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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 9:14 pm

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China’s overland trade routes offer Iran wartime economic lifeline: What to know

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

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

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (2nd L) arrives at a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee members as he is welcomed by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) (L) July 16, 2015 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Vice President Biden was on the Hill to pitch the Iran nuclear deal. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) (3rd L) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) (4th L) also attended the meeting. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

High stakes for Iran, US as Tehran waits to see Biden approach

Iran has made it clear that if the new US administration of Joe Biden wants to reenter the nuclear deal, no preconditions are acceptable to Iran.

Iran sanctions US envoy to Yemen in retaliation for US blacklisting

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on Christopher Henzel, the US ambassador to Yemen.

Iran’s Rouhani suggests nuclear deal’s fate is in Biden’s hands

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will resume full compliance with the nuclear deal as soon as his incoming American counterpart uses his signature to rejoin the same accord.

Iran makes arrests in nuclear scientist's killing, official says

Iranian parliamentary adviser Hossein Amir Abdollahian said some of the "perpetrators" had been identified and arrested.

A medical professional prepares a syringe with a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, before it is administered to a patient at Croydon University Hospital in south London on December 8, 2020. - Britain on December 8 hailed a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as it begins the biggest vaccination programme in the country's history with a new Covid-19 jab. (Photo by Dan CHARITY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DAN CHARITY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran accuses US of blocking coronavirus vaccine purchases

Iranian officials said US sanctions have impeded their attempts to secure the purchase of coronavirus vaccines for their country, which remains the hardest-hit in the Middle East.

Rafael Grossi (R), Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), listens to Iran's Atomic Energy Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, who attends virtually the 64th General Conference of the IAEA at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 21, 2020. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by JOE KLAMAR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Ali Akbar Salehi] instead of [Zarif]. Please immediately rem

European powers call Iran’s enrichment plans 'deeply worrying'

The governments of France, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed concerns over Iran's reported plan to install additional centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility.

A woman walk by a billboard in honour of slain nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in the Iranian capital Tehran, on November 30, 2020. - Iran laid to rest a nuclear scientist in a funeral befitting a top "martyr", vowing to redouble his work after an assassination pinned on arch-foe Israel. Fakhrizadeh died on November 27 from his wounds after assailants targeted his car and engaged in a gunfight with his bodyguards outside the capital, according to the defence ministry, heightening tensions once more bet

Iran claims scientist was assassinated via satellite

Commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have said that Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by use of satellite and face recognition.

Biden: 'Hard to tell' how scientist’s killing would impact Iran negotiations

The recent assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh could complicate Biden's pledge to rejoin the nuclear agreement.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 14: President Barack Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, conducts a press conference in the East Room of the White House in response to the Iran Nuclear Deal, on July 14, 2015 in Washington, DC. The landmark deal will limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. The agreement, which comes after almost two years of diplomacy, has also been praised by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images)

Israel worries that Biden will re-adopt Obama’s Iran policy

The most important thing now for Israel’s security agencies is for the Biden administration to dialogue with them and include them over its future Iran policy.

Trump administration imposes new sanctions on Iranian company

The administration is continuing to add sanctions on Iranian entities ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's taking office. Biden could remove some of the sanctions.

Iranian-Swedish scientist's execution on hold for 'next few days'

Amnesty International said Ahmadreza Djalali's execution has been halted for now, but his fate is unclear. The rights group, Sweden and the UN are protesting Iran's treatment of him.

Iran says no new negotiations until US reenters nuclear deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States must reenter the nuclear deal without preconditions.