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May 13, 2026

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Kuwait unveils Iran IRGC infiltration plot, arrests 4: What to know

According to Kuwaiti authorities, four suspects arrested earlier this month after attempting to enter the country illegally via the sea confessed to belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and planning attacks against Kuwait.

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Latest News

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

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

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

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

An Iranian government plane is seen on the tarmac at Biarritz airport in Anglet during the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 25, 2019. Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived on Sunday in Biarritz, southwestern France, where leaders of the G7 group of nations are meeting, an Iranian official said. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC12D3EBA530

Rouhani defends Zarif’s G-7 appearance

Conservative Iranian media outlets found much to criticize in Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s surprise arrival at the G-7 meeting, but President Hassan Rouhani is standing by the move.

Islamic Jihad militants attend the funeral of Palestinian Jehad Hararah who was killed at the Israeli-Gaza border fence, in Gaza City March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1B410D6340

Gaza’s Islamic Jihad openly at the service of Iran

Hamas no longer tries to conceal the growing involvement of Iran in Gaza through its proxy Islamic Jihad.

Houses on the Lebanese side of the border between Israel and Lebanon are seen from the Israel side, August 26, 2019 REUTERS Amir Cohen - RC158D5A4E70

Israel zeroes in on Iran’s Soleimani

Recent Israeli attacks in Syria and Lebanon sent a clear message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Syria won’t be reconstructed as long as it harbors Iranian proxies.

Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) stand guard at Popular Mobilization Forces Media Center in Baghdad, Iraq July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC11A11145C0

US influence on the line if Israel has 'free hand' to bomb Iraq

Israeli attacks in Iraq signal need for some red lines with Iran.

Turkish soldiers stand on a watch tower at the Atmeh crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, as seen from the Syrian side, in Idlib governorate, Syria May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1525F30880

Why Iran has been quiet when it comes to Syria's Idlib, safe zone

Iran has been careful not to antagonize Turkey while also opposing US-Turkish agreements on Syria.

Speaker Ali Larijani attends a session of parliament in Tehran, Iran June 25, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1449450070

New Iranian hard-line group seeks to expel parliament speaker from their camp

Iranian hard-liners say parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has become soft on conservative issues and seek to remove him from their grouping for good.

Hamas seeks ties with other factions, Palestinian families

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar revealed details of a recent meeting between Hamas and Islamic Jihad to coordinate efforts to confront Israel and pursue the Palestinian cause.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare for a family photo during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci - RC1A3EBD6BF0

Macron to press Trump on Iran diplomacy at G-7

French President Emmanuel Macron says he will present US President Donald Trump ideas for an economic incentive package to try to advance Iran diplomacy at the G-7 summit in Biarritz this weekend.

Workers work at a construction site in Ein Terma, a district of eastern Ghouta, Syria February 26, 2019. Picture taken February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC18BEF25A70

How Russia could facilitate China’s role in rebuilding Syria

Moscow and Beijing are eyeing a number of opportunities to push forward on the reconstruction of Syria and Lebanon could play a central role.

Iranian former vice president and candidate for parliamentary election Mohammad Reza Aref and his wife show their ink-stained fingers after casting their ballots during elections for the parliament and Assembly of Experts, which has the power to appoint and dismiss the supreme leader, in Tehran February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - GF10000324077

Iran’s Reformists scramble to avert defeat in key polls

With only six months to go until Iran's crucial parliamentary elections, the country's Reform Movement is grappling with multiple crises and could lose its overwhelming majority to rival hard-liners.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Baghdad, Iraq May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC1CB4BEB750

What was behind regional tour of Iranian foreign minister?

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif goes to Kuwait and Qatar to promote dialogue, perhaps because opportunities that once developed through Oman may no longer be as fruitful as they once were.

The domestically built mobile missile defence system Bavar-373 is displayed on the National Defence Industry Day in Tehran, Iran August 22, 2019. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC132AFEF430

Iran unveils new missile defense system

Iranian media hails counter to Russian S-300 missile defense system.