Iran-US tensions

Members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces stand guard during an election rally for the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" movement in the capital Baghdad, on October 7, 2021.

Analysis

After US exit, Iran gains space in Iraq and a harder balancing act

For Iran, the easier part may have been getting Washington out, but it may now have to struggle turning the absence into durable influence and reviving its allied militias without provoking instability.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

Trump’s integration policies build on Gulf, Turkey ties and Syria success

Iran’s influence, and the potential for renewed conflict, complicate progress in Iraq.

Jung Yeon-Je/Getty Images

Pentagon deploys thousands more Marines, another aircraft carrier to Mideast

Some 2,200 Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and sailors aboard the USS Makin Island follow the USS Theodore Roosevelt in cycling into the Arabian Sea as the US blockade of Iran shows no sign of ending.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A Caspian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 lands at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 17, 2014.

Turkey seizes Iran’s Caspian Airlines jet over $3.4M debt

The court-ordered seizure at Istanbul Airport comes as Iranian carriers face mounting pressure from sweeping new US aviation sanctions.

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Analysis

As Iran’s grip on Hormuz weakens, what leverage does Tehran have left?

A woman crosses a street near a giant billboard erected on the facade of a building depicting a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps placing his foot on a US sea drone, reportedly seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, in Vanak Square in Tehran, on Sept. 24, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US troops exit Iraq after 12 years as Iran war reshapes regional security

Ammar Karim / AFP via Getty Images

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Iran’s rial hits record low as pressure on oil exports mounts

A man counts Iranian rial notes

Iran’s IRGC slams Trump as Ghalibaf threatens oil infrastructure

Ghalibaf

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2023.

US warns of kidnapping threat in Iraq as Iran-backed militia hits diplomatic facility

A number of US-related sites have been targeted by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, prompting Baghdad to bolster its air defenses.

People sit in a cafe outside the Apple Store in Dubai on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Citi, HSBC order Gulf evacuations after Iran threatens US tech, banks

The United Arab Emirates is home to Dubai Internet City, which hosts more than 4,000 businesses, including US tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Dell, Amazon, Mastercard and Visa. Several of these companies also have offices in Abu Dhabi.

Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP via Getty Images

Group of 32 states to release 400M barrels of oil reserves: What to know

The move would mark the agency's largest ever release of oil reserves to stabilize the global market.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

MEHDI MARIZAD/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

US strikes Iran's IRGC minelayer boats near Hormuz: What to know

The Pentagon is shifting focus to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' unconventional warfare tactics could threaten the vital economic shipping lane in the long term.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes, on March 1, 2026.

Trump warns Iran over Hormuz mines as senator cautions US may be nearing ground war

Iran has begun placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a recent report, after the American president threatened to strike Iran harder if oil shipments are interfered with.

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) look on aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026.

Analysis

As Trump says war may end soon, Iran signals longer fight

As President Donald Trump claims Iran is ready to talk, its leaders show no sign of backing down.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

A demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, at Enghelab Square in central Tehran on March 9, 2026.

Analysis

Behind Mojtaba Khamenei: How IRGC steers Iran's wartime power structure

Iran's wartime leadership transition has elevated IRGC-backed Mojtaba Khamenei to the pinnacle of power, raising urgent questions about the organization's internal dynamics and how the Islamic Republic's strategic posture may evolve.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Gavriil Grigorov / AFP via Getty Images

Russia denied sharing intelligence with Iran in Trump call, Witkoff says

Russia denied US reports that it may have provided Tehran with targeting information on American assets in the region.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran threatens Trump as Israel hits IRGC weapons hub in Tehran: What to know

US officials have vowed to escalate the campaign against Iran while Gulf states reported a barrage of attacks targeting their territory.

An Emirates Airbus A380 passenger aircraft prepares for landing at Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 8, 2026.

Airlines gradually restore Middle East flights, Gulf still heavily grounded

More than 43,000 of the 78,500 scheduled flights in and out of the Middle East have been canceled since the war began Feb. 28, according to flight data firm Cirium.

United Arab Emirates

Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), walk in the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on November 3, 2025. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

After US designation of Brotherhood, Sudan asks to add RSF to terror list

The Specially Designated Global Terrorist label entails economic sanctions against the group, including an assets freeze, while the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation criminalizes providing material support for it.

A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

US strikes on Iran peak as Trump warns Tehran over Hormuz oil routes

The Pentagon said its campaign in Iran will reach new levels of daily strikes just hours after President Donald Trump placed the onus on Iran not to escalate further.