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Iran

May 16, 2026

Tehran 9:36 pm

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Women shop from a street vendor at Enghelab Square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 11, 2025.

Analysis

From hoarding to unemployment: Iran's economy buckles under US pressure

Iran's fast-rising inflation is driving aggressive state market controls, exposing deeper structural strains from war, sanctions and declining consumer confidence.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on March 13, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war is exposing a growing Saudi-UAE divide

Reports on Emirati and Saudi strikes suggest Gulf monarchies moved beyond passive defense — but followed sharply different strategies.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

Latest News

Uptick in Chinese tankers transiting Hormuz amid Trump-Xi summit

Jag Vasant, an Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that transited through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East war, remains docked at an offloading terminal along the coast in Mumbai on April 1, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

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

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)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

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

Iranian MPs, activists lobby to force government to hire young managers

An initiative to compel the Iranian government to start hiring younger staff for managerial positions appears to be gaining steam.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 08: White House National Security Advisor John Bolton (L) and Vice President Mike Pence listen to President Donald Trump announce his decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room at the White House May 8, 2018 in Washington, DC. After two and a half years of negotiations, Iran agreed in 2015 to end its nuclear program in exchange for Western countries, including the United States, lifting decades of economic sanctions. Since then interna

US hopes new sanctions fuel Iran protests

The US administration said it hoped that renewed economic sanctions on Iran going into effect Tuesday will spur Iranian protests and pressure the regime to accept Donald Trump’s offer for talks.

US Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson (C), is seen inside a car escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers as he arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - A Turkish court on July 25, 2018 ruled to place under house arrest US pastor who has been imprisoned for almost two years on terror-related charges in a case that has raised tensions with the United States, state media said. The state-run Anadolu news agency said he was being put under house arrest, although it was not clear if he had already lef

Turkey remains defiant in row with US over pastor as deal falls through

A possible deal to end the US-Turkish row over an American pastor detained in Izmir appears to have failed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heaped additional demands on an agreement.

How regional politics is restraining Kurdish militancy in Iran

While some Iranian Kurdish armed opposition groups are intent on raising the heat on Iran amid ongoing US pressure, other groups are careful not to enter a conflict that may spiral out of control.

Iraqi-Kurdistan

Zarif says US primary goal is to ‘create chaos’ in Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif believes Iran can weather the storm of US sanctions.

Culture alert: Music mixed with history in August

Some of the August festivals in the Middle East take place in spectacular settings, from Cairo to Byblos to Troy.

As ringmaster, Russia runs Israel-Iran balancing act in Syria

A deal brokered by Russia has something for everyone involved — Syria, Israel, Iran and, of course, Russia itself — and has defused at least temporarily what could have become a deadly showdown between Israel and Iran.

A picture taken on January 14, 2017 shows street traffic in the Iranian capital Tehran on the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement.
The first anniversary, of the nuclear deal between Iran and six powers, that lifted a large part of international sanctions on Iran in return for limits on Tehran's nuclear programme, comes four days before the inauguration of Republican president Trump on January 20. / AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

China set to fill vacuum left by French carmakers exiting Iran

The exit of French automakers from Iran is leaving a vacuum that appears set to be filled by Chinese auto manufacturers.

Iraq's Basra plans dam on vital river

After angry demonstrations against the government in Basra about the lack of potable water, the southern Iraqi province is preparing to tackle the problem by building a dam on the Shatt al-Arab River.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC157E042900

US reimposes sanctions as Iran deal crumbles

With the Donald Trump administration set to reimpose Iran sanctions after exiting the nuclear deal, it’s looking less and less likely the rest of the world can salvage the accord.

Iranians flock to greener pastures on Caspian coast

The nationwide drought in Iran is triggering internal migration and its water-rich areas are already suffering shortages.

Senior Iranian clerics ask Rouhani to fight corruption

Grand ayatollahs in Iran are asking the judiciary and the Rouhani administration to fight corruption rather than blaming sanctions.