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May 1, 2026

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This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff intensifies, Trump must choose between military escalation, a limited diplomatic deal, or continuing a pressure campaign against Iran.

AFP via Getty Images

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

Latest News

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

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

A policeman stands guard in front of the Azerbaijan embassy in Tehran on January 27, 2023, following an attack. - Azerbaijan on January 27 said it was evacuating staff from its embassy in Tehran, blaming Iran for a "terrorist" attack in which the head of security was killed and two guards wounded. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran arrests several Azeris amid tensions with Azerbaijan

As Iranian-Azeri ties continue to be strained, Iran has arrested at least five ethnic Azeris accused of espionage and terrorism.

An Iranian Navy warship takes part in the "National Persian Gulf day" in the Strait of Hormuz on April 30, 2019.

Iran plans joint naval exercise with Russia, China as Red Sea tensions soar

The trilateral drills will be the first this year that Iran is holding with the two powers, as it remains under Western pressure over involvement in attacks on international navigation in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

MUSTAFA ABUMUNES/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan foreign minister visits Tehran amid reports Iran provided drones

The meeting comes after the two countries agreed to resume their diplomatic ties in October.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the funeral ceremony for victims of twin explosions near the cemetery where the grave of Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani is located on Jan. 05, 2024, in Kerman, Iran.

Iran-Israel intel war rages as Tehran says it identified Israeli spies worldwide

The announcement came in the wake of a chain of Israel-blamed targeted assassinations of senior Iranian officers in Syria, which have left Tehran in a tight spot for revenge.

US President Joe Biden greets military personnel on arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 2, 2024, to attend the transfer of the remains of three US service members killed in the drone attack on the US military outpost in Jordan.

Analysis

Biden should respond to Iran with more than military strikes

The United States could reset the terms of engagement with Iran ahead of a Gaza cease-fire.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iran begins building 4 more nuclear power plants amid IAEA warnings

Western officials have long suspected Tehran of looking to produce nuclear weapons, though Iran denies this.

HOSSEIN BERIS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s IRGC reportedly relocates forces from Syria ahead of expected US strikes

The move comes after a drone strike on a US post in Jordan killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens of others in an attack blamed on Iran.

Jared Elizabeth US-Iran proxy webinar

US confrontation with Iran’s proxies: Live Q&A with Jared Szuba and Elizabeth Hagedorn

A group of US soldiers looks for an enemy that fired on their position.

Worried about retaliation, Iran distances itself from US base attack

To avoid confrontation, Iranian authorities rejected claims of involvement in the deadly drone attack on US troops in Jordan as worries about escalation were already sending shock waves through Iran's troubled economy.

Defense Department spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder holds a press conference at the Pentagon on Aug. 31, 2023, in Arlington, Virginia.

Pentagon: US retaliation coming despite Kataib Hezbollah vow to suspend attacks

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he had already decided how to respond to Sunday's drone attack at the Tower 22 base in Jordan, the deadliest attack on US forces since the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul.

A man walks past a charred truck container torched by armed separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) at central Bolan district in Balochistan province on January 30, 2024. At least six militants were killed in an overnight gun battle with security forces in western Pakistan's Balochistan province, an official said on January 30. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP) (Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan foils separatist attack in Baluchistan hours after Iran FM visit

Separatist rebels launched a coordinated attack against army and security forces in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, hours after a visit to Islamabad by Iran’s top diplomat.

A US soldier takes part in the "Eager Lion" multinational military manuever, in the Al-Zarqa governorate, some 85km northeast of the Jordanian capital Amman, on Sept. 14, 2022.

After Jordan drone attack, US has few options to de-escalate with Iran

The Biden White House faces increasing pressure to respond to the deadliest attack on the US military since 2021 as Israel's war in Gaza thrusts some 30,000 troops in the Middle East closer toward war with Iran and its proxies.