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May 6, 2026

Tehran 2:59 pm

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Rubio warns Iran of 'total defeat' if it refuses deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Iran "to make a sensible choice" and resume negotiations.

A billboard with the image of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wraps the front of a building in Tehran on May 5, 2026.

Analysis

Iran's Gulf gambit: Attacking the UAE to shift US calculations

Tehran is escalating pressure on the United Arab Emirates through strikes and rhetoric, signaling a strategy to widen the conflict and indirectly force Washington to ease its blockade on Iranian ports.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Parker Song / Getty Images

Iran’s Araghchi heads to China as US presses Beijing over Hormuz: What to know

The visit comes ahead of President Donald Trump's long-awaited trip to Beijing next week.

Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP via Getty Images)

EU says energy costs tied to Hormuz crisis have surged past $35B

Global energy price increases tied to the Hormuz disruption are driving higher import costs in Europe, despite limited reliance on gas flowing through the strait.

Latest News

Few ships pass Hormuz despite US efforts to break Iran's hold

Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz on June 23, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

Why Iran’s regime didn't break: The hidden networks behind its survival

Mahmoud Karimi, a maddah, leads a mourning ritual during the Muslim month of Muharram in the lead-up to Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein in Tehran on July 3, 2025.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

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 soldiers stand next to an Iranian Kheibar missile (R) and a Shahab-3 missile (L) during a rally marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) day, in street at the capital Tehran, on April 29, 2022. - An initiative started by the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Quds Day is held annually on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

US sanctions target Iran's ballistic missile ties with China

The latest barrage of US economic sanctions came just hours after Iran unveiled what it claimed to be its first hypersonic missile.

Abandoned boats in Sikh Sar village at Hamoon wetland near the Zabol town, in southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan on Feb. 2, 2015.

Iran-Afghan water tensions surge amid drought, complicating Taliban ties

Even though Tehran stopped short of recognizing the Taliban government in Kabul, it has been one of the few countries that maintained diplomatic relations and retained its embassy in the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi in Tehran on March 4, 2023.

IAEA chief rebuffs Israeli criticism, says Iran meets 'fraction' of commitments

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi noted that Iran made positive steps in enabling the inspection of its nuclear sites but is still a long way from fulfilling the March 4 agreement commitments.

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran set to reopen embassy in Saudi Arabia after 7 years of closure

The move is the latest sign of rapprochement between the two countries since reaching a China-brokered deal to resume ties.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian army official website shows an Iranian naval ship parading during the last day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Sept. 12, 2020.

Iran's IRGC speed boats 'harassed' ship in Strait of Hormuz: US Navy

There have been several incidents involving US and Iranian naval forces in the strategic waterway in recent years, prompting the US to increase patrols.

Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (L) meets with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in Tehran on May 29.

Analysis

Israel alarmed by IAEA report, possible US backchannel diplomacy with Iran

Also: IAEA report hints at Iran’s post-JCPOA nuclear posture; Gulf uncertainty over US policy; Omani diplomacy back in spotlight.

Week in Review

Andrew Parasiliti

By Week in Review , Andrew Parasiliti

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

US sanctions Iranian firm over internet censorship

The Treasury Department says that the technology company Arvan Cloud has a close and collaborative relationship with Iran's intelligence services.

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Iran releases 1 Danish, 2 Austrian citizens after Oman mediation

The newest release of European dual nationals follows a prisoner swap between Iran and Belgium also mediated by Oman.

Foreign ministers of BRICS nations pose for a family photo with representatives from Africa and the global South during a summit in Cape Town, South Africa, June 2, 2023.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE attend BRICS meeting in South Africa as bloc mulls expansion

Iran, which has applied for observer status in BRICS, is finessing non-Western states to remedy its battered economy.

BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Attack on Iran-Pakistan border leaves 2 dead

Security issues are complicating Iran’s relations with Pakistan, and there has also been violence on the Iran-Afghanistan border recently.

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Iran executions spike by 76% with 142 people hanged in May: Report

A new report reveals that Iran carried out 307 executions in 2023 as rights groups' pleas fall on deaf ears.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Why did Shamkhani, Iran's powerful national security chief, resign?

Ali Shamkhani, the longstanding secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, has yielded his post to a prominent commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.