to remain a “nuclear threshold state” will force Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act.

Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid gestures as he speaks during a Yesh Atid party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem May 20, 2013. Lapid, whose new centrist party is the second largest in Israel's government, said on Monday thousands of Jewish settlers would have to be removed from occupied land under any peace deal with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZTWQ

Lapid Calls for 'Endgame' In Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israel's finance minister has told a Washington audience that Israelis and Palestinians should unite against "the media, cynicism and people who say 'no,'" but keep to a hard line on Iran.

TV Presenter in Turkey Loses Job Over Cleavage

After AKP spokesman Huseyin Celik objected to TV presenter Gozde Kansu’s décolleté dress, her contract was suspended, raising eyebrows over Turkey's human rights record.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks with Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14195

Is Iran Changing Its Policies In Syria, Lebanon?

While eyes are on the Oct. 15-16 nuclear talks in Geneva, Iranian policies in Lebanon and Syria may already be showing a more moderate trend under President Hassan Rouhani.

British Foreign Minister William Hague (L). shakes hands with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the beginning of their bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York September 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jason DeCrow/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13X4G

London, Tehran Take Historic First Step to Rebuilding Ties

A further upgrade in bilateral relations between Iran and the United Kingdom will require action by the Iranian parliament.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Tel Aviv University President Itamar Rabinovich speaks at the "Breaking the Vicious Circle of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" conference, 25 January 2004 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. AFP PHOTO Eric FEFERBERG (Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria

Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region.

Iranian women, wearing jeans, shop in Tehran on October 7, 2013. A campaign launched by young Iranians on internet networking sites Facebook and Twitter were mocking Israeli President Benjamin Netayahu following his comments during an interview diffused on October 5, in which he implied there is a supposed ban on wearing jeans and listening to Western music in the Islamic Republic. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians React With Anger To Netanyahu Comments

While many Western-oriented Iranians mocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about Iranians not having access to blue jeans, others seemed most angered by his threats to bomb Iran and push for more sanctions.

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

A trader speaks with a stock market official beneath the electronic board at the Tehran stock exchange September 15, 2010. While U.S. diplomats were busy upping Iran's economic punishment over nuclear activities Washington fears are aimed at making a bomb, Iranian shares, which might have been expected to fall, have, instead, gone through the roof. Picture taken S

Iran Shifts to Lower Gear In Privatization

A change of management at the Iran Privatization Organization is the reason for a new focus geared to improved productivity and efficiency.