Search

US, Iran, UAE trade Hormuz attack claims: What we know

Tensions in the Gulf have spiralled this week after the United States and Iran both claimed to have fired on and damaged each other’s ships despite a ceasefire in the [US-Israel

Trump calls Iran’s leadership ‘fractured’. Is it, and who’s in charge?

tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz](/news/2026/4/22/iran-calls-us-ship-seizure-piracy-is-it). ### Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Ghalibaf, 64, has served as Iran’s parliamentary speaker since 2020. He was commander of the IRGC air force from

Middle East crisis live: Iran launches broad retaliatory attacks after US strikes over downed helicopter

tensions in the Middle East have unsettled markets, dimming hopes for an end to the months-long war that has pushed commodities higher and stoked inflation worries. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9% while the tech

The UAE is attacked as U.S. says it helped 2 ships through the Strait of Hormuz

Middle East conflict](https://www.npr.org/series/1205445976/middle-east-crisis) ### [Trump says the U.S. will 'guide' stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz](https://www.npr.org/2026/05/03/nx-s1-5809536/trump-strait-hormuz) It was unclear whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking

Can historic Israel-Lebanon talks lead to ceasefire?

tensions surged following the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28. Hezbollah entered the war by launching rockets, missiles and drones towards a missile defence site near Haifa in northern Israel

Popes have spoken out on politics before. But with Trump and Pope Leo it's different

tensions over Iran war](https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/nx-s1-5780996/pope-leo-begins-tour-across-africa-row-with-trump-iran-war) Vice President Vance, who is Catholic, also weighed in on the controversy on Tuesday night, [saying](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDxDdmuJ0Mg) the pope should "be careful when he talks about

Iran-US war: Four scenarios for what’s next as talks stumble

tensions over the past two days. The first round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad on April 11 ended without a breakthrough. Since then, the US has imposed a naval blockade on all Iran-linked

Pakistan scrambles to salvage US-Iran diplomacy as ceasefire faces collapse

tensions was Washington’s rejection of an Iranian [peace proposal](/news/2026/5/10/iran-sends-response-to-us-proposal-to-end-war-via-mediator-pakistan) delivered through Pakistan on Sunday. Iranian state media said Tehran’s terms included US war reparations, full Iranian sovereignty over the [Strait of Hormuz

Friday briefing: How rising antisemitism is striking fear into the everyday lives of British Jews

Middle East. ## In depth: ‘Extreme, hateful, violent attitudes have become normalised’  Protesters yesterday gathered to heckle Keir Starmer near the site of the Golders

US waiting on a response from Iran over proposals for ceasefire deal, says Rubio

Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announced last month. In recent days there have been the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested strait

Opposition divided: battle among Iranian regime’s opponents plays out on London streets

Israel, called Harbu Darbu (slang borrowed from Syrian Arabic which, in Hebrew, means to rain hell on an opponent). The Basij he is pretending to shoot is a paramilitary organisation that is known

Cloud over US-Iran talks: What are the key sticking points?

tensions between the longtime adversaries. ## What has the US said? On Sunday, Trump announced that US negotiators would travel to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday for talks aimed at ending the US-Israel

Friday briefing: How Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have found themselves caught in an escalation without end

Middle East. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images As the week draws to a close, Donald Trump has insisted once again [Iran](https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran) is “pretty close” to signing a peace agreement with the US, which