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Iran

May 13, 2026

Tehran 12:42 pm

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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

Palestinian Hamas chief in the Gaza strip Ismail Haniyeh, gives a speech during a memorial service Three Hamas policemen were killed after two suicide bombings, on September 2, 2019 in Gaza City.
(Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hamas in Moscow to mend ties with Syrian regime

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's visit to Moscow is seen as a potential move to repair relations the Syrian regime.

Members of the medical team wear protective face masks, following the coronavirus outbreak, as they spray disinfectant liquid to sanitise streets in Tehran, Iran March 05, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2MDF9LK5B6

Iran requests multibillion IMF loan as coronavirus cases reach 10,000

Iran has officially registered 10,000 cases of coronavirus, with the government requesting a multibillion-dollar emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq under fire after attack on base kills two Americans

Iran-backed militias in Iraq are facing strong criticism from politicians and protesters after the attack on US troops at the Taji military base.

A truck loaded with Katyusha rockets is seen in Rashidiya, after ten rockets struck the Taji military camp, which house also U.S. forces, north of Baghdad, Iraq in this undated picture obtained March 12, 2020. Iraqi Media Security Cell/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2AIF9WX915

Intel: Pentagon says Iran-backed groups 'likely' behind deadly Iraq attack

Rocket attacks that left one British and two American service members dead in Iraq March 11 were likely the work of Iranian-backed militias, the top US military commander in the Middle East told Congress today.

A worker in a protective suit sprays a disinfectant inside the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC2MFF94758Q

Iran pleads for medicine as it fights epidemic under sanctions

Iran’s foreign minister has made a public plea for medical supplies and sanctions relief as the country struggles with the coronavirus explosion.

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One ahead of a trip to Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2GEF9TB41R

Anti-war movement looks to take Trump to court to stop war with Iran

Anti-war groups are lobbying Congress to take President Donald Trump to court on Iran war powers.

A rescue worker wears protective hand gloves as he checks a man?s temperature amid coronavirus fears, at the entrance of the government office building in Peshawar, Pakistan March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz - RC26IF9CRNEA

Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran

Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus.

A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectants in a barber shop at popular market, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Basra, Iraq March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani - RC24HF95V7S1

Some Iraqis rejecting coronavirus warnings

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has imposed a ban on communal worship in mosques because of the new coronavirus, but some people are ignoring the danger.

Iran's top security body rejects lockdown of epidemic areas

Iran said its death toll from the coronavirus epidemic will not stop rising until around the second week of April, while insisting that a lockdown on the hardest-hit provinces is not an option.

Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, as a man is seen wearing a protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, north of Basra, Iraq March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC2IGF9A1IYO

Mideast oil producers brace for impact of price slide

The global coronavirus outbreak and falling oil prices could spell a massive economic slowdown for oil-producing countries in the Middle East.

Iran’s Khamenei cancels new year address over coronavirus

Iran’s supreme leader canceled his annual public address in the holy city of Mashhad amid the coronavirus epidemic, which continues to claim lives nationwide.

A cleric's cure for coronavirus becomes butt of jokes in Iran

A cleric’s bizarre response to treating COVID-19 in the guise of Islamic medicine has provoked widespread ridicule in Iran.