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May 12, 2026

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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.

Breaking | Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 4:31 pm

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.

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)

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

A US Navy nuclear submarine reached port in Gibraltar on Sunday in an unsubtle signal from the Pentagon.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Latest News

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

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Iran's wartime behavior risks lasting rupture with Gulf states

A woman walks past a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), next to newly elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

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

US strikes Iran tankers as UAE reports fresh missile, drone attacks

Getty

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

A drone and armored vehicles serve as a backdrop as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks to U.S. troops at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9HDU3K

Iraqi base housing US troops hit as Iran tensions escalate

Iran launched an attack against Iraqi bases housing American troops with over a dozen ballistic missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes questions during a news conference in the Press Briefing Room at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC24BE9BAMTN

Pompeo mocks claim Soleimani was part of Iraq-brokered Iran-Saudi indirect talks

The US secretary of state discounted the Iraqi prime minister's claim that on the day Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad, he was going to pass on an Iranian message as part of indirect Iranian-Saudi communications.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, joined by fellow Democrats, speaks during a news conference about legislation the House has passed at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC2JYD99KMA3

Inside the Trump-Pelosi tug of war over Iran war powers

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are tangling over the legal authorities necessary to attack Iran.

A U.S. Army soldier from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq, mans an observation post at Forward Operating Base Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. U.S. Army/Maj. Charlie Dietz/Task Force-Iraq Public Affairs/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2P6E92P5WW

US questions whether Iraq can boot American troops

After Iraq's parliament urged US troops to leave the country Sunday, the White House and some Iraqi lawmakers are raising questions about whether Iraq's caretaker prime minister has the authority to kick out US forces.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his delegation meet with President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9C15KU

Iraq's Kurds weigh opportunities, risks in wake of Soleimani killing

Can the Kurdistan Regional Government help out the United States as it faces Iraqi anger over the Soleimani killing, and does the KRG want to risk doing so?

Iranian people attend a funeral procession and burial for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, at his hometown in Kerman, Iran January 7, 2020. Mehdi Bolourian/Fars News Agency/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2XAE9ME6Q8

Deadly stampede kills scores at burial of Iran's Soleimani

Scores of mourners died in a stampede that marred and briefly delayed a massive burial for the Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani assassinated in a US airstrike last week.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1801320710

US withdrawal from Iraq is Israel’s worst-case scenario

The leaked letter published this week about the United States considering withdrawing from Iraq and Syria generated great concern within the Israeli security establishment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Umayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on January 7, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE - RC23BE9NJLQX

How Moscow is positioning itself as broker amid Mideast tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East seeks to gain Russia more power and higher status.

A member of Iraqi security forces walks near burning tyres at the reception room of the U.S. Embassy, during a protest to condemn air strikes on bases belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces), in Baghdad, Iraq January 1, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC207E9KASMJ

US-Iran tensions shift Iraq from brink of reform to brink of war

After its assassination of a major player in Iraq, the United States must now engage with the anti-government, pro-reform nationalist protesters in Iraq in order to push against Iranian influence in the country.

Region watches for sparks as Palestinian factions mourn Soleimani

The assassination of Iran's Qasem Soleimani has prompted many sad reactions among the various Palestinian factions, but so far all are resisting the urge to avenge him.

How Israel is feeding fire of US-Iran escalation

Instead of stoking the fire and congratulating US President Donald Trump over the killing of Iran’s Qasem Soleimani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should look at the larger picture.

Russian military personnel attend a memorial service for the late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, at the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, January 5, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar - RC2Q9E9GR7ZS

How Soleimani’s assassination could affect Iran’s Syria strategy

Iran could use its position in Syria to strike against the United States and Israel as part of Tehran's retaliation for last week's killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.