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May 3, 2026

Tehran 11:44 am

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

AFP via Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

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

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department, in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS - RC2FEG9796G6

Pompeo argues US still in Iran deal in bid to snap back global sanctions

Can the United States use the UN to force other countries to sanction Iran?

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan, December 20, 2019. Charly Triballeau/Pool via REUTERS - RC2YYD9DLX7A

'Not the New York Gulf': US-Iran war of words heats up

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that the United States should stay out of the Persian Gulf.

Sunni volunteers, who have joined the Abbas Fighting Division, shout slogans after a field training in Kerbala, Iraq December 20, 2017. Picture taken December 20, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC116223B030

Pro-Sistani 'popular mobilization units' break with pro-Iran militias in Iraq

A bold move by PMU groupings aligned with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is set to challenge the level of influence of pro-Iran militias in Iraq.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a primary night speech at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2FHF943RPX

Intel: Key Biden adviser slams 'sheer hypocrisy' of Trump gambit to extend Iran arms embargo

The Joe Biden campaign’s chief foreign policy adviser slammed the Donald Trump administration for relying on a mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal to reinstate multilateral sanctions on Iran should the United Nations fail to extend an arms embargo on Tehran, which is set to expire in October.

A view shows the Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit in the background and the Israeli barrier in the foreground in the village of Bilin, where a Friday anti-Israel weekly protest is held, as the area is seen empty of Palestinian demonstrators amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus disease, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC2PNF9HQOZQ

Netanyahu's annexation plan can't be stopped

Annexation of the Jordan Valley is a long-standing Israeli objective, going back to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

A picture taken on October 2, 2019, shows the Khosrawi border crossing between Iraq and Iran, also known as the Munthriya border crossing, in the Diyala province of eastern Iraq, as Iranian pilgrims arrive on their way to the central Iraqi shrine city of Karbala ahead of the Arbaeen religious festival. (Photo by Younis AL-BAYATI / AFP) (Photo by YOUNIS AL-BAYATI/AFP via Getty Images)

Islamic State conducts attacks near Iraq’s Syrian and Iranian borders

A number of attacks in Iraq’s bordering province, especially Diyala along the Iranian border, have raised concern. Islamic State fighters have filmed themselves with weapons that appear to be of Iranian origin, while security gaps remain due to tension between the KRG and Baghdad.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a news conference, a day ahead of the first meeting of the new Syrian Constitutional Committee at the Untied Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC198A0C39B0

Iran pushes back against US plan for snapback sanctions

Iran’s foreign minister said United States is dreaming if it thinks it can claim it is still a participant in the nuclear deal in order to trigger snapback sanctions.

Workers set up a natural gas pipeline during a dust storm at Iraq's border with Iran in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - GF10000380312

Iraq receives another short waiver to US sanctions on Iranian gas

The United States granted Iraq 30 more days to continue importing Iranian gas in contrast with longer sanctions waivers in the past.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., April 22, 2020. Nicholas Kamm/Pool via REUTERS - RC2T9G9GMFQP

Intel: Pompeo links Iran satellite launch to erosion of nuclear deal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Iran’s recent launch of a military satellite into orbit last week during a phone call today with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jets fly over the Mediterranean Sea during an aerial show as part of the celebrations for Israel's Independence Day marking the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state, in Tel Aviv, Israel April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DFEAD98C0

Israel bombs Iran-backed forces near Syrian capital

The attack, launched from over Lebanese airspace, killed both fighters and civilians.

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine, amid fear of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran April 2, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2DWF9GIRD0

Women, children face increased risk of abuse during Mideast lockdowns

No COVID-19 furlough for imprisoned Iranian women’s rights activists; Interreligious, LGBT couples struggle to connect; Yemen’s cease-fire gets a second chance.

An Iranian warship and speed boats take part in a naval war game in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran April 22, 2010. Iran's Revolutionary Guards successfully deployed a new speed boat capable of destroying enemy ships as war games began on Thursday in a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, Iranian media reported. REUTERS/Fars News (IRAN - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - GM1E64M1H8101

Do US and Iranian navies need a hotline in the Gulf?

In the absence of direct US-Iran diplomacy, a navy-to-navy communication channel might prevent an unwanted confrontation.