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May 1, 2026

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This photo obtained by AFP from the Iranian news agency Tasnim shows an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boat allegedly taking part in an operation to seize ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, on April 21, 2026.

Trump faces three paths ahead in Iran war as Hormuz standoff intensifies

As the Hormuz standoff threatens a global economic chill, Trump must choose between military escalation, seeking a partial deal with Iran, or waiting out the pressure campaign.

AFP via Getty Images

In defiant message, Iran’s Khamenei threatens US but appeals to Gulf

The address was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s third since coming to power and included a pledge to rid the Gulf of the US.

QESHM ISLAND, IRAN - APRIL 28: Boats navigate the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's latest proposal for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz calls on the United States to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports, and sets aside questions about what to do with Iran's nuclear program. The United States has not formally responded to the latest proposal, which was delivered by Iran's foreign minister to Pakistan two days ago. (Photo by Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

US blockade tests Iran's limits, but will global pain force Trump’s hand?

President Trump is doubling down on economic warfare against Iran, betting a naval blockade and sanctions can force a nuclear deal and end the war.

Latest News

Iran-linked group claims stabbing in Jewish area in London: What to know

Local residents look on from outside a cordoned off area in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing to two people nearby.

Oil surges past $120 to war-time high as Trump rejects Iran overture

A pumpjack stands idle in the Huntington Beach oil field, with port cranes visible in the distance, on April 23, 2026, in Huntington Beach, California.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Iranian rial hits new record low as blockade, war take toll: What to know

An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on Feb. 3, 2012.

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

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran on Oct. 28, 2024.

Iran praises Lebanon ceasefire, vows response to Israel 'in due time'

Iran has repeatedly vowed to respond to the late October Israeli strikes on the country, and a senior official repeated the assertion following the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

A picture taken on Nov. 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility.

Iran, Europe gamble on fresh talks in Geneva to resolve nuclear deal deadlock

The upcoming negotiations in Geneva follow a two-year hiatus in Iran's nuclear diplomacy, reviving cautious optimism regarding potential economic relief while also highlighting the pressure Tehran is facing in the wake of Donald Trump's new tenure.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran promises response 'beyond imagination' to Israeli strikes even as deal looms

A month after Israel's Oct. 26 strikes on Iran, Iranian officials are ramping up discussions of a response to the attack.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps special forces fire a short-range missile during a military drill in the Gulf of Oman near Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e-Jask on Tuesday, April 4, 2006.

Iran and Azerbaijan hold joint military drills in sign of easing tensions

Iran and Azerbaijan are at odds over the planned Zangezur Corridor through Armenia, as well as Baku’s relations with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C)

Iran’s Khamenei says Netanyahu must face death penalty, ICC warrant 'not enough'

In his first comment on the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a death sentence must be issued for the Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election on July 5, 2024, in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Is Iran's Khamenei signaling readiness for new deal as Trump threat looms large?

Iran's supreme leader appears to be exercising pragmatism and reintroducing his "heroic flexibility," as his top aide says the stalled nuclear deal was "not written in stone" and that Tehran remains open to a new accord with the incoming Trump administration.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

A man walks past a mural depicting slain commander of the IRGC's Quds Force Qasem Soleimani in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 26, 2024.

Iran defense chief visits Venezuela, talks energy, trade: What we know

Iran and Venezuela are working to repair oil ties after the reimposition of US sanctions on the South American country and the looming return of President Donald Trump to the White House.

A picture taken on November 10, 2019, shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility. - Bushehr is Iran's only nuclear power station and is currently running on imported fuel from Russia that is closely monitored by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

IAEA censures Iran over nuclear activity

Out of its 35 member countries, 19 voted in favor of the resolution, 12 abstained, while China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (shakes hands with Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the G20 Summit on Sept. 4, 2016, in Hangzhou, China.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, China slam Israel at Riyadh meeting: What we know

The China-Saudi Arabia-Iran Trilateral Joint Committee met for the second time in the Saudi capital, more than a year after the Chinese-brokered deal that resumed relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Iran's head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, speaks during a joint press conference with the United Nations nuclear chief in Tehran on Nov. 14, 2024.

Iran threatens 'proportionate' response as IAEA censure looms

Iranian officials have repeatedly denied pursuit of nuclear weapons. In recent months, however, the rhetoric from state media and hard-liners has increasingly shifted.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Grossi

IAEA's Grossi denies Netanyahu claim Israel hit Iran nuclear facility

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi denied Israel's contention that a shuttered Iranian nuclear facility had restarted activity at the military complex it struck in Parchin, Iran.