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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 6:54 pm

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China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Latest News

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

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

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC180FCCDBD0

Russian, Turkish officials meet, keep low profile on Idlib ideas

Moscow and Ankara seem to share some common goals regarding Syria, but don't necessarily agree on how to reach them.

Pro-government media deny Rouhani 'sold out' Iranian Caspian Sea claims

Iranian social media has been inundated with claims that the government has given away much of the nation's share of the Caspian Sea, while pro-Rouhani newspapers reject such talk as baseless.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attend a meeting during the Fifth Caspian Summit in Aktau, Kazakhstan August 12, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - UP1EE8C1E0PP0

Assad’s advances heighten Iran-Russia rift in Syria

As the regime gains ground in Syria, the divergence of Iranian and Russian interests there becomes more apparent.

US sanctions put nearly half a million jobs at risk in Iran’s auto parts industry

Auto parts suppliers in Iran warn that US sanctions coupled with domestic mismanagement are bringing their industry to its knees.

Khamenei says no talks with current US administration

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would not negotiate with the Trump administration.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah carry flags and pictures of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during a rally marking al-Quds Day, (Jerusalem Day) in Maroun Al-Ras village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon June 8, 2018. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC150991C950

Hezbollah's role evolving in Syria as Assad nears victory

As the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad move in on the last major rebel stronghold, speculation is turning to what the future might hold for Hezbollah in Syria.

Syrians wave Iranian, Russian and Syrian flags during a protest against U.S.-led air strikes in Damascus,Syria April 14,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki - RC151A9ED3D0

Iran readjusts its Syria strategy amid Russia’s changing role

Having achieved military victory in the key southwestern region of Syria, Iran is actively maneuvering to redefine its approach to securing its aims in the war-torn country.

Iran-Iraq tensions rise as Tehran demands war compensation

Tensions between Baghdad and Tehran grow after Iraq's prime minister said his country would abide by US sanctions against Iran, while the latter demands compensation for damages in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

Did Trump’s double-speak ‘blow’ chances of Rouhani meeting?

The Iranian and US presidents are slated to address the UN General Assembly on the same day next month — but the prospect of direct talks between the two leaders remains dim given the harsh rhetoric and contradictory stances of the US administration.

Syrians gather at a site of car bomb in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on August 2, 2018. - Idlib is the last of four "de-escalation" zones agreed by world powers in 2017 where the rebels still have a major presence. Strategically important Idlib province shares a border with rebel-backer Turkey and is adjacent to Latakia, a regime stronghold on the Mediterranean. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s time running out in Idlib

Syrian Kurds could be a wild card in a possible showdown between Damascus and Ankara; Russia keeps the peace, for now, on the Israel-Syria border; Israel may have opened a new front of secret assassinations; the political economy of Iran’s protests.

The interest group economics wreaking havoc on Iran's currency

Absent tackling such root issues as banking and financial sector reform, Iran’s political economy is likely to continue to shape government policy to the detriment of the economy and the society as a whole.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC16A27D6260

Will Iraq comply with US-imposed Iran sanctions?

Iraq is willing to abide by US sanctions against Iran, according to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, yet pro-Iranian parties and militias slammed Abadi, calling for support for Iran against these sanctions.