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Iran

May 3, 2026

Tehran 1:33 pm

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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

Back to the future on US-Iraq strategic dialogue

The announcement of US-Iraq talks in June is considered by many Iraqis and observers as overdue, and comes as there appears to be backing for continuing the partnership, under adjusted terms.

Intel: Pompeo and Gulf ministers coordinate on Iran, COVID-19

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a flurry of phone calls on Thursday with his counterparts in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to discuss Iran and the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Arab Emirates

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC13159EFD90

Trump administration doubles down on Iran nuclear treaty allegations

The Donald Trump administration is using a new arms control report to build upon its case that Iran could potentially be in violation of a key nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

Iraqi PM designate readies cabinet to present to parliament

As Intelligence Chief Mustafa Al-Kadhimi prepares his cabinet, he appears to have broad support, and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units aren't blocking his way.

Intel: Trump administration vows to expedite review of COVID-19 equipment for Iran

The US Treasury Department vowed today to prioritize and expedite the review of humanitarian license requests to send medical equipment to Iran to treat COVID-19 patients.

Iran's IRGC doubles down on claims of coronavirus detection machine

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has invented a device to detect coronavirus yet has not provided evidence to back up the claim.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, with sailors manning the rails, leaves port on deployment to the western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf from San Diego, California, U.S., October 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake - RC14B47C0D50

Intel: 11 Iranian ships harass US vessels in Persian Gulf

The US 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf said today that 11 Iranian vessels “repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches against multiple US naval ships operating in international waters.”

A teacher is seen while teaching online school classes to students at their homes, as schools are still closed, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC255G9PZ1I2

Pandemic reveals Iran's online-learning challenges

Iran is working out the kinks in its distance-learning process, which it launched on the fly when the coronavirus struck.

COVID-19 crisis pushes Bahrain to resume flights from Iran after 4-year halt

The tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is bringing hundreds of Shiite pilgrims home from Iran, with which it has no diplomatic ties and normally no direct flights.

Worst-case report: 75% of Iranians may contract coronavirus

A state-funded Iranian research center predicted that in a worst-case scenario, some three-fourths of the country’s population could ultimately contract the coronavirus.

Iran condemns Trump’s halt of WHO funding

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the United States in a tweet April 15, condemning the US president for suspending funding to the World Health Organization.

Coronavirus resurging in Iran hotspots amid partial reopening

At least three Iranian provinces are experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus after the government partially relaxed lockdown measures.