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May 13, 2026

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TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) is escorted by China's Vice President Han Zheng (R) upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran looms large over Trump’s China visit, but breakthrough unlikely

Analysts say China is cautiously looking to de-escalate the US-Iran war while limiting its direct involvement.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Iran's IRGC holds anti-helicopter drills in Tehran: What to know

Iran said it downed two US helicopters last month as American forces use the aircraft for strikes in the Gulf.

FADEL Itani / AFP via Getty Images

In first, Lebanon files formal UN complaint against Iran: What to know

The move comes as relations between Iran and Lebanon continue to deteriorate in light of what is perceived as ongoing Iranian interference in Lebanese affairs via its proxy group, Hezbollah.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

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

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.

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

Military units of the IRGC Ground Force are seen on boats as they launched war games in the Gulf, December 22, 2018. Hamed Malekpour/Tasnim News Agency via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1B345C1BC0

Iran says seized tanker was smuggling oil

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have increased once again after Iran claimed the ship it seized was smuggling oil.

A U.S. soldier runs at a coalition forces forward base near West Mosul, Iraq June 21, 2017, where Iraqi security forces are fighting Islamic State. REUTERS/Marius Bosch - RC1F464C5CA0

Intel: US troop boost warning shot at Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif takes take part in a High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at United Nations headquarters in New York, U.S., July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC1E97087900

Iran says missiles remain 'nonnegotiable' and vows more nuclear deal breaches

Iran has dismissed US claims that it is ready to negotiate its controversial missile program, as the country's supreme leader defiantly says more nuclear deal commitments will be breached.

A general a view of the Rumaila oil field in Basra, Iraq, November 28, 2017. Picture taken November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC13A041D7F0

Iraq plans to launch pipelines to export oil through Jordan, Syria

Iraq plans to diversify its oil exports via new pipelines through Jordan and Syria.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini take part in meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels, Belgium, May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool - RC16D13AE4C0

EU, Iran try to stand ground against Trump’s sanctions

The countries working to save the Iranian nuclear deal have various reasons for doing so, and one could be concern that US President Donald Trump’s unilateral decisions won’t stop with Tehran.

Defense Secretary nominee Mark Esper testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination in Washington, U.S. July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC14D3AE8B30

Trump’s defense pick calls for US-led pact to deter Iran

Army Secretary Mark Esper, auditioning for the Pentagon’s top job Tuesday, called on allies to join the United States in fighting Iranian malfeasance in the Gulf.

Netanyahu to pass Ben-Gurion in time served, but not in stature

Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and its incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who will soon break the record set by the former as the country's longest-serving premier, represent opposing worldviews and aspirations.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan's (PDKI) armed wing, known as the Iranian peshmerga, located in the border near Iran continue their armed struggle against the Iranian government. They consider themselves Socialist Democrats The group practices daily training in the mountains and a nearby trading facility. The PDKi are an armed group who are trying to attain national rights within Iran. As of today Kurds who live in Iran continue under the Iranian government to have the freedom and rights that othe

Tehran courts Kurds as Washington amps up rhetoric against Iran

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and Iran are conducting talks in Oslo, in what some see as an Iranian bid to safeguard against Kurdish collaboration with the United States.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini speaks to the media at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RC1220B3F080

EU says Iran deal parties trying to salvage deal, not ready to trigger dispute mechanism

The remaining parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are not yet prepared to trigger the accord’s dispute-resolution mechanism over Iran’s decision to reduce its compliance to protest crippling US economic sanctions.

Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, gives a press conference in the capital Tehran on May 28, 2019. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran calls for concrete steps from Europe to save nuclear deal

In response to European statements regarding keeping the nuclear deal alive, Iran says it wants to see operational steps rather than statements.

Militants from the band organization Baloch Liberation Army and United Baloch Army, sit before hand over their weapons to Chieftain of Marri tribe and Pakistan's provincial minister Nawab Changaiz Marri during a surrender ceremony in Quetta on October 29, 2015. A total of 23 militants belonging to Marri tribe have surrendered to authorities with weapons in Quetta the capital of Pakistans restive southwestern province of Balochistan. AFP PHOTO/Banaras KHAN (Photo credit should read BANARAS KHAN/AFP/Ge

US ban on anti-Iran militant group could have wide-ranging impact

By expanding its terrorist watchlist, Washington is potentially making Iran, Pakistan and China happy.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) poses with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres after the two attended a High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC1BAECA4150

Updated: Iran's foreign minister receives visa, to arrive in NY Sunday

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was expected to arrive in New York on Sunday after uncertainty over whether he would receive a US visa amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.