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Iran

May 9, 2026

Tehran 5:15 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

Ahmad Vahidi (interior ministry), Esmail Khatib (intelligence ministry), and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (foreign ministry) attend a parliament session in the capital Tehran on Aug. 21, 2021.

Iran's foreign minister says economy won’t be tied to nuclear talks

Iran’s new foreign minister said the country is serious about the nuclear talks but wants seriousness from the other side as well.

JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites must stop

Iran has suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency's access to its nuclear facilities will resume once Israel's attacks on them stop.

MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says Israel FM's visit left 'stain' on Bahrain

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the damage could not be undone by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s recent visit to Bahrain.

A man enters a Samsung store on June 2, 2014 in Isfahan, Iran.

Iran's supreme leader issues ban on Samsung, LG appliances

Khamenei's directive came after the two South Korean giants were about to make a comeback into their lucrative Iranian market following their brief sanctions-triggered departure.

Borrell

EU's top diplomat says Iran nuclear talks to resume 'soon'

The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, said he expects a seventh round of negotiations in Vienna would to resume "within an acceptable period of time.”

Iran's President's Ebrahim Raisi remotely addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21, 2021, in New York.

The Takeaway: What will it take to jumpstart Iran nuclear talks?

Jihadi spat in Idlib; Palestinians’ fashion feud; Lapid pivots left; Palestinians reject Armenian land sale in Jerusalem; Turkey’s generals and Syria; Qatari artist bemoans plastic pollution; and more! In less than 1,200 words.

A picture taken on May 3, 2019, shows boats off the coast of the island of Sir Abu Nuair island between the Gulf emirate of Sharjah and Iran's territorial waters

Iran, UAE rehash tensions over contested islands

The UAE deputy foreign minister’s address to the United Nations stirred up the territorial dispute, which has long been at the very core of tensions between the Arab state and the Islamic Republic.

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility.

Iran, IAEA spar over access to Karaj nuclear site

The International Atomic Energy Agency claims that Iran has limited its access to the Karaj nuclear facility, where surveillance cameras have been damaged.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran introduces own version of maximum pressure

Iran may return to the table in a few weeks, but expect it to continue waiting for the United States to make concessions.

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's foreign minister says nuclear talks to restart 'very soon'

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that Iran plans to return to the negotiating table after suspending its participation at the end of June.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says 'remarkable progress' made in Saudi Arabia talks

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said significant progress had been made during direct talks in Baghdad between the rival powerhouses.

A man holds a portrait of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari during a demonstration on the Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 13, 2020.

Iran admits ‘witness to torture’ died in custody

The prisoner had defied pressure from intelligence authorities to withdraw his shocking statements after he blew the whistle on “medieval-style torture” of executed political prisoner Navid Afkari.