Iran-US tensions

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Uncertain how to interpret the American regional redeployment, Israel is focusing on efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime and stop its nuclear program.

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

A couple watch oil tankers

Iran-Oman deal over Hormuz takes shape as war-weary US looks on

Trump administration appears poised to concede Iran and Oman's management of Hormuz in hope that Tehran eventually fold on its nuclear program.

Jared Szuba

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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on June 22, 2022.

Turkey’s Erdogan heads to Saudi Arabia for talks with MBS, Pakistan’s Sharif

The visit comes as the three countries ramp up coordination to weather the regional fallout from the Iran war.

Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images

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

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

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.

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranians participate in the 12th term parliamentary elections and the 6th term Assembly of Leadership Experts' voting at a Tehran polling station on March 1, 2024.

Culture

What Iran's elections could signal about potential for US escalation

The sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has plunged the country into new uncertainty, but it’s unlikely to derail Washington's quiet push to dial back tensions with Tehran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to cast his ballot during the parliamentary runoff elections in Tehran on May 10, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

With outsiders purged, Iran hard-liners set to settle Khamenei succession

Former President Hassan Rouhani has attacked the ruling hard-liners for purging him and other moderates from a key clerical body that will be responsible for picking Khamenei's successor.

This handout image supplied by the IIPA (Iran International Photo Agency) shows a view of the reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant as the first fuel is loaded, on Aug. 21, 2010 in Bushehr, southern Iran.

Understanding Iran's increasingly open rhetoric about atomic bombs

Several Iranian officials and military generals have recently abandoned earlier reservations on nuclear policy, sending out the message that the country could be turning into an atomic weapons possessor to deter Israel.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (L) welcomes Nechirvan Barzani, the regional president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during an official visit to Tehran on May 6, 2024. (Photo: KRG Presidency)

Analysis

In Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani welcomed by Khamenei, IRGC

Nechirvan Barzani’s trip to Tehran follows tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Islamic Republic over Kurdish armed groups and attacks by Iran-backed militias.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdoulahian meets with UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, May 6, 2024.

Iran urges IAEA to dodge US, Israeli 'pressure' over nuclear program

The visit by the UN nuclear watchdog's chief comes two months after he raised concerns about losing track of Tehran's enrichment program and its possible capabilities to produce nuclear weapons.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (C) inspects the guard of honor upon his arrival for a state visit at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare on July 13, 2023.

What's behind Iran's ambitious push for influence in Africa?

With a key Tehran conference hosting African nations, the Islamic Republic is moving to catch up with such heavyweight investors as China and Russia, pursuing geopolitical interests in Africa through both trade ties and the shipment of military equipment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022.

Russia hosts Iran, China security chiefs after escalation with Israel

Iran's highest-ranking security official traveled to Russia to meet with other like-minded advisers and to promote its fight against "Western hegemony."

Retired Israeli general and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference, Manama, Bahrain, Dec. 5, 2020.

Interview

Israel's ex-intel chief: Biden distrusts Netanyahu, Iran escalation unlikely

Former head of IDF intelligence Amos Yadlin believes Israel should take the time to estimate whether the additional sanctions announced by the US and the EU would indeed affect Iran’s decision-making on its regional aggression and nuclear program.

Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin

Former Head of Israeli Military Intelligence

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah denies resuming attacks on US bases

Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah denied on Monday it had resumed attacks on US bases after two apparent barrages threatened to break a fragile detente that had held since February.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and his Pakistan's counterpart Ishaq Dar arrive to address a joint press conference at the foreign ministry in Islamabad on April 16, 2024.

As Iran, Israel trade fire, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan try to forge stability

As Prince Faisal bin Farhan made his way to Pakistan with a high-powered delegation to discuss energy and economic ties, tension in the Middle East overshadowed the discussions.

JARABLUS, SYRIA - AUGUST 31: A member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) stand guarded in front of a ISIS flag in the border town of Jarablus, August 31, 2016, Syria. Turkish troops and Turkey-backed rebels have been fighting Kurdish-led forces and IS since Turkey's incursion into Syria on Aug. 24. with the swift capture of Jarablus, a town a few km inside Syria that was held by Islamic State.(Photo by Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images)

ISIS takes advantage of Israel-Iran spiral to mount resurgence in Syria

Amid the relocation of Iranian-backed forces due to Israeli and US airstrikes and the lack of coordination between the SDF and Damascus, ISIS has intensified its operations, clawing back parts of the vital highway separating Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.

US President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn after landing on Marine One with senior members of his staff at the White House on April 18, 2024, in Washington, DC.

With Iran and Israel avoiding full-blown war, US refocuses on Gaza

Limited Israeli strikes and a muted Iranian response suggest the dangerous tit-for-tat retaliation between the two foes may be over, at least for now.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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