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August 5, 2026

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President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport on Aug. 2, 2026 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Trump’s strategy on Iran may pay off as deal appears imminent

Through far-sighted diplomacy and a durable new regional architecture, Trump has cornered Iran between alignment and atrophy — and a deal may now be imminent.

Two brothers watch oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Analysis

Why Iran is fighting to keep Hormuz at center of US negotiations

As Washington seeks a broader deal with Iran, Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz is the only issue on the table, reflecting a wider struggle over maritime security and regional power.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (2nd L), Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2nd R) and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi (R) walk inside a building in Muscat, Oman, on June 22, 2026.

Explainer

The emerging Iran-Oman Hormuz deal: What's at stake?

A framework that gives Tehran a formal role in determining how ships move through the waterway could strengthen its hand in future negotiations with the US.

Latest News

Analysis

Another US-Iran truce, same Hormuz standoff: What comes next

TOPSHOT - This aerial photograph shows boats anchored off Oman's northern Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz on June 27, 2026. Iran launched attacks on US sites in the Gulf in response to American strikes on the country, state media said on June 27, after Washington accused Tehran of attacking one of its cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The trading of fire raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that beg

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

US military options narrow as Trump calls off Iran strikes: What to know

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.

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

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) waves after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at the Interior Ministry in Tehran December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX1ZKJQ

Rouhani empowered as allies, supporters make gains in Iranian elections

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is set to have an easier last 15 months of his term due to voters' support of what Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami and Seyyed Hassan Khomeini stand for.

Why is Iran arresting more dual nationals?

If the Iranian government fails to address the arbitrary arrests of dual citizens, the circumstances will certainly undermine the vast potential that the Iranian diaspora and international business have in helping develop Iran.

Iranian voters queue to cast their vote for both parliamentary elections and the Assembly of Experts at polling station in Tehran on February 26, 2016.

Iranians began voting across the country in elections billed by the moderate president as vital to curbing conservative dominance in parliament and speeding up domestic reforms after a nuclear deal with world powers. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

How much change do Iranians really want?

Iranians want a lot of things. What they don’t want is to be told that their vote doesn’t count or that it doesn’t matter.

Supporters of Ali Motahari, a candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections, hold his electoral posters during a campaign gathering of candidates mainly close to the reformist camp, in Tehran February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX287FM

Pro-Rouhani candidates take early lead

Reformists and moderate conservatives allied with President Hassan Rouhani have made a strong showing in Iran's parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, and key hard-liners seem to have lost big.

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel (L) speaks during a joint news conference with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at Beirut airport airbase during a ceremony to give weapons to the Lebanese army April 20, 2015. The first shipment of French weapons and military equipment arrived in Lebanon on Monday under a Saudi-funded deal worth $3 billion to bolster the Lebanese army's fight against militants encroaching from neighboring Syria. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX19GVB

What is Riyadh's endgame in Lebanon?

In an effort to condemn Iran, Saudi Arabia is setting its sights on Hezbollah and Lebanon.

Why Tehran matters so much in Iranian politics

While the final nationwide results of Iran’s Feb. 26 elections have yet to be announced, it is clear that the elections have produced a stunning victory for the Reformist-moderate List of Hope alliance in Tehran. But why do electoral gains in the relatively small Tehran constituency mean so much?

Women win big in Iran's parliamentary elections

The number of women in Iran's next parliament is set to double compared to the incumbent parliament.

Head of the Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri (C) walks with Shi'ite fighters in Makhoul mountains, north of Baiji, October 17, 2015. Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militia fighters recaptured most of the country’s largest oil refinery from Islamic State militants on Thursday, security officials said. The report could not be independently confirmed because it is too dangerous for journalists to enter the battle zone around the refinery near the town of Baiji, about 190 km (120 miles) north of Baghdad. REUTERS/Thaie

Why Saudis may take on Iraq’s Shiite militias

Saudi Arabia sees Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, formed from various Shiite militias to fight the Islamic State, as a dangerous long-term foe for the Sunni Islamic world.

A woman, affected by what activists say was a gas attack, breathes through an oxygen mask inside a field hospital in Kfar Zeita village in the central province of Hama April 12, 2014. Syrian opposition activists have posted photographs and video that they say shows an improvised chlorine bomb to back up claims that President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons in two attacks last week. Rebels and the government have blamed each other for the alleged poison gas attacks on Friday and Saturday on re

Congress goes after Assad for war crimes

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 29.

An Iranian woman casts her ballot during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, which has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, in Tehran February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX28NR6

Voters come out in force as Iran holds key elections

Iranians line up outside polling stations to cast their ballots in the country’s key parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

Iranians look at a list of candidates' names during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, which has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, at a polling station in Tehran February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX28NK7

Iran's Reformists keep their eyes on the prize

Despite pressures from the Guardian Council and fierce competition with Principlists, Iranian Reformists appear ever focused on their goals in the country’s parliamentary elections.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani (C, top table) gives the opening speech during Iran's Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in Tehran March 6, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YWR0

Meet the 25-year old cleric who may help choose Iran's next supreme leader

In an interview with Al-Monitor, the youngest candidate for the Assembly of Experts talks about his motivations for running — and what matters most to him.