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Middle East

  • • Live Updates
    People spend time at a beach as commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Wednesday, August 5.
    • Live Updates
    Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP
    Live Updates22 min ago Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agree to NATO-style defense pact at time of regional turmoil
  • Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a joint defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026.
    Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout/Reuters
    Saudi Arabia turns to Muslim military heavyweights in landmark defense pact as Iran war closes in
  • Members of Houthi security forces stand guard inspect a destroyed car, which was hit during the first airstrikes of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, on the day Yemen marks the 11th anniversary of the war on March 26, 2026 in Sana'a, Yemen. Yemen marking the 11th anniversary of the military campaign launched by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia on March 26, 2015, following the Houthi movement controlled most of northern swathes including the capital Sana'a in 2014, leading to the exile of the government.
    Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images
    Why is there fighting in Yemen and what does it mean for the Iran war?
  • Commercial vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
    • Live Updates
    Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP
    Live Updates22 min ago August 6, 2026 — Trump says US has ‘massive amounts’ of munitions after reports of low stockpile
  • A satellite view of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a vital trade route linking the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Suez Canal, and Mediterranean. It is also a hotspot for piracy and regional conflict, raising risks for global shipping, energy markets, and international commerce.
    Gallo Images/Getty Images/File
    Saudi Arabia braces for attacks on ports and airports by Iraqi militias working with Iran-backed Houthis
  • Barbed wire frames a church in Bethlehem.
    Scott McWhinnie/CNN
    Palestinian Christians call on American evangelicals to stop ignoring their plight
  • Palestinians search among rubble, damaged tents and household belongings after an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Nasr neighborhood of western Gaza City, Palestine, on July 30, 2026. The overnight strike hit the Matter family home and destroyed the residential building and the nearby Al-Zuhour displacement camp, where local authorities said around 35 displaced families had been sheltering.
    Mohammed M. Skaik/AFP/Middle East Images/Getty Images
    Trump announces a breakthrough in Gaza - but there are major caveats. Here’s what we know
  • An armed member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran, Iran, on February 11.
    Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images
    Why Iran chose to restart the fight after the US stopped firing
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  • Mourners weep over the body of a Palestinian man who died in the clashes at a hospital in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on July 24, 2026.
    Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images
    Israel prepares major military operation in West Bank after four Palestinians and two Israelis killed
  • U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025.
    Win McNamee/Getty Images
    Saudi-US nuclear deal sparks fear of arms race across the Middle East
  • Israeli troops at the archaeological site of Sebastia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 29, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
    Mohamad Torokman/Reuters
    On this West Bank hilltop, a fight over the past will determine who controls the future
  • Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15, 2026. Netanyahu said on June 15 that he intended to run in elections scheduled for later this year, as he faced domestic criticism over his handling of the Middle East war and its aftermath. (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
    Ronen Zvulun/AFP/Getty Images
    On sidelines of Iran war, Israel is readying plans in case of escalation
  • People observe the damage caused by US strikes to bridges in Bandar Khamir, Iran, on Friday, July 17.
    Telegram/Tasnim News
    The renewed US-Iran conflict is escalating and threatening to spin out of control
  • Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Chief Justice of Iran Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and an IRGC commander general Mohsen Rezaee arrive to attend a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on July 3.
    Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images
    Iran’s hardliners warn of a ‘coup’ as US truce comes under pressure
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  • Screenshot 2026-07-15 at 4.53.26 PM.png
    • Video 2:55
    Video 2:55
    Etihad Airways
    Video The Middle East’s new role in global logistics 2:55
  • Two US advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, shown on March 28, that they say curb Palestinian advocacy.
    John Thys/AFP/Getty Images/File
    US nonprofits sue Trump administration over ICC sanctions that ‘muzzle Palestine advocacy’
  • Nikki Nikhbaht's two elder brothers, Hadi and Fazlollah, have been sentenced to death in Iran. While politically active, they were not involved in the protests at the turn of the year.
    CNN
    Iran ramps up execution of political prisoners amid war with US, human rights data shows
  • Israeli forces detained CNN crew members in the occupied West Bank, in March. The solider who physically assaulted a CNN photojournalist was reprimanded but faced no criminal charges.
    Cyril Theophilos/CNN
    Israeli soldier who assaulted CNN cameraman reprimanded but avoids criminal charges
  • Mourners attend the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4.
    Altaf Qadri/AP
    The view from Tehran: Anger and vengeance in the air as Iran buries its longest-serving leader
  • Portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in US-Israeli airstrikes, as mourners gather on the day of his burial, in Mashhad, Iran, July 9.
    Mohammed Salem/Reuters
    Iran’s supreme leader missed his father’s momentous funeral – now what?
  • Portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, as mourners gather on the day of his burial, in Mashhad, Iran, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Foreign media in Iran operate under guidelines set by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which regulates press activity and permissions. 

ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL. NO ACCESS FOR ISRAELI MEDIA. NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA. DIGITAL: NO USE BBC PERSIAN. NO USE VOA PERSIAN. NO USE MANOTO. NO USE IRAN INTERNATIONAL. NO USE RADIO FARDA.     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
    Mohammed Salem/Reuters
    Iran says millions are mourning Khamenei. That’s not the full picture
  • Smoke rises from a port, near Strait of Hormuz, following a U.S. strike in Kuhestak, Hormozgan Province, Iran, July 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS  THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NEWS USE ONLY.

Verification line: Reuters confirmed the location by matching the port layout visible in the video with satellite imagery. The coordinates are 26.801109802855272, 57.02121784040872. The date the video was filmed was verified through a report from Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, which reported explosions early on July 8 at multiple locations along the Gulf coast, including Kuhestak. Aftermath photographs shared online on July 8 also showed damage at the same location. No earlier versions of the footage or photographs posted before July 8 were found.
    Social Media/UGC/Reuters
    The US is striking Iran again. Can it ever deliver a knockout blow?
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