Iran protests

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

How Iran war created unexpected economic beneficiaries

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is reshaping global energy and trade flows, creating opportunities for economies far beyond the Middle East.

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes on June 23, 2025.

UAE eyes first multifuel pipeline as Hormuz crisis drags on

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is considering building a refined oil products pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

United Arab Emirates

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Container rates climb as logistic firms scale up Hormuz alternatives

The Drewry World Container Index measuring container shipping prices has soared by more than 40% since the start of the US-Israel-Iran war.

United Arab Emirates

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during an election campaign rally ahead of the presidential vote in Tehran on June 15, 2024.

Explainer

From China to Qatar: Where Iran’s frozen assets are held

Tehran is reportedly demanding some $24 billion in frozen funds be unblocked as part of a peace deal with the United States.

Latest News

Iran partially restores internet after 88-day blackout: What to know

An Iranian woman walks past a mobile phone shop at the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Uptick in Chinese tankers transiting Hormuz amid Trump-Xi summit

Jag Vasant, an Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that transited through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East war, remains docked at an offloading terminal along the coast in Mumbai on April 1, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

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

Pistachios reach highest prices in eight years amid Iran war

An Iranian grocer sells pistachios imported from Iran at a Persian products shop in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 10, 2019. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Pedestrians make their way along a path at Tehran Grand Bazaar, on Jan. 18, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Iran blackout enters 12th day as filtered internet reveals crackdown

Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in the protests in Iran, as videos emerging amid limited access to internet show the scale of the crackdown launched by security forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) during the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, on June 21, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey braces for Iran fallout: Trade disruptions, refugees and shifting geopolitics

Turkey is urging restraint between Tehran and Washington as unrest in Iran and the US president's threats heighten fears in Ankara of disrupted trade routes, refugee flows and a regional shift that could strengthen Israel.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A shop owner counts Iranian banknotes at a store in the capital Tehran on Jan. 7, 2026.

Analysis

Iran’s economic failure leaves regime exposed as new shocks promise turmoil

From the June war with Israel to UN sanctions, a string of shocks in 2025 paved the way for protests to ignite in Iran, as a broad coalition of ordinary citizens rose up in response to an economy in free fall.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Baluch Iranian man walks in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, on Dec. 18, 2025.

Analysis

How Iran’s protests are reshaping unrest in Sistan-Baluchistan

As protests rocked Iran, latent sectarian tensions resurfaced in the Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman (L), meets with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran in March 2025.

Analysis

Oil and predictability: Why Gulf, Arab states oppose regime change in Iran

Any US military action against Iran would raise the risk of retaliation against oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf, either directly or through allied armed groups.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

TEHRAN, IRAN - JANUARY 12: Security forces are seen during a pro-government rally on January 12, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tehran's Enqelab Square on Monday, as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, made a speech denouncing western intervention in Iran, following ongoing anti-government protests. In recent days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action if Iranian security forces kill protesters. (Photo by Stringer/G

Feature

Bodies for ransom: Iranians fleeing to Turkey recount regime crackdown, retribution

Transiting Istanbul Airport, they also spoke of the internet blackout, hurried departures and skepticism of foreign intervention providing relief.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

US President Donald Trump departs Air Force One after arriving at Palm Beach International Airport on Jan. 16, 2026.

Trump tempers threats, 'thanks' Iran for halting protester executions

President Trump said the canceled Iranian executions “had a big impact” on his decision-making regarding a military response.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran plans to create closed internet network offering tiered access: Report

The shift heralds a new era in which internet access is no longer a right but a government-granted privilege, according to FilterWatch, a US-based group that monitors internet freedom in the Middle East.

Witkoff

Witkoff lays out conditions for deal with Iran, warns alternative 'bad one'

The US Middle East envoy has said he favors a diplomatic resolution of tensions with Iran rather than military action, in line with the president's recent remarks, but the threat of military escalation remains.

US President Donald Trump (R) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025.

Analysis

Israel 'frustrated' by Trump’s Iran backtrack, unsure if strategy or cold feet

Israeli leaders had hoped that the US president would order attacks to help topple the government in Tehran and perhaps target Supreme Leader Khamenei.

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

Backlit image of Iranian demonstrators holding national flags and portraits during an antiKhamenei protest at Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, on January 11, 2026. What stands out is a woman holding a placard featuring a Wi Fi symbol and the message "Iran has no internet," referencing an internet blackout in Iran. The gathering takes place in front of the Hellenic Parliament, where protesters primarily supporters of the former Shah express opposition to the current Iranian regime and denounce restrictions

Tehran jams Starlink as Iranians take risks to skirt internet blackout

Iranians have turned to the US internet provider to get online amid a government-imposed network blackout that began Jan. 8.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) shakes hands with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during press conference in Tehran on Nov. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Why Iran regime’s potential collapse spells more risk than benefit for Turkey

Iran’s leadership faces its most serious unrest in years, and rising Kurdish mobilization makes the prospect of regime collapse particularly risky for Turkey.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture