Iran

By Maziar MotamediWednesday April 15, 2026 Photographs displayed in Tajrish Square place particular focus on the eyes of children who lost their lives in the Minab attack, as part of the 'Eyes of Minab' exhibition organised to commemorate the victims, in Tehran, on April 14, 2026 Iran is pressing its case for compensation for the destruction wrought by the United States and Israel, even as it maintains a defiant stance and regional actors scramble to broker a way out of the conflict. Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations…

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran escalated its standoff with Washington on Wednesday, warning that it could sever commercial shipping through the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman if the United States keeps up its naval blockade of Iranian ports. In a statement carried on Iranian state television, the head of Iran’s military central command said the U.S. campaign to stop Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers could unravel the fragile ceasefire now in place. Ali Abdollahi, a senior figure in the Iranian military command,…

A fresh US military move at Iran’s ports is set to squeeze global oil supplies, threatening to keep roughly two million barrels a day of Iranian crude off the market and raising the stakes for energy traders already on edge. Below is a closer look at the blockade and what it could mean for oil flows worldwide. What was announced? After weekend peace talks in Islamabad between negotiators from the US and Iran ended without an agreement, President Donald Trump said the US Navy “will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all…

Fresh hopes for diplomacy emerged on Monday as the United States and Iran appeared poised to return to Islamabad for another round of talks aimed at ending the war, sources told Reuters, even after weekend negotiations collapsed and Washington responded by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran denounced the US move in fierce terms, but the prospect that back-channel efforts were still alive helped steady oil markets, sending benchmark crude back below $100 a barrel. The weekend meeting in Pakistan's capital — the…

With diplomacy faltering and the risk of a wider confrontation rising again, the US military said it will impose a blockade on all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal waters after weekend talks collapsed without a deal to end the war with Iran, putting a fragile two-week ceasefire in jeopardy. The talks in Islamabad, held from Saturday into early yesterday, marked the first direct meeting between the US and Iran in more than a decade and the highest-level engagement since Iran's 1979 Islamic…

Sunday April 12, 2026 China is preparing to send Iran new air defense systems in the coming weeks, according to U.S. intelligence cited by CNN late Friday, which quoted three people familiar with recent assessments. The network reported that intelligence also suggests Beijing may try to move the weapons through third countries to obscure their true origin. U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Saturday afternoon as he left the White House for Miami, warned that "if China does that, China can have big…

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." Oscar Wilde’s line is a reminder that setbacks can sharpen judgment as much as successes do. People test an idea, assess the outcome and, ideally, use what they learned to navigate the next challenge with greater care. For the most part, that has defined how Democrats have responded during the second Trump administration. Until this week, that approach included a notable hesitation to embrace demands to force Mr Trump from office. That caution may have reflected worries…

Iran warns of 'firm response' to military transit through Strait of Hormuz TEHRAN - Iran said any military vessel attempting to move through the Strait of Hormuz would meet a "firm and decisive response," in a statement issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. The IRGC said it exercises "full and intelligent control" over the strategic waterway, adding that passage is allowed only for non-military ships and only under defined regulations. It also rejected reports that US vessels had crossed the strait,…

A marathon round of high-stakes diplomacy in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough, as US Vice President JD Vance said the American negotiating team was leaving Pakistan after 21 hours of talks without securing a deal with Iran. Vance blamed the impasse on what he described as gaps in the negotiations, saying Tehran had declined to accept US conditions, including a commitment not to build nuclear weapons. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad…

Fresh uncertainty hung over planned peace talks in Pakistan after Iran said negotiations cannot begin unless blocked Iranian assets are released and a ceasefire in Lebanon is firmly in place. Iran's parliament ⁠speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on X that both conditions had already been agreed with the US and said the talks would not go ahead until they are met. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi repeated that message and likewise demanded an end to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. Pakistani sources said both Mr Qalibaf and Mr…