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Iran

May 3, 2026

Tehran 4:21 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

Intel: Soleimani’s successor visits Iraq, then Trump tweets warning to Iran

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to warn Iran against further attacks on US forces in Iraq — the same day that Iraqi officials told the Associated Press that the new head of the Quds Force had recently visited Baghdad.

After Trump tweet, Iran warns US about action in Iraq

Iranian generals have warned the United States that they will respond if the United States takes action against Iran in Iraq.

Iranian officials send mixed signals on coronavirus fight

Iran’s president once again projected a positive picture on his government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, contradicting alarms raised by health officials.

Iraqi PM-designate may be on futile mission to win Iranian support

Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Adnan al-Zurfi is on the verge of losing his nomination while simultaneously trying to appease the United States and Iran in his Cabinet formation.

A member of the medical team sprays disinfectant to sanitize wheel chairs in Imam Reza's holy shrine, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Mashhad, Iran February 27, 2020. Picture taken February 27, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2FAF9KEZWN

Intel: US stands down on Europe’s new trade mechanism with Iran

Europe launched its first shipment to Iran today using a mechanism that was originally intended to function as a workaround to US sanctions in a Hail Mary bid to salvage the unraveling Iran nuclear deal.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) questions judicial nominees during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2HOD9HX7RA

Key Trump ally blasts administration for extending Iran nuclear waivers

The Donald Trump administration is casting the renewal of four civil nuclear waivers as “restrictions” on Iran’s nuclear program, but Sen. Ted Cruz argues that they enable Tehran.

Iranian dealers monitor the stock market at the stock exchange in the capital Tehran on May 8, 2018. - Renewed nuclear sanctions would certainly cause severe problems for Iran's economy, but much of the damage has already been done by the uncertainty created by the US and myriad home-grown problems. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehran stock market could remain strong despite Iran's economic downturn

Now might be a good time to list companies on Tehran’s booming stock exchange.

Europe sends medical aid to Iran using sanctions workaround

Iran has received medical equipment from France, Germany and Britain, under a trade mechanism that circumvents the US sanctions on the country, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

Iran battles coronavirus amid dramatic slump in oil income

The Iranian government says it is experiencing its lowest oil revenues in a decade amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A picture taken on April 26, 2019 shows a general view of the hall where the Syrian constitutional committee takes place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. - Two-day talks on Syria backed by Iran, Russia and Turkey concluded in Kazakhstan on April 26, 2019 without notable progress on forming a constitutional committee to drive a political settlement in the war-wracked country. (Photo by Alexey FILIPPOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALEXEY FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Is COVID-19 changing Astana allies' dynamics in Syria?

The coronavirus outbreak in Syria may give Russia an opportunity to limit the Iranian presence.

A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison June 13, 2006. Iranian police detained 70 people at a demonstration in favour of women's rights, the judiciary said on Tuesday, adding it was ready to review reports that the police had beaten some demonstrators. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - GM1DSVACJVAA

54 inmates on the run after Iran prison break

Seventy-four prisoners escaped from a prison in the Kurdistan province of Iran amid fears that the country's overcrowded prisons will suffer under the coronavirus.

Patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lie in beds at the ICU of Sasan Hospital, in Tehran, Iran March 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2GUF9M2YGL

How will the COVID-19 crisis impact US-Iran tensions?

If Iran can hold out long enough against COVID-19, Tehran and Washington might be able to come to terms.