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Iran

April 10, 2026

Tehran 7:06 am

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Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in the Middle East on April 7, 2026, in New York City. A vote on a resolution in the Security Council introduced by Bahrain focusing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz failed after opposition from Russia and China. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Analysis

Sanctions relief, Pakistan role propel China backing of Iran-US ceasefire

The US–Iran truce boosts Pakistan — one of China’s closest partners — by elevating its role as a mediator and strengthening a regional balance that favors Beijing’s allies.

Joyce Karam

By Joyce Karam , Rosaleen Carroll

TOPSHOT - People watch from a street as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026. Iran's strikes on Gulf neighbours since February 28, following the US-Israeli attack, forced the UAE to shut its airspace, blindsiding travellers who thought they were headed to one of the region's safest holiday destinations. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

UAE says no more 'niceties' with Iran, seeks clarity on fragile truce terms

The UAE said Iran must pay “compensation” for damages incurred during the conflict.

United Arab Emirates

This picture taken on April 9, 2026, shows the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Basta neighbourhood of Beirut the day before. Calls were mounting for the ceasefire between the US and Iran to be extended to Israel's war with Hezbollah, after a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed more than 200 people. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon rejects Iran negotiating on its behalf, PM says only Beirut handles talks

Israel launched its largest attack against Lebanon in the war, firing over 160 munitions across the country. At least 203 people were killed and 1,072 injured, while 33 remain missing, authorities said.

Iranians hold national flags as they gather in Tehran's Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Ceasefire or strategic pause? How Iran is framing war narrative amid deep mistrust

Beneath the surface of official messaging, a more complex and uneasy reality is emerging — one defined by lingering mistrust, hard-line dissent and uncertainty over what comes next.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Iran hits Gulf, threatens truce as Israel escalates in Lebanon: What to know

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire following an Israeli strike at the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood of Beirut on April 8, 2026.

Analysis

How fast can Gulf energy production rebound after US-Iran ceasefire?

picture of Qatar Energy's operating facilities on March 3, 2026, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Trump ceasefire leaves Netanyahu flustered as Iran gains politically

TOPSHOT - Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, in Tehran, on April 8 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday barely an hour before US President Donald Trump's deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /

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

Trump agrees to halt war for 2 weeks if Iran reopens Hormuz

President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington.

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has his tie adjusted before the arrival of Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski to their meeting in Jerusalem November 4, 2013. REUTERS/Menahem Kahana/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14ZOS

Netanyahu faces possible lose-lose on Iran, peace process

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be right in his vigilance on Iran, but if US-Israel relations suffer, he could find himself with a nuclear Iran and a Palestinian state.

Islamists, members of the brotherhood, and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in the suburb of Nasr City, Cairo, June 28, 2013. Egypt's leading religious authority warned of "civil war" on Friday and called for calm after a member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was killed ahead of mass rallies aimed at forcing the president to quit. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX114YI

Crisis of democracy for Islamic parties

While Islamic parties in the Middle East have been keen to use democracy as a way to reach power and maintain their authority, they do not apply democratic principles when it comes to other aspects of governance.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, September 13, 2013. Rouhani said on Friday that he wanted a swift resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Western states fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, E

Russia's Iran policy in transition

Russia is likely to benefit from an agreement between the P5+1 and Iran.

Iran's low-key reaction to bugging of supreme leader

Iran's response to reports that the US National Security Agency bugged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a trip to the Kurdistan region of Iran in 2009 has been relatively muted and has not affected Iran's position on negotiations with the P5+1.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks to his plane after a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv November 8, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1553J

The cost of Netanyahu's campaign against an Iran deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to an Iranian nuclear deal has a cost in US-Israel relations.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive at a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1578B

7 reasons Iran nuclear deal a win-win for all parties

Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, signed a new agreement today with Iran addressing outstanding technical concerns about its nuclear program.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads a special cabinet meeting marking 40 years since the death of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, in Sde Boker in southern Israel November 10, 2013. Netanyahu voiced satisfaction on Sunday over the failure of Iran and world powers to clinch a nuclear deal and said he lobbied against it in calls with government leaders. REUTERS/David Buimovitch/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157M9

Netanyahu could lose his Iran card

If Tehran and the world powers enter into a long-term diplomatic process that slows down Iran’s nuclear program, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be left without the one major issue that topped his agenda for the past few years.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton listens as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) speaks during a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Zarif and Ashton said on Sunday they hoped Iran and six world powers would reach an agreement when they gather again in 10 days, adding that the latest round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme was something all delegations can build on. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - R

Iran nuclear deal key to political solution in Syria

Despite significant progress in the Geneva nuclear talks over the weekend, time may be short, given the opposition of Israel and some in Congress, with implications for Syria.

Rouhani, Zarif on the clock to get nuclear deal

A divided P5+1 is both a boon and a challenge for Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

For France, Arak is a deal killer

The French government is right to demand limits on the Arak heavy water reactor, as Iran is right to insist on sanctions relief, if both sides seek to build confidence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers a statement to the media after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv November 8, 2013. Israel rejected out of hand on Friday a mooted deal between world powers and Iran, just as Kerry prepared to join nuclear talks that aim to nail down an interim agreement on the decade-old standoff. REUTERS/Debbie Hill/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1555A

Netanyahu rejects 'deal of the century for Iran'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly clash before Kerry headed to Geneva for the Iran talks.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) leaves with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after a photo opportunity before the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX153PA

Iranian foreign minister 'hopeful' on nuclear framework agreement

US Secretary of State John Kerry will join the P5+1 talks in Geneva amid expectations of a possible deal.