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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 3:32 am

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The Ateela 2 oil tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026, on Qeshm Island, Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysis

How long can Iran's economy withstand Trump's naval blockade?

Iranian authorities are denouncing US seizures of the country's oil tankers as piracy, but mounting disruptions to maritime trade are exposing economic fragility beneath Tehran's claims of control and resilience.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

UAE’s OPEC exit rattles cartel as Gulf alliances shift

OPEC's fourth-largest producer will leave the cartel on May 1, marking the most significant departure in the group’s history as the war changes Abu Dhabi's relationship priorities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images

First LNG tanker transits Strait of Hormuz since Iran war began

Latest News

Iran floats ‘plan B’ to defuse Hormuz standoff, delay nuclear talks

Iranian walks past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 22, 2026.

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland-2026 (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran FM meets Putin, Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

Iran FM meets Putin and Russia’s military intel chief as talks stall: What to know

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

Three protesters killed during demonstrations against the water crisis are seen, from left to right: Ali Mazraeh, killed in Ahvaz, Mostafa Naeemawi, killed in Shadegan and Qasem Khozeiri killed in Kut Abdollah.

Iranians protesting water crisis killed in southwest Khuzestan province

After protests, officials have promised to address the water issue in Iran’s southwest region.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump to attack Iran

The New Yorker has revealed former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's role in former US President Donald Trump's push to strike Iran during his final days in office.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Whither the Iran nuclear deal? Ask Raisi

Rouhani has transfered JCPOA file to Iran’s new hard-line president, who just might close the deal.

Facebook logos

Facebook says Iranian hackers spied on US military personnel using fake accounts

The social media company said the hackers baited targets into clicking on malicious links that would infect their devices with malware.

iranian weapons afghanistan 1998

Grand ayatollah warns against Iran's Taliban approach

The rare criticism came as the Iranian establishment is accused of attempting to canonize the Taliban amid shifting regional dynamics.

Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Iran calls US kidnapping allegations 'Hollywood-like'

The US government has accused Iran of seeking to kidnap an American journalist in New York, but the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the allegations "ridiculous."

Jen Psaki

US says nuclear talks to continue, despite alleged Iran kidnapping plot

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is "ready to go" ahead with talks, after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the task of renegotiating the deal had been handed over to the next administration.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (C) addresses parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 3, 2019.

Rouhani says nuclear talks will be handed to successor

Iran's president said the next administration will take up the nuclear negotiations.

Journalist and Author Masih Alinejad.

Who is Masih Alinejad, target of an alleged Iranian kidnapping plot?

Prosecutors say the four Iranian defendants plotted to forcibly take the Brooklyn-based author and activist to Iran where her "fate would have been uncertain at best.”

A picture taken on June 20, 2018, shows a propaganda billboard for the pro-Iran Hezbollah Brigades militia.

IRGC official urged Iraq militias to continue hitting US, report

The IRGC intelligence chief's visit to Iraq last week followed one by top commander Ismail Ghaani.

Valentine's Day display in Tehran

Iran rolls out matchmaking app to curb declining birthrate

The Hamdan app aims to create "healthy" families and pair "bachelors seeking permanent marriage” with a wife.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi

Zarif's final defense for Iran deal infuriates hard-liners

Iran's foreign minister faced scathing attacks from hard-liners in parliament after his upbeat assessment of the status of the nuclear talks.