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May 6, 2026

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Iran "to make a sensible choice" and resume negotiations.

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Parker Song / Getty Images

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

Why Iran’s regime didn't break: The hidden networks behind its survival

Mahmoud Karimi, a maddah, leads a mourning ritual during the Muslim month of Muharram in the lead-up to Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in Tehran on July 3, 2025.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

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

A boat of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard sails close to Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, near Bandar Abbas port, Iran July 21, 2019. Picture taken July 21, 2019. Fars News Agency/ WANA Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1D73A09A90

Iran, UK both rule out oil tanker swap deal

Tehran says it will not release a British-flagged oil tanker it captured earlier this month in a possible barter with the UK, which is holding an Iranian vessel off the coast of Gibraltar.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan June 14, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1D5FA36790

Intel: How Russia is deepening military ties with Iran to counter the US

Russia and Iran have agreed to tighten their military ties in a joint challenge to perceived US hegemony in the Middle East.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures during a speech on domestic priorities at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, Britain July 27, 2019. Lorne Campbell/Pool via REUTERS - RC1FA8BBE490

New UK government signals continued support for Iran nuclear deal

The new British government led by Boris Johnson's expresses support for the Iran nuclear deal as the pact faces a possible new obstacle involving the reduction of proliferation risks at Iran’s Fordo and Arak facilities.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi and EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid attend a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria July 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kirsti Knolle - RC13C68A4E90

Iran says it's waiting for ‘tangible’ results of talks with Europe

Iranian officials have warned that, unless Europe can facilitate trade, they will continue to reduce their commitments under the nuclear deal.

Iranian teachers take part in a rally asking for better pay in front of a Education Ministry building in Tehran May 2, 2007. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN) - GM1DVEBAWXAA

Iran’s teachers learn regrettable lesson from US

US sanctions on Iran could actually discourage the kind of democratic thinking the free world should want to foster.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 22: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei (2nd R) meets Saleh al-Arouri (3rd R), deputy leader of Hamas, in Tehran, Iran on July 22, 2019. (Photo by IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Shadow war: Egypt and Iran battle for influence in Gaza

It looks like Khamenei and Hamas leaders agree on everything ... but is the reality more or less than meets the eye? Iran gains traction even with the PA; Egypt looks to take the diplomatic lead; closing the Iranian margins.

How to read Hamas’ visit to Iran

Hamas leaders seem pleased with the outcomes of a senior delegation's historic visit to Iran, though details are still scanty.

A British Royal Navy patrol vessel guards the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored anchored after it was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain July 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca - RC1FBC24FCC0

UK, Iran treading troubled waters after seizing tankers

The British navy is now escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz for safety reasons, as it remains to be seen if Iran and the United Kingdom can settle their maritime dispute.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan June 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RC18D8234850

Rouhani says Iran ready for 'respectful' negotiations

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that the country will not "surrender" but is ready to hold talks with the United States on reviving the nuclear deal.

Mark Esper talks to reporters as he arrives for the first day on job as New U.S. Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. July 24, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC188D6C2000

Intel: Pentagon chief says European-led Gulf initiative complements US

On his first day on the job at the Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that a fresh European-led initiative to defend ships transiting the Gulf was complementary to the Donald Trump administration’s separate efforts to gather allies to protect shipping in the region.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson enters 10 Downing Street after meeting Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to become Prime Minister and form a new government, in London, Britain July 24, 2019. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS - RC1D5AEAAC20

Unease in Iran as 'Trump's duplicate' becomes British PM

While politicians in Tehran were seeking a new opening with the UK after Boris Johnson found his way to 10 Downing Street, Iran's media received the news with little enthusiasm.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 22: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi (L) meets with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) as part of his visit in Tehran, Iran on July 22, 2019. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iraq seeks Iranian assistance to curb militias' reign

Iraq's prime minister made a surprise visit to Tehran to request Iranian help in controlling Iran-backed militias in Iraq.