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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 11:17 am

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

Cargo rail traffic between China and Iran has reportedly surged since the US blockade began in April as Tehran seeks overland trade alternatives to help buy time.

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.

Analysis

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

Iran's rhetoric and policies toward Gulf states have sharply escalated, raising questions about whether years of painstaking regional rapprochement can survive mounting distrust and maritime confrontations.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Getty

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

Strikes on Iranian tankers and fresh exchanges in the Gulf escalate tensions as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a deal proposal.

Latest News

What to know about Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' to control Hormuz traffic

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

US sets expectations for Iraq’s next PM to confront Iranian militias

Popular Mobilization Forces

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

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

Iran protest

Iran's new administration faces accusations of nepotism

The issue has even caused dissatisfaction among members of President Ebrahim Raisi's own hardliner camp

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) meeting, in Vienna on Nov. 29, 2021.

Iran, world powers resume nuclear talks in Vienna

The return to negotiations will be the first talks with Iran under new President Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Esfahan, Iran, Nov. 19, 2021.

Iran riot police 'forcibly' sweep water protest site

During the pre-dawn raid in the city of Esfahan, baton-wielding security forces set protest tents on fire and pushed farmers out of the dried river basin, the site of more than two weeks of public demonstrations.

Iran nuclear

UN nuclear agency chief leaves Iran with no agreement

IAEA chief is concerned time could be running out regarding inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

EVERT ELZINGA/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Iran executes man jailed for murder as minor

Arman Abdolali was sentenced to death after what Amnesty International said was a "grossly unfair trial" that relied on "torture-tainted confessions" he later withdrew.

Iranian diplomat and political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Ali Bagheri Kani.

Iran's deputy foreign minister pledges 'new chapter' in Iran-UAE relations

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, met with senior Emirati officials in Dubai on Wednesday.

(R to L) Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi.

IAEA chief holds 'intense' talks in Tehran amid uncertainties

Aimed at encouraging Iranian cooperation, Rafael Grossi’s visit could play central to the trajectory of the upcoming talks on the revival of the nuclear deal, which has been in tatters since the US withdrawal in 2018.

Iranians gather during a protest to voice their anger after their province's lifeblood river dried up due to drought and diversion, in the central city of Isfahan, on Nov. 19, 2021.

Water protests spread in Iran

Farmers in a second province in Iran protest the water crisis in their region.

Le Drian

France warns Iran against making nuclear talks a 'sham'

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said France had yet to determine whether Iran was ready to pick up where the talks left off in June.

FATMEH NASR/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of Iranians protest water scarcity in Isfahan

The demonstrations in Isfahan follow widespread protests over water shortages in the oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province in July.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Iran denounces US sanctions over election interference

Iran said the new sanctions imposed on a group of Iranians for alleged election meddling were a continuation of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign.

Iran Canada

Iran lashes out at Canada over UN rights resolution

A UN resolution condemning serious rights abuses by the Islamic Republic drew rage from Tehran, with a particularly harsh diatribe directed at Canada as the architect of the motion.