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Iran

May 3, 2026

Tehran 7:17 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

General view of Bahrain Seef district in Manama, Bahrain, June 20, 2019. Picture taken June 20, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed - RC1A9E6ACA10

Bahrain pardons hundreds of prisoners as coronavirus fears spread

While authorities have attributed the release to humanitarian reasons, human rights groups link the decision to efforts to contain the outbreak.

A worker checks the damages at a civilian airport under construction which, according to Iraqi religious authorities, was hit by a U.S. air strike, in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala, Iraq March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2ZIF9V7W4S

Iraq condemns 'treacherous' US strikes against Iran-backed militia

US airstrikes struck a civilian airport in Karbala in what the Pentagon said was an operation targeting weapons storage facilities belonging to an Iran-backed Shiite militia group blamed for the recent attack on an Iraqi base housing US and coalition troops.

Pentagon retaliates after deadly Iran-backed strikes on US troops

The US military targeted five weapons facilities of an Iran-backed group after an earlier rocket attack left two American and one British service member dead.

Has war between Iran and US already started in Iraq?

Iraqi officials condemned the recent US airstrikes that targeted not only Popular Mobilization Units but the Iraqi army and police.

Palestinian Hamas chief in the Gaza strip Ismail Haniyeh, gives a speech during a memorial service Three Hamas policemen were killed after two suicide bombings, on September 2, 2019 in Gaza City.
(Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hamas in Moscow to mend ties with Syrian regime

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's visit to Moscow is seen as a potential move to repair relations the Syrian regime.

Members of the medical team wear protective face masks, following the coronavirus outbreak, as they spray disinfectant liquid to sanitise streets in Tehran, Iran March 05, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2MDF9LK5B6

Iran requests multibillion IMF loan as coronavirus cases reach 10,000

Iran has officially registered 10,000 cases of coronavirus, with the government requesting a multibillion-dollar emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq under fire after attack on base kills two Americans

Iran-backed militias in Iraq are facing strong criticism from politicians and protesters after the attack on US troops at the Taji military base.

A truck loaded with Katyusha rockets is seen in Rashidiya, after ten rockets struck the Taji military camp, which house also U.S. forces, north of Baghdad, Iraq in this undated picture obtained March 12, 2020. Iraqi Media Security Cell/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2AIF9WX915

Intel: Pentagon says Iran-backed groups 'likely' behind deadly Iraq attack

Rocket attacks that left one British and two American service members dead in Iraq March 11 were likely the work of Iranian-backed militias, the top US military commander in the Middle East told Congress today.

A worker in a protective suit sprays a disinfectant inside the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC2MFF94758Q

Iran pleads for medicine as it fights epidemic under sanctions

Iran’s foreign minister has made a public plea for medical supplies and sanctions relief as the country struggles with the coronavirus explosion.

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One ahead of a trip to Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2GEF9TB41R

Anti-war movement looks to take Trump to court to stop war with Iran

Anti-war groups are lobbying Congress to take President Donald Trump to court on Iran war powers.

A rescue worker wears protective hand gloves as he checks a man?s temperature amid coronavirus fears, at the entrance of the government office building in Peshawar, Pakistan March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz - RC26IF9CRNEA

Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran

Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus.

A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectants in a barber shop at popular market, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Basra, Iraq March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC24HF95V7S1

Some Iraqis rejecting coronavirus warnings

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has imposed a ban on communal worship in mosques because of the new coronavirus, but some people are ignoring the danger.