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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

Interview

Saudi Arabia still awaiting signs of ‘goodwill’ from Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud talks about the "dramatic effect" of the September attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and says there will be no official Saudi contacts with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US

A general view during the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland October 31, 2019. Martial Trezzini/Pool via REUTERS - RC1A1AD4CDA0

Astana trio, UN launch Syrian Constitutional Committee

The launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee provides hopes for a fresh start, but there's also enough room for skepticism.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MAY 29: Iran's top nuclear negotiator and presidential candidate for the upcoming elections, Saeed Jalili, waves during a campaign rally, attended by his female supporters on May 29, 2013 in Tehran, Iran. Jalili, who is running in next month's presidential elections says he will promote a policy of resistance against the West if elected. The elections are scheduled for June 14 and Jalili has stated that he wishes to revive policies of the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought clerics to power.

Hard-line brothers seek to oust Iran's old guard conservatives

A new wave of Iranian hard-liners who embrace the teachings of the late Ayatollah Khomeini is looking to replace the entrenched conservatives that the younger grouping thinks have strayed from the path.

Tehran decries foreign influence in Iraq protests

Though they acknowledge the legitimate demands of Iraqi protesters, Iranian officials are focusing on the role of foreign countries they accuse of using the protests to create chaos and instability.

Oil pump jacks pump oil in Al-Jbessa oil field in Al-Shaddadeh town of Al-Hasakah governorate April 2, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY) - GM1EA9B1T8R01

Syria looks to revitalize oil production to attract investors

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is tightening the regime's grip on oil fields with an eye toward their eventual rehabilitation.

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen talks with Ahmad Kuzbari, co-chair for the Syrian Government, and other members ot their delegation after the first meeting of the new Syrian Constitutional Committee at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC145F453450

As Syria constitution talks kick off, is Kurdish administration 'finished'?

As representatives from Syria's government, opposition and civil society meet in Geneva to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country, Al-Monitor spoke with French academic Fabrice Balanche on prospects for the talks.

Lebanese army soldiers stand on a street in Beirut, Lebanon October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RC11CBA3CB80

Iran worried by Lebanon 'vacuum' after Hariri resignation

The political uncertainty arising from the resignation of Lebanon's prime minister is sparking worries in Iran, which maintains key interests in the tiny but strategic Arab country.

Iran's hard-liners force controversial film off screen

A controversial movie about an honor killing has been removed from Iranian theaters after pressure from infuriated hard-liners.

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 downplays significance of Baghdadi's death

Iranian officials have shrugged off the news that the United States killed the Islamic State leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a statement at the White House following reports that U.S. forces attacked Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria, in Washington, U.S., October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1BB3AB3D30

Islamic State leader dead in US raid

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during a raid in northwestern Syria, says President Donald Trump.

A man walks away from the U.S Treasury Department in Washington, U.S., August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC1FD03EA500

Sanctions experts say new US Treasury measure could inhibit humanitarian trade with Iran

The US Treasury's new Iran "humanitarian" mechanism is seen by experts as a tool to inform new sanctions on the country.

What IDF chiefs won’t say out loud

Some of Israel’s previous military chiefs took a courageous stand and publicly stated that there was no military solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but current Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi is on the same wavelength as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.