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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 3:22 pm

27°C

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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

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami.

Iran commander rejoices at US ‘defeats’

The IRGC commander was enumerating US failures in the region only hours after reports that Israel was allocating a special budget for a military strike on Iran.

Pakistani soldiers wear facemasks on the closed border of Pakistan-Iran in Taftan, as fears over the spread of the coronavirus escalate following an outbreak in neighboring Iran, Pakistan, Feb. 25, 2020.

Iran, Pakistan work to strengthen ties as Afghan situation remains fluid

Iran and Pakistan are talking about the strengthening of their military relations, in the face of the Taliban takeover in neighboring Afghanistan and the region's geopolitical changes.

Taliban

Iran to host Afghanistan’s neighbors for Oct. 27 talks

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the foreign ministers from Russia, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will meet in Iran for talks on Afghanistan next week.

Iran economy

Poll: Iranians blame economic woes on corruption, not sanctions

A new poll shows Iranians have unfavorable views of the Biden administration, the Taliban and Saudi Arabia, but favorable views of Iran-backed militias in the region, as well as Russia and China.

VIRGINIA MAYO/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says no negotiations happening in Brussels

Iran says the current discussion with the European Union is not a negotiation on the nuclear deal.

Mora nuclear

EU says no plans for Iran nuclear meeting in Brussels

A spokesperson for the European Union pushed back on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's claim that Iranian officials would be meeting with EU counterparts on Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, accompanied by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, right, speaks at a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Oct. 13, 2021.

Intel: Israel sees bad faith in Iran’s delay to return to nuclear talks

Israeli officials see diminishing prospects for a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, even if Iran sends negotiators back to Vienna.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

EU sends diplomat to Tehran as uncertainty grows over Iran deal

The envoy's visit came at a "critical" time as the Iranian side continues to remain vague on the timing of the talks over the revival of the nuclear deal.

Blinken Lapid

US envoy headed to Gulf to discuss ‘options’ on Iran’s nuclear program

With the Vienna talks stalled, US officials are warning that they have other ways to rein in Iran's nuclear enrichment.

Iranians use internet at a cybercafe in the center of the Iranian capital Tehran on May 14, 2013.

Iran’s president calls for tighter internet control

Iran’s president called for tighter control of the internet while “digitizing” the economy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken warns Iran 'time is running short' on nuclear deal return

In a joint press conference with his counterparts from Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Blinken said the United States is prepared to pursue “other options” if Tehran doesn’t resume compliance under the nuclear deal.

STEPHANIE LECOCQ/AFP via Getty Images

Azerbaijan, Iran agree to de-escalate through dialogue

Following weeks of heightened tensions between the two countries, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian agreed to settle their differences through dialogue.