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Iran

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Iran. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Tehran

Head of State

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Head of Government

President Masoud Pezeshkian

China trade

China’s sources of energy imports

Chinese reliance on imported oil and gas has risen over the past decade. Increasingly it has turned to low-cost supplies from Western-sanctioned Russia and Iran.

13 Aug 2025 - 2:26PM

Middle East

Iran security chief meets officials in Iraq before Lebanon visit

12 Aug 2025 - 2:37PMvideocam

Environment

Deadline looms as nations remain divided on global plastic pollution treaty

11 Aug 2025 - 1:45PM

China-Middle East relations

Iran looks to tap into China’s BeiDou navigation system to plug security gaps

Experts say the move may increase China’s influence in the Middle East over the longer term.

11 Aug 2025 - 2:49PMvideocam

Iran is weighing up using China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system. Photo: Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Britain

Family fears for British couple moved to notorious prisons in Iran

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were separated after seven months in detention, a situation their son has called ‘unbelievably tough’.

5 Aug 2025 - 2:25PM

Middle East

Iran says US accountability for attacks must be part of talks

Iran said it will hold the US accountable for attacks on its nuclear sites in any future talks, a demand Washington has dismissed as ‘ridiculous’.

4 Aug 2025 - 8:02PMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | Drone use signals India and Pakistan need new norms of engagement

Clearly defined red lines regarding the use of proxies and low-cost precision systems against strategic assets are required.

3 Aug 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

India showcases it on Akash missile system during country’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26. Photo: Anadolu / Getty Images

Donald Trump

What’s behind Donald Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize obsession?

For some foreign leaders, mentioning the prestigious award has become a sign of diplomatic goodwill.

3 Aug 2025 - 11:04AMvideocam

Middle East

US and allies accuse Iran of covert overseas ‘kill, kidnap’ policy

Those allegedly targeted by Tehran’s intelligence services are said to include dissidents, journalists and officials in Western countries.

1 Aug 2025 - 3:51AMvideocam

United States

Opinion | Trump’s many victories will prove pyrrhic

The US president’s arrogance and bullying have given him short-term wins but also embedded long-term resentment and opposition.

31 Jul 2025 - 5:42PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump points towards reporters as he arrives at the White House on July 13. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

US-China relations

Opinion | How Trump’s vision of a single-minded China containment has failed

Instead of disengaging to focus on China, Trump’s America is more deeply involved in Europe’s defence and the Middle East than before.

31 Jul 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

US-Iran tensions

US Treasury hits Iranian shipping network with major new sanctions

The sanctions broadly target the shipping interests of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, whose father is an adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei.

31 Jul 2025 - 4:38AMvideocam

US-Russia relations

Russian ex-president Medvedev says Trump’s Ukraine ‘ultimatum’ could lead to war

‘Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine’ but with Trump’s own country, Medvedev said.

29 Jul 2025 - 1:53AMvideocam

US-China relations

Mixed messages from US ahead of possible Trump-Xi summit

While suggesting progress has been made, US Treasury Secretary adds geopolitics to agenda of China trade talks. A deal would pave way for leaders to meet.

22 Jul 2025 - 5:00PM

Malaysia

Malaysia a target for Israeli spies over Gaza stance, Anwar warns

Prime minister points to recent gun smuggling case as evidence of Israel’s Mossad among intelligence agencies operating in Malaysia.

22 Jul 2025 - 5:42PMvideocam

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warns “sophisticated and quick” Mossad agents are allegedly operating in the country. Photo: Reuters

US-China relations

US Treasury chief says trade talks with China may include Russia, Iran oil buys

Scott Bessent says China is large buyer ‘of sanctioned Iranian oil, sanctioned Russian oil. So we could start discussing that’.

22 Jul 2025 - 10:18PMvideocam

Israel

Israeli military attacks Houthi targets in Yemen’s Hodeidah port

The assault on Houthi positions in Yemen’s Hodeidah port targets alleged Iranian weapon transfers, amid ongoing Red Sea shipping attacks by the militants.

21 Jul 2025 - 11:43PM

Middle East

Iran blames Europe for nuclear deal failure ahead of first talks since US strikes

Iran has accused European powers of non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, contributing to its collapse ahead of talks in Istanbul on Friday.

21 Jul 2025 - 7:29PMvideocam

Pictures of Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, at a cemetery in southern Iran. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

United States

Can talks save Iran nuclear deal? Europe and Tehran eye meeting

The E3 nations have warned ‘snapback’ sanctions could be invoked against Tehran if nuclear talks between the US and Iran were to stall.

20 Jul 2025 - 6:16PM

United States

US farm agency fires 70 foreign researchers after national security review

Most of those dismissed were Chinese postdoctoral researchers on two-year contracts with the Department of Agriculture.

18 Jul 2025 - 10:42PM

War and conflict

Opinion | How the Israel-Iran conflict changed the scope of 21st-century warfare

As technology and commerce reshape military strategy and conflict resolution, the role of rising powers in influencing outcomes is instructive.

18 Jul 2025 - 1:30PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria’s future tied to Israel peace deal as billions in investment set to arrive

Gulf Arab, Turkish and Western firms have pledged to invest in Syria to rebuild the war-torn country.

17 Jul 2025 - 5:33PM

A tattered Syrian flag at the Syrian general staff headquarters after it was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Damascus. Photo: dpa

SCO

‘Stick to the right path’: China’s Wang Yi urges SCO to back ‘multipolar world’

Wang hits out at ‘hegemonism’ and ‘protectionism’ at meeting of the Eurasian security bloc and urges it to ‘stick to the right path’.

16 Jul 2025 - 8:32PMvideocam

United States

Opinion | Trump’s team is waking up the reality of rivalry with Russia

While the contemporary American right has tended to differentiate China’s aims from Russia’s, that position is looking increasingly untenable.

15 Jul 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

US-Iran nuclear talks ‘won’t take place’ if conditioned on stopping enrichment

The talks have stalled since the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities.

15 Jul 2025 - 11:35AMvideocam

A combination photo shows US President Donald Trump (left) and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Photo: AFP

China-Russia relations

China-Russia ties are more mature and stable than any major relationship: Wang

China’s foreign minister tells Russian counterpart Putin’s coming visit to China is among top priorities in a ‘turbulent and changing world’.

14 Jul 2025 - 7:38PMvideocam

On Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in China after a North Korea visit. It was the second Wang-Lavrov meeting within a week. Photo: EPA/Russian Foreign Ministry

Nobel Prize

My Take | Degraded Nobel Peace Prize standards could mean Trump deserves one

The awarding of the world’s most prestigious prize has been twisted and perverted by politics and often has nothing to do with peace.

13 Jul 2025 - 9:34PM

Azerbaijan

From colony to kingmaker: Azerbaijan redraws Eurasia’s balance of power

The ex-Soviet republic aims to play a bigger role in the Caucasus and is willing to upset Moscow and Tehran in the process, analysts say.

13 Jul 2025 - 5:00PM

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