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July 10, 2026

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Mourners surge towards the turban-clad casket of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad, Iran.

Even as ceasefire frays, Trump and Iran shy away from full war

The United States and Iran are escalating their tit-for-tat strikes, posing the biggest threat yet to their framework deal.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.

(Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

US strikes strategic railway bridge linking Iran to China: What to know

The railway bridge also links Tehran and other southern cities to Mashhad, where large crowds are gathering for the burial ceremony on Thursday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Latest News

Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

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

This picture taken on Sept. 27, 2019 shows the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero as it leaves Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran.

US targets Iran oil exports with sanctions after Israel attack

The sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet of tankers follow pressure from Republicans calling for harsher penalties on Iran’s oil exports, especially to China.

Pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik of Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024.

Russia's Putin holds first meeting with Iran's Pezeshkian: What we know

The face-to-face in Turkmenistan between the Russian president and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, took place as Iran braces for a potential retaliatory strike from Israel.

People visit the site of the remains of an Iranian missile in the Negev desert near Arad, Oct. 3, 2024.

Israel's cabinet remains uncertain about response to Iran attack

The Israeli cabinet adjourned hours before Yom Kippur without a decision on when and how to retaliate for Iran's recent missile barrage.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: A container ship departs the Port of Newark for the Atlantic Ocean on September 30, 2024 seen from New York City. A massive strike that could shut down ports across the East and Gulf coasts could begin at midnight as members of the International Longshoremen’s Association continue to make salary and other demands to the United States Maritime Alliance, which controls many of the ports across the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Red Sea, Iran energy threats amplify 2025 global economic risks as trade wars, Trump loom

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Members of Israel's Home Front Command and police forces inspect a crater left by an exploded projectile at a heavily damaged school building in Israel's southern city of Gedera.

Analysis

Why the US, Israel disagree over striking Iran’s nuclear sites

Israel seems to be weighing strikes that go beyond just restoring deterrence while the United States prefers to avert a region-wide war.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iranian foreign minister in Riyadh, Oct. 9, 2024. (SPA)

Saudi crown prince hosts Iran's FM as Riyadh shields itself from Israel tension

Iran’s foreign minister was in Saudi Arabia today amid mounting fears over an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran.

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 4: U.S. President Joe Biden turns around to joke with a reporter as he leaves a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on October 04, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden made a surprise appearance, his first in the briefing room since becoming president, to tout a positive job report and take questions from reporters. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Biden, Netanyahu speak as Israel plans retaliation against Iran

The two leaders spoke as the region awaits the Israeli military's response to Iran's latest missile barrage.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the press, in front of the portrait of slain Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, after meeting with Syrian officials at the Iranian embassy in Damascus on Oct. 5, 2024.

Analysis

'Do not test our will,' Iran FM Araghchi warns Israel ahead of Saudi Arabia visit

Iran's foreign minister began a regional tour as Tehran prepared for a possible Israeli strike, with its Revolutionary Guard saying it had a wide range of plans in store for retaliation.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks before planting a pomegranate tree at the Vice President's residence at the US Naval Observatory on Oct. 7, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Where do Kamala Harris, Donald Trump stand on Gaza war, Iran policy?

During events marking the one-year anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack that sparked war in Gaza, both candidates roughly outlined strategies for de-escalation.

Italian F35 fighter jets take part in the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As response looms, US tries to dissuade Israel from catastrophic attack on Iran

The United States, Saudi Arabia and other regional powers are waiting to see which strike option Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will chose to retaliate against Iran as his defense minister heads to Washington.

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

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stand during an honor cordon at the Pentagon on June 25, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia.

Biden treads fine line on Iran as Israel's Gallant heads to Washington

The Pentagon likened the current crisis in the Middle East to that in Europe prior to the First World War, as the Biden administration seeks to restrain an Israeli counterattack against Iran.

Iranian Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani.

Iran says IRGC Quds Force chief Qaani alive, offers few details

The commander was reportedly in Beirut at the time of an Israeli strike targeting a senior Hezbollah official.