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Iran

May 10, 2026

Tehran 6:26 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

Police guard the Grand Hotel on the day the JCPOA Iran nuclear talks are to resume on May 25, 2021, in Vienna, Austria.

Iran wants 'guarantee' US will not leave nuclear deal again

One Republican senator said the United States would need to ratify the Iran nuclear agreement as a treaty to be able to provide such an assurance.

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during his first press conference in the Islamic republic's capital Tehran, on June 21, 2021.

Iran's new president rules out meeting with Biden

President-elect Ebrahim Raisi suggested he would continue President Hassan Rouhani’s foreign policies.

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during his first press conference in the Islamic Republic's capital, Tehran, on June 21, 2021.

Iran’s president: No talks with US on militias, ballistic missiles

President-elect Ebrahim Raisi called on the United States to rejoin the nuclear deal.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Raisi says Iran will prioritize improving regional relations

The president-elect said Iran wants "interaction with the world" and called on US President Joe Biden to lift all sanctions.

A woman holds a poster of newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi, with text in Persian reading "Government of the people, strong Iran," as supporters celebrate his victory in Imam Hussein Square, Tehran, Iran, June 19, 2021.

Iran's Iraq policy unlikely to change under Raisi

Despite his hardline credentials, Iran's foreign policy is likely to remain unified under the new president.

Iranian ultraconservative cleric and presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi gives a news conference after voting in the presidential election, at a polling station in the capital Tehran, on June 18, 2021.

Hard-liner Raisi wins Iran presidency amid record low turnout

Ebrahim Raisi's win came as little surprise amid widespread voter apathy, in a race already tilted to his favor by a powerful supervisory body.

A worker prepares a campaign banner of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi at a print shop in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 7, 2021.

Iranian citizens in US vote in presidential election

Iranians are voting for their next president in 133 countries worldwide.

Supporters of Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi hold posters of him during an election campaign rally in the capital Tehran, on June 10, 2021.

Apathy shadows Iran vote but that doesn’t mean change won’t follow

Even if hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi wins, reviving the nuclear deal with the West could gain traction.

An Iranian woman walks past banners of ultraconservative cleric and presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi, in Tehran, on June 17, 2021, on the eve of the Islamic republic's presidential election.

Iranians set to vote for president amid turnout concerns

After preparing everything to guarantee a victory for its preferred candidate, the ruling establishment is now attempting to draw the largely apathetic electorate to the ballot box.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Plus: A fresh start for Israel; Iran’s hard-line front-runner on the issues; Egypt’s faltering Palestinian mediation; Saudi-Syria talks; Golani’s makeover.

Siamak Nazami (L) and Baquer Namazi (R) are seen in images provided by their family.

Biden urged to secure release of Americans left behind in Iran

Amid intensifying speculation over a prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran, the family of Siamak and Baquer Namazi is appealing to President Joe Biden to secure their release.

Iranians walk past banners encouraging people to vote hung on a fence at Tehran university in the eponymous capital, on June 14, 2021, ahead of the June 18 presidential elections.

Iran's conservative candidates step aside to support Raisi

Two conservative candidates have stepped aside to support front-runner Ebrahim Raisi.