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Iran

April 29, 2026

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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

Iran's former parliament speaker Ali Larijani delivers a speech after registering his candidacy for Iran's presidential elections, at the Interior Ministry in capital Tehran, on May 15, 2021, ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for June.

Tehran hard-liner council bans leading centrists from presidential race

Iran's Guardian Council disqualified all the major moderate contenders from the country's presidential election, paving the way for a one-sided race and an anticipated victory for hard-line judicial chief Ibrahim Raisi.

A woman walks past the sign of the International Atomic Energy Agency ahead of a press conference by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, about the agency monitoring of Iran's nuclear energy program on May 23, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. The IAEA has been in talks with Iran over extending the agency's monitoring program. Meanwhile, Iranian and international representatives have been in talks in recent weeks in Vienna over reviving the JCPOA Iran nuclear deal.

Iran, IAEA extend inspection agreement by one month

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency extend an understanding to keep the nuclear talks alive.

Canada protest

Iran rejects Canadian court's decision on responsibility for downed passenger plane

A court in Ontario, Canada, ruled that Iran's 2020 shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which killed 55 Canadians, was a terrorist act.

Police guard the Grand Hotel on the day the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks are to resume on April 27, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. Representatives from the United States, Iran, the European Union and other participants from the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are meeting both directly and indirectly over possibly reviving the plan. The JCPOA was the European-led initiative by which Iran agreed not to pursue a nuclear weapon in exchange for concessions, though the United States, under the administ

Rouhani claims US has agreed to lift key Iran sanctions

Iran's president said the United States has agreed to remove substantial economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic following marathon talks in Vienna.

Raisi and Larijani

Raisi, Larijani likely top candidates for Iran's presidential election

Iran's Guardian Council, an unelected body that gets to decide a final list of candidates, is winnowing down the number of candidates allowed to run in the June 18 election.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

As Iran's election campaign picks up, boycott gains momentum as well

Only one month out from Iran's presidential election, calls are growing for a boycott of the vote, widely seen as an undemocratic process with dim prospects of genuine change.

A handout photo made available by the office of Iran's supreme leader shows Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei greeting Ismail Haniya (L), Palestinian Hamas premier in the Gaza Strip, during a meeting in Tehran, Feb. 12, 2012.

Hamas representative in Iran: latest round of fighting is strategic shift for group

Khaled al-Qaddumi claims that while the militant group and the Islamic Republic share common goals, the fighting was not instigated by Tehran.

Hossein Dehghan

Khamenei calls for more younger people in Iran's next administration

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the next administration in Iran could utilize “revolutionary and pious youth.”

Former Revolutionary Guards' official Saeed Mohammad registers his candidacy for Iran's presidential elections at the Interior Ministry in Tehran on May 11, 2021.

Iran begins registering candidates for key presidential poll

Candidates vying for presidency in Iran were given five days to register their bid in an election that is expected to revolve around the economy and the fragile nuclear deal.

Raisi and Ghalibaf seen on poster

Iranian presidential election market opens on PredictIt

Users of the popular prediction exchange website can now place bets on Iran’s upcoming elections in addition to bets on Israeli politics.

Zachary Pearson- U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Iran denies US Navy’s account of run-in in Persian Gulf

Iran has accused the US Navy of “false narratives” and “unprofessional behavior” in the latest run-in with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A handout photo provided by the Iranian army official website shows an Iranian naval ship parading during the last day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran, Sept. 12, 2020.

US Navy fires 30 warning shots to ward off Iran’s speed boats

IRGC fast boats harassed US Navy ships once again amid nuclear talks in Vienna.