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August 7, 2026

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Explainer

Iran-Oman deal spurs Hormuz hopes as Red Sea threats evolve

Iran has signaled that an agreement was reached with Oman establishing a Hormuz shipping route even as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea expand.

Latest News

US stock markets soar to new records amid Hormuz deal hopes

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US lifts sanctions on Iraqi airline linked to Iran's IRGC: What to know

A memorial depicting Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of the "Quds Force" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was killed by a US airstrike in Iraq in 2020, is pictured at Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 6, 2026. Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the Islamic republic on April 6 defied threats from the US President to devastate civilian infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Ima

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

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

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 ambassador to the UAE: Iran wants to remove tensions with neighbors

Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Iranian ambassador to the UAE, blames Saudi Arabia for many of the problems in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (R) at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Carter flew into Saudi Arabia for meetings on Wednesday with King Salman and his security leadership to reassure the kingdom of America's support after Washington struck a nuclear deal with its arch-rival Iran. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool - RTX1LBXR

Saudi king wants Obama to tackle Iranian 'mischief'

King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud will make clear during his White House visit that Riyadh’s lukewarm support for the Iran nuclear deal depends on the United States keeping Tehran in check.

People shout slogans during a demonstration against corruption, poor services and power cuts in Baghdad, Iraq, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX1P4DI

Protesters in Iraq and Lebanon demand accountability

Demonstrations in Iraq and Lebanon may signal new round of "Arab Springs"; Will Saudi capture of Khobar towers mastermind affect US policy toward Iran?

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

An engineer looks at the Phase 4 and Phase 5 gas refineries in Assalouyeh, 1,000 km (621 miles) south of Tehran, January 27, 2011. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTXX5W1

Rouhani faces ballooning expectations at home in post-sanctions era

Economic expectations are high in Iran following the recent nuclear deal, but President Hassan Rouhani has warned against "immediate, but harmful" interests.

Fighters loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad rest on a hill after regaining control of Tal Fatima, a town south of Damascus, in the Daraa countryside March 1, 2015. Government forces say they've regained control of this and many other villages in the south - wresting them back from rebel hands.A general made the announcement on state television, saying a large number of Nusra Front fighters were killed and their weapons destroyed. The gains were said to happen on Friday and Saturday in a large offens

Syrian Shiites take up arms in support of Assad's army

Syria's tiny Shiite community is taking greater steps toward arming itself as the civil war grinds on.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh attends the 135th meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Countries (OPEC) conference in Isfahan in central Iran, 340km (211 miles) south of the capital Tehran March 16, 2005. OPEC will add an actual volume of 500,000 barrels per day to the market in April, OPEC President and Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi CJF/VP - RTR55ZM

Iranian oil minister: 'Others' should be worried about oil prices

Iran's oil minister has said the ministry would welcome an emergency OPEC meeting, but that Iran will not limit its oil production to retain its share of the oil market.

FBI Director Louis Freeh has had the Khobar Towers bombing case reassigned
to federal prosecutors in Virginia, over strong objections from U.S.
Attorney Wilma Lewis, according to reports in both U.S. News and World
Report, and Time magazine published on March 23, 2001. U.S. News said Freeh
took the unusual step of reassigning the case because he had grown
frustrated by missteps in the investigation of the bombing of the U.S.
military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American service
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Why did it take Saudi Arabia 20 years to catch Khobar Towers bomber?

Reports have emerged that Saudi Arabia is holding Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil, a Saudi Shiite who masterminded the 1996 attack on US military housing in Khobar that left 19 servicemen dead.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani uses a walkie-talkie at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. Picture taken March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTR4TU0N

The impending Shiite leadership crisis Baghdad doesn't see coming

With frequent visits between Tehran and Baghdad, the question arises of whether Iranian politics are seeping into Iraq and what that means for the country's future.

Khamenei supports nuclear deal but warns of 'the enemy'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, praises the conclusion of the nuclear deal and said if issues remain, he hopes they will be resolved.

Will nuclear deal help improve PA-Iran relations?

The Palestinian Authority is exploring the benefits of bettering its relations with Iran following the nuclear deal as Iran’s influence on the international scene becomes more powerful.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (L) and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for presser, after a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THI

Hammond's comments on Israel strike nerve in Iran

The British foreign secretary visited Tehran for the reopening of the United Kingdom's embassy after four years, but his comments about Israel and Iran drew sharp criticism from Iranian officials.

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Was it a win or a loss? Checking Rouhani's midterm economic scorecard

Halfway into his term Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has done well in terms of fulfilling his economic promises — but much remains to be done.