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Iran

May 16, 2026

Tehran 1:50 pm

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Women shop from a street vendor at Enghelab Square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 11, 2025.

Analysis

From hoarding to unemployment: Iran's economy buckles under US pressure

Iran's fast-rising inflation is driving aggressive state market controls, exposing deeper structural strains from war, sanctions and declining consumer confidence.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on March 13, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war is exposing a growing Saudi-UAE divide

Reports on Emirati and Saudi strikes suggest Gulf monarchies moved beyond passive defense — but followed sharply different strategies.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Uptick in Chinese tankers transiting Hormuz amid Trump-Xi summit

Jag Vasant, an Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that transited through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East war, remains docked at an offloading terminal along the coast in Mumbai on April 1, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Iran looms large over Trump’s China visit, but breakthrough unlikely

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) is escorted by China's Vice President Han Zheng (R) upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

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

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waves after meeting Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq, March 13, 2019 . REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RC1B33559E30

Sistani to Rouhani: Iraq's sovereignty must be respected

Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where Sistani stressed the necessity of respecting Iraq's sovereignty.

Rouhani leverages Sistani visit to maneuver on Iran's regional policy

Hassan Rouhani’s first state visit to Iraq as president has ushered in a series of important economic and political accords between the two countries — but his crowning achievement was his audience with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani waves his hand during a welcome ceremony at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC1D812E2710

Iran's hard-liners praise Rouhani for boosting trade with Iraq

Iran's hard-liners are over the moon that President Rouhani is listening to their advice and capitalizing on Iraq as a key trade partner in the wake of reinstated US sanctions.

TEHRAN, IRAN - SEPTEMBER 16: Iranians shop for food in a supermarket as they try to lead normal lives as they brace for renewed US sanctions on September 16, 2018 in Tehran, Iran. After President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last spring, Washington reimposed one set of sanctions in August, and will impose more on November 4, which are designed to cut-off Iran's oil revenue. So far this year the Iranian currency, the rial, has tumbled in value, prices have soared, and shortage

Profiteering, smuggling push Iran to consider ‘electronic’ food stamps

Rampant profiteering and smuggling are forcing Iranian authorities to move toward a revamped system of direct subsidies for essential goods.

Iraq's President Barham Salih walks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a welcome ceremony at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC1EE48851F0

Iran media: Rouhani tours Iraq 'in daylight' while Trump landed 'in secrecy'

The high-profile visit by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani to neighboring Iraq has been welcomed by Iranian media and resulted in a "unified stance" between the two countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) sign a cooperation agreement before a joint press conference with Turkey's President and Iran's President at the Turkish presidential complex in Ankara on December 20, 2018. - The Turkish President held talks with Rouhani with Syria likely to dominate the agenda after the surprise US decision to withdraw. The meeting in Ankara had been arranged before US President stunned allies and American officials the day before w

Turkish-Iranian trade disappoints big time

Turkish-Iranian trade has declined to its lowest level in nine years despite political rapprochement, a preferential trade agreement and the use of local currencies in economic ties.

Iraq's President Barham Salih walks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a welcome ceremony at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, March 11, 2019. The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC14E2C02AD0

Rouhani in Baghdad seeks outlets against US sanctions

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is paying his first visit to Iraq with the hope of expanding economic relations to allow Iran to counter the tightening noose of US sanctions.

Can joint Turkey-Iran action against PKK be real?

Turkey’s wish for a joint operation with Iran against the outlawed Kurdish militants along the Turkish-Iranian border is back on the agenda once again, but how realistic is it? Experts believe it is not.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1801320710

Parliament bill may not prevent US troops from staying in Iraq

Iraq is smack in the middle of a tug of war between the United States and Iran for influence in the Mideast and faces some tough decisions.

Iranian human rights lawyer said to receive 38 years in prison

According to her husband, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 148 lashes as well as 38 years in prison, an extraordinarily long time even by the Islamic Republic’s standards.

Record corruption scandal puts spotlight on Iranians in Iran, US

The revelation of perhaps the biggest corruption scandal in Iranian history has exposed domestic political fault lines and is already reverberating as far away as Washington, DC.

Do clothes make the woman? An Iranian artist's search for identity

The works of Mona Hakimi-Schueler, an Iranian artist based in Berlin, depicts Iranian women not as victims but strong individuals whether in a hijab, summer dress or armor.