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Iran

May 3, 2026

Tehran 5:57 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

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., March 25, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS - RC24RF9D1JQJ

Intel: Pompeo urges Europe to join Iran pressure campaign in G-7 teleconference

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used a teleconference of leading industrialized nations' foreign ministers to urge tougher international action on Iran and its regional proxies in line with the US maximum pressure campaign.

The Russian Navy cargo ship Dvinitsa-50 sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik - RC2HQF9QB951

Intel: Why Moscow is dispatching its military to fight coronavirus in Syria, Italy

On March 25, the first Russian navy cargo ship transited Turkey’s Bosporus strait en route to Syria. The ship was reportedly carrying three ambulances and a shipping container on its deck — equipment to be used to help fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Syria.

Iran hopes for partial sanctions relief amid epidemic

President Hassan Rouhani claims Iranian assets abroad could soon be unfrozen, but US has no plans to lift sanctions.

Iran expert says corruption 'No. 1 national security threat in Iran'

Al-Monitor contributor Bijan Khajehpour discusses impact of coronavirus on Iran’s economy.

Iran tells Doctors Without Borders to leave despite worsening epidemic

Iranian authorities asked a team of medical workers dispatched by Doctors Without Borders to leave the country despite initially allowing them to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the current state of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2TLF95GAUO

Intel: US rebukes France for Iran prisoner swap

The US State Department issued a stinging rebuke of France on Sunday after it released an Iranian prisoner wanted by the United States for allegedly evading sanctions.

Rouhani calls US offer to fight coronavirus 'great lie’

President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have both rejected a US offer to help fight the coronavirus and say the United States is instead preventing them from being able to fight back against the pandemic.

Why some Iranians are opposed to closing religious shrines to fight coronavirus

The Iranian government's decision to close religious shrines in Qom, Mashhad and Greater Tehran to combat the spread of COVID-19 has caused an outcry among some who oppose the move for reasons of tradition or religion.

Members of firefighters wear protective face masks, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as they disinfect the streets, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in Tehran, Iran March 18, 2020. Picture taken March 18, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC23NF9FQH2G

Iranians’ demands for quarantine fall on deaf ears

Iran’s president has rejected calls for quarantine against the coronavirus with no explanation, but his reasoning seems to be related to the economic devastation following the US sanctions.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 20: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivers his message for the Iranian New Year, or Nowruz in Tehran, Iran on March 20, 2020. (Photo by Iranian Supreme Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran’s leadership defends coronavirus handling in Nowruz addresses

Iran's supreme leader canceled his public Nowruz speech and instead addressed Iranians on state TV.

An Iranian woman wears a protective face mask, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as she shops at Tajrish Bazar, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in Tehran, Iran March 18, 2020. Picture taken March 18, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC22NF96FTGC

Intel: US scales up Iran sanctions amid coronavirus fallout

The Donald Trump administration stepped up its sanctions on Iran this week as Tehran appeals for relief to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Iran releases jailed US Navy vet Michael White on medical furlough

Iran has released US Navy veteran Michael R. White on medical furlough, the State Department announced today. US President Donald Trump asked Syria for the release of US journalist Austin Tice.