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Iran

May 9, 2026

Ostān-e Tehrān 6:30 pm

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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

A picture taken on January 13, 2020, during a press tour organised by the US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group, shows a member the US forces walking past a drone in the Ain al-Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

Are Iranian threats to escalate in Iraqi Kurdistan more hot air?

US President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iran nuclear diplomacy shows faint pulse at UN

Signs of life at an extraordinary meeting of senior Middle East officials; also, updates from our correspondents on Israel, West Bank, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq … and more … all in about 1,400 words!

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

Iran’s president slams US in first UN speech

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi used the occasion of his first UN General Assembly speech to heavily criticize the United States.

A picture shows daily newspapers on sale at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021. Conservative and reformist newspapers showed rare unity in welcoming results of a conference yesterday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation endorsed Iran's future membership in the bloc.

Iran’s membership in Asian security body won’t solve sanctions problem

While the news that Iran will gain full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a psychological victory for the sanctions-hit country, it will take much more to achieve lasting economic impact.

An incoming passenger crosses with his luggage through a disinfection tunnel upon arriving on an Emirates flight at the Iranian capital Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on July 17, 2020.

Iran to lift visa restrictions to revive pandemic-hit tourism sector

Iran’s new tourism chief said the government will soon scrap visa restrictions, a plan that the struggling tourism sector has been desperately waiting for to get back on its feet amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says nuclear talks to resume in weeks

Iran's foreign minister plans to meet with top diplomats from JCPOA signatories at the UN General Assembly.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

UK foreign secretary to press Iranian FM on prisoners, nuclear deal

In her first overseas trip as new UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City this week.

An Iranian man reads a copy of the daily newspaper "Etalaat" bearing the headline "Iran is a new member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation", at a kiosk in the capital Tehran, on Sept. 18, 2021.

Iran says SCO membership to end isolation

Iran is hoping to expand its economic ties after it enters the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's Raisi to meet Putin as states mull Taliban recognition

In his first foreign visit as Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi will sit down with Russian and Pakistani leaders amid new regional dynamics triggered by the US departure from Afghanistan.

An undated image of Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Iranian nuclear negotiator replaced by hard-line protege

The appointment of the hard-line figure Ali Bagheri Kani at the Foreign Ministry has raised questions about ongoing negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal.

Passengers get off from a privately owned Iranian airline Mahan Air flight at the airport in Kabul on Sept. 15, 2021.

Iran resumes flights to Afghanistan

Iran has taken a measured approach to the Taliban after the group seized control of Afghanistan during the US military withdrawal.

Video image released by hackers of Evin Prison prisoner abuse.

Iran’s intelligence accused of killing Kurdish political activist

Yasser Mangouri’s family was informed of his death more than 50 days into his summoning in the northwestern city of Piranshahr.