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May 13, 2026

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US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

Tehran is closely watching the Trump-Xi meeting to determine whether China will continue acting primarily as a protector or if it will gradually emerge as the power capable of pressuring Iran into a narrower strategic corner.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

TTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages

Kuwait unveils Iran IRGC infiltration plot, arrests 4: What to know

According to Kuwaiti authorities, four suspects arrested earlier this month after attempting to enter the country illegally via the sea confessed to belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and planning attacks against Kuwait.

A picture taken on March 12, 2017, shows an Panamanian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf.

US hits China-linked Iran oil trade with sanctions ahead of Trump trip

The sanctions come after the United States rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

Latest News

Trump calls Iran response 'piece of garbage,' set to meet military advisers

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MAY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on May 2, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-A-Lago resort. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

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

CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

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 member of the medical team sprays disinfectant to sanitize wheel chairs in Imam Reza's holy shrine, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Mashhad, Iran February 27, 2020. Picture taken February 27, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2FAF9KEZWN

Intel: US stands down on Europe’s new trade mechanism with Iran

Europe launched its first shipment to Iran today using a mechanism that was originally intended to function as a workaround to US sanctions in a Hail Mary bid to salvage the unraveling Iran nuclear deal.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) questions judicial nominees during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC2HOD9HX7RA

Key Trump ally blasts administration for extending Iran nuclear waivers

The Donald Trump administration is casting the renewal of four civil nuclear waivers as “restrictions” on Iran’s nuclear program, but Sen. Ted Cruz argues that they enable Tehran.

Iranian dealers monitor the stock market at the stock exchange in the capital Tehran on May 8, 2018. - Renewed nuclear sanctions would certainly cause severe problems for Iran's economy, but much of the damage has already been done by the uncertainty created by the US and myriad home-grown problems. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehran stock market could remain strong despite Iran's economic downturn

Now might be a good time to list companies on Tehran’s booming stock exchange.

Europe sends medical aid to Iran using sanctions workaround

Iran has received medical equipment from France, Germany and Britain, under a trade mechanism that circumvents the US sanctions on the country, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

Iran battles coronavirus amid dramatic slump in oil income

The Iranian government says it is experiencing its lowest oil revenues in a decade amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A picture taken on April 26, 2019 shows a general view of the hall where the Syrian constitutional committee takes place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. - Two-day talks on Syria backed by Iran, Russia and Turkey concluded in Kazakhstan on April 26, 2019 without notable progress on forming a constitutional committee to drive a political settlement in the war-wracked country. (Photo by Alexey FILIPPOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALEXEY FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Is COVID-19 changing Astana allies' dynamics in Syria?

The coronavirus outbreak in Syria may give Russia an opportunity to limit the Iranian presence.

A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison June 13, 2006. Iranian police detained 70 people at a demonstration in favour of women's rights, the judiciary said on Tuesday, adding it was ready to review reports that the police had beaten some demonstrators. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - GM1DSVACJVAA

54 inmates on the run after Iran prison break

Seventy-four prisoners escaped from a prison in the Kurdistan province of Iran amid fears that the country's overcrowded prisons will suffer under the coronavirus.

Patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lie in beds at the ICU of Sasan Hospital, in Tehran, Iran March 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2GUF9M2YGL

How will the COVID-19 crisis impact US-Iran tensions?

If Iran can hold out long enough against COVID-19, Tehran and Washington might be able to come to terms.

Iran's Zarif says fighting COVID-19 a global effort

Iran warns the combination of US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic makes global cooperation imperative to fighting the virus in Iran.

A Turkish military convoy drives along the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, near the village of al-Nayrab, about 14 kilometres southeast of Idlib city and seven kilometres west of Saraqib in northwestern Syria on March 25, 2020. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Is Turkey ready to take on jihadis in Syria’s Idlib?

While Turkey and Russia seek to maintain a cease-fire in Idlib, the Syrian government and jihadi groups want to resume battles.

Pope Francis greets Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, during a meeting at the Vatican, September 20, 2017. Osservatore Romano/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. - RC168FEBB020

Saudi leader of Muslim World League: Interfaith partnerships during pandemic ‘religious, moral duty'

Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa says, “We try to lead by example, and show that we are all in this together.”

Iraq’s post-pandemic future depends on breaking Iran’s hold

The Trump administration tells Iraq it faces a 'decision point' in choosing America or Iran.