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Iran

May 4, 2026

Tehran 6:35 am

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Soldiers from Iran's land, navy, air force and special forces parade on the occasion of National Army Day in Tehran, capital of Iran on April 18, 2025, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

How Iran is rebuilding its bruised military as ceasefire masks recalibration

Iran is using the fragile truce to recover by blending redeployment and reverse engineering into broader preparedness for renewed conflict.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC.

US sanctions Iran’s shadow banking channels moving oil proceeds from China

The latest sanctions come as the Trump administration weighs Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

While President Donald Trump remains undecided on striking Iran again, the Israeli military is sinking deeper into its Lebanon quagmire with a reinforced Hezbollah.

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

Latest News

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

AFP via Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/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

Indian Air Force (IAF) Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet takes part in an air refueling exercise from a French Air and Space Force (FASF). Russia is reportedly mulling sale of Sukhoi fighter jets to Iran. (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran leans on Russia, hopes for Sukhoi sale as EU pressure mounts

Tehran is increasingly boosting its military ties with Moscow, hoping for Sukhoi sale, amid dim prospects for the revival of the nuclear deal and a wave of fresh sanctions over its crackdown on dissent at home.

A protester holds a portrait depicting the slain top commander of the Iranian revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani while praying, during an anti-German demonstration condemning Germany's support of Berlin-based Iranian opposition TV stations and anti-government protests in Iran, outside the German embassy headquarters in Iran's capital Tehran on November 1, 2022. (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran top official threatens EU militaries as IRGC terror designation looms

Europe’s ties with the Islamic Republic have been worsening since the anti-government protests began in Iran last year.

This photo taken on August 4, 2020 shows Prince, a member of the hacking group Red Hacker Alliance who refused to give his real name, using a website that monitors global cyberattacks on his computer at their office in Dongguan, China's southern Guangdong province. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)

China hackers found to have compromised Iran entities for months

A Chinese hacking group targeted multiple Iranian government bodies in 2022 using advanced malware, according to an industry report.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a press conference, Seoul, South Korea, March 20, 2022.

South Korea, Iran summon ambassadors after 'enemy' comments

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol described Iran as the “enemy” of the UAE during a visit to the Gulf state, but the East Asian country insists the remarks are being taken out of context.

Europe parliament

European Parliament overwhelmingly urges EU to designate Iran's IRGC as terrorist

Members of the European Parliament called today on European leadership to add the Iranian revolutionary Guards to the list of terror organizations.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk, speaks during a press conference in Amman on November 6, 2016. (Photo credit should read AHMAD ABDO/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraq's PM Sudani hosted US envoy ahead of meeting Iran's Quds commander

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received high-ranking US and Iranian envoys separately for discussions of bilateral issues related to both countries.

Namazi

Pressure on Biden mounts with Namazi hunger strike in Iran

As Siamak Namazi, a US citizen, starts a week-long hunger strike to protest his seven-year detention, Iran said his release is possible if the United States shows the "political will" to reach a deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Jan. 17, 2023.

Turkey, Iran to step up cooperation on Ankara-Damascus thaw

While the top Turkish and Iranian diplomats appear to be on the same page over the ongoing Damascus-Ankara rapprochement, both foreign ministers also raised contentious issues during the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Turkey.

Iranians enjoy a walk in a park during snowfall in the capital Tehran on Jan. 15, 2023.

Gas-rich Iran apologizes to citizens over chaotic shortages

Despite sitting on the world's second-largest gas reserves, Iran has in recent days witnessed the chaotic management of its household gas heating, which is adding further to a host of unaddressed public grievances.

Iran labor

Suicide rates on rise in Iran as economic conditions grow more dire

Amid a rapidly deteriorating economic situation in Iran, news reports says that some workers are taking their own lives due to poverty.

cav

Iran's top diplomat to visit Turkey amid Erdogan-Assad thaw

The foreign ministers of the two nations will hold talks next week amid ongoing Ankara-Damascus rapprochement.

ANDERS WIKLUND/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Iran releases taped 'confessions' by dual British citizen sentenced to death

Iran's state media outlets have released a video of Alireza Akbari allegedly confessing to his crimes a day after his death sentence was upheld by the country's Supreme Court.