United States

The United States has asked partner countries to join its newly formed Maritime Freedom Coalition to help secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf waterways, according to a State Department cable.

With US-Iran talks in Pakistan in doubt after Iran's foreign minister left Islamabad and President Trump canceled the planned trip by US negotiators, veteran journalist Eli Lake says Washington should use its leverage not only on the nuclear file, but to help the people of Iran.

A US federal indictment has charged an Iranian national with coordinating a large-scale migrant smuggling operation into the United States, the Justice Department said on Friday.

Iranian officials rushed to present a unified front after US President Donald Trump questioned who leads the Islamic Republic, highlighting sensitivities over internal divisions and uncertainty at the top of the political system.

Despite deep political turmoil, economic distress, militant violence, and a fraying security landscape at home, Pakistan has unexpectedly emerged as the publicly acknowledged central mediator between Washington and Tehran.

As Washington signals that a deal with Tehran may be close, a central question remains unresolved: who, if anyone, is actually winning?

US immigration authorities have arrested an Iranian national accused of lying about past ties to a paramilitary organization linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Iran International.

The US naval blockade of Iran is entering an opaque phase, with early signs of impact emerging through both buyer hesitation and deceptive shipping practices, rather than direct naval confrontations.

The US Treasury has warned banks in the Middle East and East Asia to halt Iran-linked transactions or face potential sanctions, signaling a stepped-up enforcement push targeting the financial networks that move Tehran’s oil revenues.

Sharp disagreements among members of Iran’s negotiating team led them to abandon US talks in Islamabad and return to Tehran on April 11 following an order from Iran's top security official, sources familiar with the deliberations told Iran International.

The US naval blockade of Iran, which started on Monday, could rapidly cripple the country’s economy, cutting off most of its trade, halting oil exports and triggering inflation and currency pressure within days.

As a fragile ceasefire holds between the United States and Iran, former CIA analyst and former National Security Council director Ken Pollack is warning that the greatest risk may be a war that ends with the Islamic Republic still intact.

Pro-government groups protested a ceasefire with the United States and planned negotiations, accusing officials of betraying the leadership and demanding continued confrontation, according to videos circulating on social media.

The United States can seize the moment to support regime change and forge a strategic partnership with a democratic Iran that could yield over $1 trillion in revenue for American firms over the next decade.

Iran’s recent attempted strike on a joint UK–US military base in the Indian Ocean, some 4,000 km from its territory, marks more than an escalation — it is a wake-up call for the West, experts told Iran International.

Reports that the United States is considering Iran’s parliament speaker as a potential negotiating channel, alongside a proposal for high-level talks, have brought into focus a deeper question: is Washington probing who truly holds power inside Iran?

The United States has paid $129 million to victims of Iran-linked terrorism as part of a broader $318 million settlement tied to a long-running case over a Manhattan office tower, prosecutors in New York said on Monday.

Whether real or not, President Donald Trump’s statement that Iran has reached out for talks is already having an impact: fueling mistrust within Tehran leadership while easing tensions in global oil markets, even as Iranian officials deny any such contact.