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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 12:32 am

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Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

The establishment of an entity seeking to control maritime transportation in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign that Iran wants to formalize authority in the strategic waterway.

Latest News

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

Iran president says he held official meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei: What to know

An Iranian woman holds up an image of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

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

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (L) arrives to address parliament in the capital, Tehran, on Sept. 3, 2019.

Iran's Rouhani says nuclear negotiations have progressed 60 to 70%

President Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear negotiations with the United States are moving at a positive pace.

Iranians steps on the US, Israeli and British flag during a parade marking Quds Day, Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019.

Iran cancels Quds Day for second year in a row

The pro-Palestine solidarity event was again canceled as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Iran.

Abbas Araghchi (C), political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, is leaving the Grand Hotel Wien after the closed-door nuclear talks in Vienna on April 16, 2021, where diplomats of the EU, China, Russia and Iran hold their talks.

Iran opposes interim deal in 'complicated' Vienna talks

The Iranian negotiators appeared dogged in their demand for a full removal of US sanctions, rejecting reports that an interim deal is in the making.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) attends with Revolutionary Guards commander Yahya Rahim Safavi (R) and Basij senior official Mohammad Hejazi (L) a parade held by the Islamic volunteer Basij militia at the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Nov. 26, 2006.

Iranian commander’s death sparks speculation

High-ranking Quds Force deputy commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hejazi has died.

Iranian pharmaceutical factory

Surprising economic upside seen for Egypt, Morocco and Iran

Reports this month by the IMF and the US intelligence community also underscore troubling trendlines.

Zarif and Lavrov

Taliban, Assad continue to unite Russia, Iran

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in his visit to Tehran this week, the topics of Syria and Afghanistan also featured prominently on the agenda.

Russia’s governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mikhail Ulyanov, is interviewed as he leaves after the Iran nuclear talks on April 6, 2021, in Vienna, Austria. Representatives from the United States, Iran, the European Union and other participants from the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are meeting both directly and indirectly over possibly reviving the plan.

Russia describes latest Iran nuclear talks as 'positive'

The talks in Vienna come less than a week after a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility.

In this handout provided by the EU Delegation in Vienna, Representatives of the European Union, Iran and others attend the Iran nuclear talks at the Grand Hotel on April 15, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran says it's capable of enriching uranium with 90% purity

The Iranian president said his country possesses the know-how to enrich uranium at the weapons-grade 90% level, but he declared that Tehran is not in pursuit of nuclear bombs.

A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US Embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sept. 29, 2020.

Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says

The Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran's ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests.

Men view the covers of local newspapers laid out at a stall in the Shemiran district of Iran's capital, Tehran, on April 14, 2021. Iran warned it would start enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an explosion it blamed on archenemy Israel hit its key nuclear facility in Natanz.

Iran says 60% uranium enrichment an answer to attack

President Hassan Rouhani says the recent decision to enrich uranium to 60% is in response to the alleged Israeli attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

Britain's Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab (R) walks from the Foreign Office toward 10 Downing Street in central London on Jan. 6, 2020. The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday urged Iran to drop measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran announced it would no longer abide by a limit on enrichment.

European powers voice 'grave concern' over Iran's uranium enrichment plan

Following the alleged Israeli attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran has announced it will enrich uranium to 60% purity.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) meets with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (R) in the capital, Tehran, on Feb. 3, 2020.

EU blacklist of Iran commanders strikes a nerve in Tehran

Tehran said the European Union cannot preach human rights and announced a halt in cooperation with the bloc on fighting terrorism and narcotics after the latter sanctioned Iranian commanders over human rights violations.