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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 11:00 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

US Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks during a news conference with members of the Democratic Women's Caucus prior to State of the Union at the US Capitol on Feb. 4, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Top Democrats urge Biden to lift sanctions on Tehran in good faith

Prominent Democratic National Committee members urged President Joe Biden to relieve sanctions on Iran as the window closes for a return to the nuclear deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Iraq's capital Baghdad on April 26, 2021.

Iran's Zarif denies bid for presidency

In a meeting with a powerful parliamentary commission on the recently leaked audiotape of himself, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he would not run for president.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 22, 2021.

Iran confirms talks with rival Saudi Arabia

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said the Iraq-mediated talks focused on bilateral and regional issues.

Sanaa rally against Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia confirms talks with Iran, plays down breakthrough

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry says it is premature "to reach any definitive conclusions" about the talks.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense Museum during the unveiling of an exhibition of what Iran says are US and other drones captured in its territory, in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 21, 2019.

IRGC chief: Israel could be blown up in single operation

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps indirectly claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against Israeli interests, adding that it takes just one operation to "blow up" Israel.

Iranians check a display board at a currency exchange shop in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 29, 2020. For Iran, struggling from sanctions imposed under Washington's policy of "maximum pressure", the US presidential race raised hope of change — but also fears that life could get even worse.

Iran's president claims sanctions will soon be lifted

President Hassan Rouhani has vowed to fulfill his promise to remove sanctions during the final months of his administration.

An undated image of Mohammad Nourizad.

UN rights experts call on Iran to release jailed filmmaker

The experts said Iran's denial of adequate medical care to Mohammad Nourizad may amount to torture.

Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps listen to a speech in parliament in Tehran on Oct. 7, 2018, about a bill to counter terrorist financing.

IRGC officer killed by Kurdish fighters in skirmish

The Iran-Iraq border has recently witnessed a fresh uptick in cross-border attacks by Kurdish armed groups fighting for autonomy.

A general view shows the residence of a Swiss diplomat whose body was found at the entrance in the northern district of Tehran on May 4, 2021. A spokesman for the Iranian national rescue service said the body was found in the morning after the diplomat "fell from a (residential) tower in Kamranieh." In a message to AFP's Geneva office, Switzerland's Foreign Ministry confirmed that "a Swiss employee of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran died in a fatal incident."

Swiss diplomat falls to her death in Iranian capital

The unidentified diplomat was a top official at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

In this handout image provided by EU Delegation Vienna, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks with other participants at the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks on April 27, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran downplays state media report on US prisoner swap

The US government has also denied that it reached a deal to swap prisoners with Iran.

KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Khamenei responds to Zarif leak

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defended former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani after the uproar over a leaked audio recording by the foreign minister.

Zarif and Mottaki

Iran leaked tape scandal claims its first victim

One of the most powerful members of President Hassan Rouhani's inner circle has stepped down as the repercussions of a leaked audio file containing controversial statements by Iran's foreign minister continue to shake the country's political scene.