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October 18, 2026

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shoppers walking through the Tajrish Bazaar, a traditional market in Tehran

Analysis

As Iran’s oil lifeline runs dry, can it outlast Trump's economic siege?

The country's last barrels of crude stockpiled beyond the reach of a US naval blockade fell to zero in October, raising the stakes for Tehran amid mounting economic distress.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.

Window for diplomacy with Iran may be closing as Trump again threatens Pickaxe Mountain

Israel still wary of Damascus, writes Ben Caspit from Israel; our correspondent in Tehran and Amberin Zaman explain how Iran and Turkey look to exploit Azerbaijan’s headscarf controversy; Qatar’s top diplomat offers energy assistance to Lebanon, Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

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

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Trump rules out US troops in Iran, leaves Pickaxe Mountain strike on the table

He did not dispute reports that the US military is weighing use of the "mother of all bombs."

Latest News

Israeli president meets FM Wang Yi as reports link China to Iran’s military buildup

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 15, 2026.

Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan, Saudi national charged in bugging OpenAI meetings?

Abdulrahman Alfozan in an undated photo

Exclusive

In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

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

Trump offers Iran path to nuclear deal while keeping up military pressure

US President Donald Trump speaks at the "Golden Age of American Innovation Summit" at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Oct. 8, 2026.

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

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

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi during a gathering of foreign ministers aligned toward the defeat of Islamic State at the State Department in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1400997050

Intel: Pompeo discusses Syria with Jordan’s foreign minister

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Syria today on a phone call with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering the district court room where he is facing a trial for alleged corruption crimes, in Jerusalem May 24 2020. Yonatan Sindel/Pool via REUTERS - RC21VG97J050

Netanyahu says Palestinians must ‘consent’ to Israeli security control

The Israeli prime minister also discussed Palestinian citizenship and his critics on the right in an interview with Israel Hayom.

A view of the water nuclear reactor at Arak, Iran December 23, 2019. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC221E9YL22A

Iran claims nuclear program will continue after end of US waivers

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization dismissed the decision by the United States to end waivers on cooperation involving the country's nuclear program and said the nation will be self-sufficient in those areas.

Netanyahu not destabilized over Palestinians cutting security coordination

The announcement by the Palestinian Authority of cutting security coordination and warnings by Jordan's King Abdullah have not destabilized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his settlement annexation plan.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) exits at the end of the day as the Trump impeachment trial continues in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2ROE9DKPT1

Intel: Trump administration pursues new Saudi arms deal despite investigation

The Donald Trump administration is doubling down with a new arms deal for Saudi Arabia despite an investigation into last year’s $8 billion emergency weapons sale to Riyadh, a key Senate Democrat revealed in a CNN op-ed Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., May 20, 2020. Nicholas Kamm/Pool via REUTERS - RC2FSG9O20JT

Intel: Trump administration defended Iran nuclear waivers as 'restrictions,' then ended them

The Donald Trump administration ended sanctions waivers on Iranian nuclear facilities today — a mere two months after characterizing them as “restrictions” on Iran’s nuclear program.

A view shows the Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit in the background and the Israeli barrier in the foreground in the village of Bilin, where a Friday anti-Israel weekly protest is held, as the area is seen empty of Palestinian demonstrators amid concerns of the spread of the coronavirus disease, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC2PNF9HQOZQ

Settlers argue over Netanyahu’s annexation plan

Much to everyone’s surprise, there is growing opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's annexation plan among the settlers’ leadership.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria, on September 26, 2019. - With military backing from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since 2015, and now control around 60 percent of the country. Russia often refers to troops it deployed in Syria as military advisers even though its forces and warplanes are also directly invo

Intel: Russian jets intercept US Navy plane over eastern Mediterranean

Two Russian fighter aircraft intercepted a US Navy patrol plane over the eastern Mediterranean.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio in Rome, Italy, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria - RC1FD9F23680

Intel: US, Italy to co-host virtual meeting of anti-IS coalition

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Italian counterpart, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, will co-host a virtual meeting for members of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State on June 4, the State Department announced today.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom activists hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi Embassy to mark the anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, Wednesday evening in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger - RC1156AFC4B0

Democrats prepare legislation forcing Trump to declassify report on Khashoggi murder

Democrats are drafting new legislation that would force the Donald Trump administration to declassify a report on Khashoggi’s murder, potentially implicating the crown prince.

TOPSHOT - Relatives of farmer Hamad al-Ibrahim clean his damaged land in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz on March 13, 2020, a year after the fall of the Islamic State's (IS) caliphate. - A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, traces of the jihadist group are still all around this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, where Kurdish fighters and the US-led coalition declared the IS proto-state defeated in March 2019 after a bli

Coalition airstrike kills Islamic State leader in eastern Syria, Iraq says

Mu'taz Numan 'Abd Nayif Najm al-Jaburi was killed in a coalition-led airstrike, Iraq's intelligence services said.

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) arrives at Trump Tower to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in New York, U.S., November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RC17792FFC10

Intel: Congress advances trans-Sahara security bill as Pentagon mulls Africa troop drawdown

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week unanimously advanced long-stalled legislation to formally institutionalize a counterterrorism partnership with numerous North African and Sahel states.