Iran and U.S.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at a meeting with officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Tehran in September. Zarif spoke to NPR on Tuesday.

World News

Iran's Foreign Minister: U.S. Strike On Soleimani An Act Of Terrorism And War

12:54pm January 07, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Speaking with NPR in Tehran on Tuesday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the U.S. "will pay" for the attack that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani last week.

During a funeral procession at Revolution Square in Tehran on Monday, crowds surround the coffins of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike.

World News

Ayatollah Weeps And Iranians Rail Against U.S. During Funeral For Slain Commander

1:05pm January 06, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Caskets holding the bodies of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others killed in a U.S. drone strike last week in Iraq were paraded though the streets of Tehran as mourners chanted "death to America."

A vehicle hit by a missile burns outside the Baghdad International Airport, where U.S. airstrikes killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Trump.

Was It Legal For The U.S. To Kill A Top Iranian Military Leader?

9:49am January 04, 2020

The strike against Qassem Soleimani raises thorny legal questions — and experts disagree over whether the U.S. had the legal authority to do it.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both agreed to join a U.S.-led maritime contingent to protect shipping in and near the S

World News

UAE Agrees To Join U.S.-Led Maritime Coalition To Protect Gulf Shipping

5:04pm September 19, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The contingent was organized by Washington following attacks in June on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that it blames on Iran. Britain, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also joined.

This image provided on Sunday by the U.S. government and DigitalGlobe and annotated by the source, shows a prestrike overview at Saudi Aramco's Khurais oil field in Buqayq, Saudi Arabia.

Attack On Saudi Oil Facilities Makes Oil Prices Spike

5:22pm September 16, 2019

by Scott Neuman

It's the largest one-day surge in crude prices in years. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes, but the U.S. says Iran played a key role. Iran denies involvement.

In a photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a conference in Tehran, on Monday.

World News

Rouhani Backs Off Meeting With Trump, Saying U.S. Must First Lift Sanctions

5:12am August 27, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The Iranian president's remarks on Tuesday were in contrast to an initially favorable reception to the idea of a face-to-face meeting with President Trump.

A view of the Grace 1 supertanker with its new name, Adrian Darya 1, on the transom, on Saturday in Gibraltar.

World News

Seized Iranian Ship Steams From Gibraltar After U.S. Loses Legal Fight

8:08am August 19, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The vessel, which was intercepted by British Royal Marines on July 4, left Gibraltar after a court there ruled that it had no authority to enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran.

A photo from Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency shows the U.K.-flagged Stena Impero, which was seized on July 19. Iran said Sunday that it had seized yet another vessel, an Iraqi oil tanker.

World News

Iran Reportedly Seizes Iraqi Tanker In Persian Gulf

11:09am August 05, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The unidentified vessel was reportedly taken last Wednesday near Farsi Island, where Iran maintains a naval base. Iraq's oil ministry has denied it has any connection with the ship.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting in Oman last week. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Zarif amid escalating tensions with Tehran.

Rouhani Criticizes U.S. Move To Sanction Iran's Foreign Minister

12:32pm August 01, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The Iranian president called the Trump administration's move to sanction Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif "childish." Zarif tweeted that the sanctions would have "no effect" on him.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaks with a group of Revolutionary Guards and their families in Tehran on April 9. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated recently following Iran's shootdown of a U.S. drone and U.S. cyberattacks

What Are Iran's Options In The Standoff With The U.S.?

4:30pm June 24, 2019

by Peter Kenyon

Iran shot down a U.S. drone. The U.S. launched a cyberattack and put new sanctions on Iran. Here is a look at the deepening crisis from Iran's standpoint.