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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

A military truck carrying a missile and a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen during a parade marking the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE

Why is US pushing unworkable plan to renew Iran arms ban?

Two years after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, the administration is looking extend the UN ban on conventional arms sales to and from Iran, a strategy designed to kill the deal for good and benefit President Donald Trump whether it succeeds or not.

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw - RC14D4234680

Intel: 331 lawmakers take International Criminal Court to task over Israel investigation

Hundreds of US lawmakers have signed onto two letters to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to continue his “vigorous support of Israel as it faces the growing possibility of investigations and prosecutions by the International Criminal Court” over potential war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

An Israeli F35 aircraft is seen in mid-flight during "Blue Flag", an aerial exercise hosted by Israel with the participation of foreign air force crews, at Ovda military air base, southern Israel November 11, 2019. Picture taken November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC2R9D9XBJG2

Intel: How Turkey’s expulsion from F-35 program has hampered production

A report by the US Government Accountability Office said Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 program has complicated the Joint Strike Fighter’s already troubled production chain.

---ISRAEL OUT---
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with United States secretary of state, Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem. Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO

Netanyahu leaves annexation on back burner in talks with Pompeo

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no mention of annexation in his press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, focusing instead on the pandemic, the US peace plan and Iran.

U.S. special envoy for Syria and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Jim Jeffrey speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi - RC28BD9QFAZ9

Intel: US sanctions squeezing Iranian forces in Syria, says US envoy

Cash-strapped Iran is reining in some of its forces in Syria as a result of American sanctions, US envoy James Jeffrey said today.

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) sits next to Israeli Public security Minister Gilad Erdan during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool/File photo - RC17175E03C0

Netanyahu appoints senior Likud member as his right-hand man in US

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, appointed to be Israel’s new envoy to both the United States and the UN, is a true Likud ideologist and ardent supporter of annexation.

Iraqi-Syrian desert border area key amid geopolitical tensions

Recent security incidents indicate that the Islamic State continues to operate in the Iraqi-Syrian border area despite reduced capabilities.

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - MAY 06: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY √¢ MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRAQI PARLIAMENT/ HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iraqi PM-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi who is at the parliament for vote of confidence in Baghdad, Iraq makes a speech on May 06, 2020. Only 15 out of 22 ministers from cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi receive vote of confidence from Iraq√¢s parliament. (Photo by Iraqi Parliament / Handout/Anadolu Agency via

Intel: Trump congratulates Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi

President Donald Trump has congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on his confirmation by Iraq’s Council of Representatives.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden smiles as he speaks with his wife Jill at his side during a primary night news conference at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2EHF9E1P51

Intel: Biden adviser says Iran deal supporters, detractors both wrong on sanctions' effectiveness

A longtime foreign policy adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden argued on Monday that President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal has proven both the accord’s supporters and detractors wrong “about a critical thing.”

Nurses receive training on using ventilators, recently provided by the World Health Organization at the intensive care ward of a hospital allocated for novel coronavirus patients in preparation for any possible spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sanaa, Yemen April 8, 2020. Picture taken April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC231G9K4EXG

Intel: WHO suspends Yemen staff activity over 'credible threats' in Houthi-held territory

The World Health Organization has suspended its staff activity in certain areas throughout Houthi-controlled territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurate a monument dedicated to the victims of Leningrad Siege during the Second World War, in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Amit Shabi/Pool via REUTERS - RC2OLE9I7X3F

Netanyahu needs Trump on Syria, Iran, but he needs Putin, too

On the anniversary of the end of World War 2 and less than a week before the visit in Israel of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Brine water flows into the Mediterranean Sea after passing through a desalination plant in the coastal city of Hadera May 16, 2010. An Israeli consortium unveiled the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant on Sunday in Hadera, hoping to help alleviate the arid country's water shortage. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT POLITICS BUSINESS) - GM1E65G1TIX01

Pompeo to warn Israel over Chinese involvement in water plant

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to warn Israel on his Wednesday visit against letting a Chinese firm build and operate the biggest seawater desalination plant in the world.