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Iran

August 18, 2026

Tehran 10:54 am

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Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

Smoke rises after explosions were heard and air defences activated near the airport in Erbil, on July 24, 2026.

Explainer

Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran’s Kurdish opposition groups have turned Iraqi Kurdistan into a frontline in the war.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on Aug. 14, 2026 in Garden City, New York.

Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' of US-Iran deal

The US president also threatened to "blow up" the Gulf partner in May.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Iran is intensifying wartime crackdown in restive Baluchistan

A Baluch Iranian man rides a bicycle

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Explainer

What would BRICS Bank membership mean for Iran's reeling economy?

Motorists drive vehicles past a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei along a street in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war. But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Is

Oil spills off Oman, Iran's Qeshm Island reap environmental havoc amid war

A photograph obtained from the Iranian Students’ News Agency shows an oil slick along the southern coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, August 13, 2026.

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

Sam / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Hormuz risk halts energy flows but Iran keeps moving oil — for now

While much of the world’s attention has focused on threats to Gulf oil exports and surging prices, the escalating conflict also exposes a key vulnerability for Tehran's own oil industry.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Plumes of smoke rise following an explosion on March 5, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Next phase of US airstrike campaign in Iran to target missile manufacturing

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has plans to prevent Iran’s remaining enriched uranium from being weaponized by remnants of the regime, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested.

A man walks past destroyed buildings following airstrikes in central Tehran on March 4, 2026.

Iran’s communications blackout limits assessment of war’s humanitarian toll

Aid groups struggle to assess humanitarian toll in Iran as blackout hampers efforts to identify needs.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - MARCH 03: Passengers disembark from an Emirates passenger plane arriving at Frankfurt Airport from Dubai International on March 03, 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany. The flight is among the first to begin ferrying the thousands of German tourists who have been stranded across the Middle East following the U.S.-Israeli air attacks against Iran and the ensuing Iranian missile and drone attacks against the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and other states in the region. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty

Middle East evacuations gather pace as explosions rattle Abu Dhabi airport

Dozens of Emirati flights were forced to hold or diver after the country's Defense Ministry said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles and 125 drones.

United Arab Emirates

world premiere of La Perle

UAE billionaire Habtoor openly lambasts Trump over Iran war

The Emirati businessman condemned the US president, a former business partner, for his “dangerous” attack on Iran and asked whether he had stopped to consider the collateral damage.

United Arab Emirates

TEHRAN, IRAN - JANUARY 10: Iranian Basij militia members display their drones during military manoeuvres on January 10, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij, a militia group that has played a prominent role in suppressing protests, held military manoeuvres in the Iranian capital. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Azerbaijan accuses Iran of drone strike on airport

The attacks damaged an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave and slightly wounded two civilians.

A picture from the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan on Feb. 22, 2026.

Which 6 Kurdish groups could join the war in Iran?

Iranian Kurdish groups that recently formed an alliance could soon join the United States and Israel in their campaign against the Islamic Republic, Al-Monitor has learned.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) participates in a military drill in an outpost near Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq on Jan. 15, 2026.

Exclusive

US-backed Kurdish forces poised to enter Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan 'within days'

The CIA has reportedly been in contact with Iranian Kurdish armed groups since last year, as Israel has pressed for Kurdish engagement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Cargo ships and tankers are seen off coast city of Fujairah, in the Strait of Hormuz in the northern Emirate on Feb. 25, 2026.

Strait of Hormuz clear of Iran navy ships, US commander says

US strikes have been finishing of Iran's naval fleet, senior officials said, but its threats to the Strait of Hormuz have not yet been eliminated.

NATO intercepts Iran missile

Iran’s targeting of Turkey unlikely to upend Ankara’s strategic balancing act

Ankara said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace, as Turkish officials called for restraint amid rising regional tensions.

An Emirati police vehicle deploys near the US Consulate in Dubai on March 3, 2026.

After launching Iran war, White House scrambles to evacuate stranded Americans

The State Department has announced charter flights in just three of the 14 countries where it advised US citizens to evacuate.