President Donald Trump’s claim that he postponed a planned military strike on Iran has deepened uncertainty in Tehran, where officials and analysts remain divided over whether Washington is bluffing, buying time or preparing for another round of strikes.
The competing narratives surrounding the latest US-Iran standoff have become so stark that even basic questions—who is deterring whom, who wants talks and who fears escalation—now produce entirely different answers depending on which capital is speaking.
Long viewed as merely an oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz is now emerging as a digital flashpoint, after Iran floated “protection fees” for subsea fiber-optic cables crossing the waterway in a move experts warn could give Tehran new leverage.
Two years after former president Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter vanished in fog, Iran has lost far more than a president: its succession plan, regional shield, aura of safety and confidence that time was on its side.
China is showing growing unease over the economic and strategic costs of Iran’s confrontation with the United States, even as it continues to shield Tehran diplomatically at the United Nations.
The Iran war has entered a more ambiguous phase, with the regime battered but not broken, the US struggling to define victory, and the Strait of Hormuz emerging as Iran’s most potent bargaining tool, two Middle East experts said at an Iran International townhall in Washington DC.
President Trump’s visit to Beijing appears to have confirmed two things about China’s approach to the Iran crisis: it is willing to help prevent further escalation, but not at Tehran’s expense.
Countries should pay Iran annual fees for fiber-optic cables that pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian lawmaker said, saying that hundreds of billions of dollars in financial transactions move through the lines each day.
Iran’s foreign minister accused the United Arab Emirates on Thursday of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, escalating Tehran’s criticism of regional states during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi.
Iran sought to rally BRICS countries against US and Israeli military action on Thursday, casting the regional conflict as resistance to American power as concerns over maritime security and energy disruption dominated the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.
A series of tremors in and around Tehran late Tuesday stirred shock, dark humor and political despair among residents, with some initially mistaking them for renewed US-Israeli strikes.
Ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in Beijing, Iranian officials rejected suggestions that US pressure could weaken Iran-China ties amid growing speculation over a possible Chinese mediation role in the Iran conflict.
A Bahraini court sentenced a woman to life in prison after convicting her of communicating with Iran's Revolutionary Guards with intent to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom and harm its national interests, Bahrain's public prosecution said on Tuesday.
As the US-Iran gap widens and President Trump brands the truce “on life support,” three competing visions of international law are struggling for mastery over the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. Each captures part of the truth. None fully resolves the tensions.
A prominent international academic organization focused on Iranian studies has urged the United Nations and the European Union to condemn US-Israeli attacks on universities and educational institutions in Iran during the March and April conflict.
Iran’s defiant response to a US proposal on ending the conflict is fueling new fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse and fighting resume within days.
Iran described its latest proposal to the United States as “reasonable and generous” on Monday and said Tehran’s immediate priority remained ending the war rather than deciding the future of its nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday it was possible Iran’s leadership could eventually be toppled, though he stopped short of predicting such an outcome
The shadow of a closed Strait of Hormuz no longer looms as a mere threat; it is a reality that has shattered the traditional foundations of the global energy market.
The war has pushed relations between Iran and the United Arab Emirates close to rupture, disrupting one of the region’s most important commercial relationships and leaving ordinary Iranians who built lives and businesses caught in the fallout.
At least six Iranian nuclear sites were attacked in recent US and Israeli strikes, with most confirmed or suspected targets tied to work needed to build a nuclear weapon, a new satellite-imagery analysis by the Institute for Science and International Security shows.
The US-Israel war with Iran has delivered bumper profits for major oil, banking and defense companies, even as the conflict and Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz drive up costs for households, governments and businesses worldwide, the BBC reported.