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July 10, 2026

Tehran 2:37 pm

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Mourners surge towards the turban-clad casket of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad, Iran.

Even as ceasefire frays, Trump and Iran shy away from full war

The United States and Iran are escalating their tit-for-tat strikes, posing the biggest threat yet to their framework deal.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Why US strikes on Iran rail bridge signal shift in Hormuz conflict

A US missile strike on the railway bridge linking Iran to Central and East Asia suggests the White House is once again flirting with politically coercive tactics after the June agreement failed to halt Iran's attacks on Hormuz shipping.

(Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

US strikes strategic railway bridge linking Iran to China: What to know

The railway bridge also links Tehran and other southern cities to Mashhad, where large crowds are gathering for the burial ceremony on Thursday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Analysis

As Trump declares deal 'over,' IRGC takes lead in shaping Iran's response

Iranian NOPO special police officers stand guard in front of a large portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Valiasr square on July 3, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Oil soars more than 6% as Trump rules out Iran deal, threatens more strikes

A cargo ship is pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026.

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

TOPSHOT - Iranian electoral posters and fliers are pictured on the last day of election campaign in Tehran on February 19, 2020. - Iran's electoral watchdog today defended its decision to disqualify thousands of candidates for a crucial parliamentary election in two days, as a lacklustre campaign neared its end. Conservatives are expected to make an overwhelming resurgence in Friday's election, which comes after months of steeply escalating tensions between Iran and its decades-old arch foe the United State

Iran hard-liners set up roadblocks around Reformist candidates for president

Half a year away from Iran’s presidential election, the country’s hard-liners are already hard at work to ensure the next president is on their side.

Australian-British academic reportedly released from Iranian prison

Kylie Moore-Gilbert was arrested in 2018 and charged with espionage, which she denied throughout her harsh confinement in Iran's notorious Evin and Qarchak prisons.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech during the inaugural session of the new parliament following February elections, in Tehran on May 27, 2020. - The 11th legislature since the Islamic revolution of 1979 opened as the country's economy, which has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus, gradually returns to normal. Rouhani, who is in the final year of his second and final term, called on MPs, collectively and individually, to place the "national interest above special interests", "party intere

Iran's president says post-Trump de-escalation with US can be 'easy'

President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran could ease tensions with the new US administration, only one day after Iran’s supreme leader expressed disappointment at negotiations.

Talks ‘got us nowhere’: Iran’s supreme leader casts doubt on future negotiations

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments come as the Trump administration ramps up its maximum pressure campaign on Iran.

Iran taps into emergency fund to compensate Ukraine flight victims

The Islamic Republic is to pay families of the victims of the Ukrainian flight it downed earlier this year. But the payment has been secured not from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for the missile attack but from an emergency fund meant for the public interest.

Iran to pursue legal action against US over medical sanctions

Tehran has struggled to contain the spread of the disease and accused Washington of cutting off access to a life support system.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad Zarif (C) attends during the inaugural session of the new parliament in Tehran on May 27, 2020, following February elections. - The 11th legislature since the Islamic revolution of 1979 opened as the country's economy, which has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus, gradually returns to normal. Rouhani, who is in the final year of his second and final term, called on MPs, collectively and individually, to place the "national interest above special interests", "party

Rouhani, Zarif face criticism for suggesting talks with US

While Iran seeks the removal of sanctions, some officials are not keen to reenter direct talks with the US.

US unveils new round of Iran sanctions, Pompeo pledges more to come

Targets in the latest round of sanctions include an Iranian charitable organization and Iran's intelligence minister.

US President-elect Joe Biden speaks with outside diplomatic, intelligence, and defense experts to discuss readiness at the relevant agencies during a video meeting in Wilmington, Delaware on November 17, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The Takeaway: Iran’s mixed messages include diplomatic opening for Biden

Iran escalates tensions in Trump’s final days, while Zarif opens window to diplomacy; Israel, Palestinians, Gulf ready themselves for Biden; Woman coaches Egyptian men’s soccer team; More mummies in Egypt!

A picture shows the seal of the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production bearing the initials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after they were disconnected at nuclear power plant of Natanz, some 300 kilometres south of Tehran on January, 20, 2014 as Iran halted production of 20 percent enriched uranium, marking the coming into force of an interim deal with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme. AFP PHOTO/IRNA/KAZEM GHANE (Photo credit should rea

Iran fed uranium gas to prohibited centrifuges at underground site, says UN

US President Donald Trump proposed attacking the site in a meeting with advisers last week.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, speaks during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez (out of frame), in Havana, on November 6, 2020. - Cuba and Iran's foreign ministers met in Havana on Friday to reinforce their mutual support in the face of crippling US sanctions. (Photo by YAMIL LAGE / AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran’s Zarif says Biden could lift Iran sanctions in no time

Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism about Joe Biden’s presidency, noting that Washington’s return to the Iran nuclear deal could take place without preconditions.

A picture taken on November 18, 2020 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows the Israel-Syria border, on November 18, 2020. - Israeli warplanes struck Syria Wednesday, hitting Iranian targets and killing 10 Syrian and foreign fighters in what the Israeli army called a retaliatory attack after explosive devices were found near one of its bases on the occupied Golan Heights. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel reportedly bombs southern Syria

Syrian opposition sources said the airstrikes targeted Iranian militias near the capital Damascus.