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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 4:37 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. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence and military leaders in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC2SBE92V1RE

Dueling Middle East lobbyists rush to praise Trump for Soleimani killing

Foreign agents seeking to sway the president on behalf of both warring factions in Libya are among the cheer squad.

Iraqi demonstrators carry Iraqi flags during ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC21DE9AHHEQ

Iraqi protests got caught in an Iranian-American war

The escalation between US and Iran left Iraqis trapped with many nightmares threatening their protests, economy and country’s unity.

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, speaks at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defence museum, during the unveiling of an exhibition of what Iran says are US and other drones captured in its territory, in the capital Tehran on September 21, 2019. - Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander today warned any country that attacks the Islamic republic will see its territory become the "main battlefield" as he opened an exhibition of captured drones. (Photo by AT

IRGC general claims Iran did not target troops in attack

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force commander has said that Iran targeted a command center in its missile attack in Iraq.

Saudi defence ministry spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Malik displays remains of the missiles which Saudi government says were used to attack an Aramco oil facility, during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC152BBF8970

Intel: How a new report bolsters US case that Iran attacked Saudi Arabia

A confidential United Nations report rebutted claims from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that they were responsible for a missile attack on two Saudi oil facilities in September.

Hamas must choose: Egypt or Iran?

Angered that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh broke an agreement not to visit Iran, Egypt will make Hamas understand that it must choose sides and break with Iran if the movement hopes to survive.

Ankara struggles to adapt to new geopolitical reality after Soleimani’s killing

After a brief wait-and-see period in the wake of Qasem Soleimani’s killing, Turkey appears inclined to try a mediator’s role between the United States, Iran and Iraq.

Jordan feels Soleimani side effects

The assassination of Iran’s top commander, Qasem Soleimani, has raised concerns in Jordan, with analysts fearing retaliation against US military assets in the kingdom.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at a U.S. military facility at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC22HD9OIH8O

Intel: Why Iraqi Kurdistan may be wary of hosting US troops

Torn between Iran and the United States, former Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani appeared to distance himself on Tuesday from Republican proposals to station US troops in Kurdish territory should Baghdad move forward with threats to expel the Americans in the aftermath of Washington’s assassination of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran flanked by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Army Chief of Staff General James McConville, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley and Vice President Mike Pence in the Grand Foyer at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC2TBE9UDOX3

Trump floats Iran as anti-terror partner after strikes

In an address at the White House this morning, President Donald Trump alternated between using carrot and stick with Tehran.

ERBIL, IRAQ - JANUARY 08: Iraqi security forces find and collect the pieces of missiles as they gather to inspect the site after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces, at Bardarash district of Erbil in Iraq on January 08, 2020. (Photo by Azad Muhammed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

As Khamenei boasts of 'slap' at US, Zarif says revenge 'concluded'

Tehran-Washington tensions are reaching all-time highs after Iran hit US military bases in neighboring Iraq with ballistic missiles.

Residents look at a crater caused by a missile launched by Iran on U.S.-led coalition forces on the outskirts of Duhok ,Iraq, January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC2KBE9RW1T9

Did Iran missiles carry message for Kurds?

Iran's ballistic missile attack on US military targets in Iraq may have been a warning to the Kurds not to stand with the United States.

Has the time come for US-Iran negotiations?

Iran's attack on a US military base in Iraq resulted in no casualties, possibly opening space for US-Iran negotiations.