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Iran

April 29, 2026

Tehran 4:39 pm

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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 Revolutionary Guards tout new missile base in support of navy

Top IRGC commanders inaugurated on Monday what Iranian state television described as a new underground missile base.

Iran begins phase one of domestic vaccine production

Iran says it has begun the first phase of production for a domestic coronavirus vaccine.

Israel behind serial sabotage of Iranian tankers, report says

Israeli attacks have hit more than a dozen Iranian oil tankers in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran receives COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba

Iran enjoys warm relations with the Latin American state and the two countries are also developing a coronavirus vaccine together.

Provocative music video leads to arrests in Iran

Iran has arrested two music producers for working on Sasan Heidari Yafteh's new music video, "Tehran Tokyo."

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 24, 2020, shows him wearing a protective face mask as he gives a speech in the capital Tehran during a meeting of the national staff to discuss the issue of the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (Photo by - / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / XGTY / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS === (Photo by

Khamenei stands defiant on Iran’s regional military presence

In a speech replete with diatribes against the United States, Iran’s supreme leader defended his country’s controversial regional policies and accused Washington of “inverting the truth.”

Saudi Arabia to take ‘necessary measures’ to protect oil after drone attack

Riyadh wants international support to prevent future attacks, foreign minister says alongside Russian counterpart.

US hits Iranian officials with travel restriction over ‘gross human rights violations’

For the first time, the Biden administration targets alleged IRGC interrogators over inhumane detention of protesters.

US demands 'credible answers' from Iran on Robert Levinson's abduction

The Biden administration pledged to hold Iran accountable for the former FBI agent's disappearance 14 years ago.

Intel: US sends B-52 bombers back to Middle East amid attacks by Iran-linked proxies

Following drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia this weekend, it is not clear that the Pentagon's deterrence tactic is paying off.

Barred from traveling by their husbands, Iranian women suffer under unjust laws

While a new bill awaiting parliament’s approval aims to address gender discrimination and stop violence against women, it falls short in guaranteeing Iranian women equal rights.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Richard Ratcliffe, poses for a picture as he continues his hunger strike outside the Iranian Embassy on June 28, 2019 in London, England. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British citizen continues her detention in Iran where she has been for three years, on charges of plotting against the Iranian government. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

British-Iranian aid worker released from house arrest in Iran, faces new trial

Following the completion of her five-year prison sentence, Iranian authorities have charged Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with "spreading propaganda."