Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

A man with an LPG cylinder stove rides a bicycle in Islamabad on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2026
A war in the Persian Gulf is plunging Pakistan into darkness
Over the past week, Mohammad Rizwan has faced daily blackouts at his house in Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital.
Longline tuna fishing boats in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2026
Japanese fishers hit hard by high crude oil prices
Revenue from tuna caught is almost offset by fuel costs, the owner of a company in Miyagi Prefecture said.
A French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon patrols an area of southern Lebanon on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2026
French soldier killed in attack on U.N. mission in southern Lebanon, officials say
In calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable attack.”
Merchandise featuring U.S. President Donald Trump is sold during The National Rifle Association’s annual meetings and exhibits in Houston on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2026
The Iran war has revealed Trump’s pressure point: the economy
Iran has taken a beating militarily, but demonstrated it can exact economic costs that ​Trump and his aides underestimated, unleashing the worst-ever global energy shock.
A girl looks out through her apartment's damaged window after returning home following a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Saturday.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2026
Displaced Lebanese hesitant to return home as lasting truce uncertain
After the ceasefire in Lebanon took hold, Samah Hajoul headed back to her apartment in south Beirut — but only long enough to grab fresh clothes.
U.S. military AH-64 Apaches fly above the Strait of Hormuz during a patrol on Friday in this photo released by U.S. Central Command via their X account.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2026
U.S. and Iran cite progress in talks as uncertainty hangs over strait
Neither side offered any specifics about the state of negotiations on Saturday, days before a fragile ceasefire is set to expire.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2026
Japan pledges ‘all possible measures’ for Hormuz safety
Momentum for a lasting peace has been building, with Tehran saying Friday that Hormuz is open for commercial shipping after Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Dream City Church in Phoenix on Friday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2026
Defiant message from Iran as vessels attempting to cross Hormuz report gunfire
At least two merchant vessels reported they were hit by gunfire as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan in June 2023
WORLD
Apr 18, 2026
U.S. renews Russian oil waiver after pressure from countries dealing with Iran war price shocks 
U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle accused the government of going easy on Moscow ​as its war on Ukraine grinds on.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 18, 2026
Bessent’s busy week clashes with global thirst for U.S. attention
At the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, some participants grumbled that U.S. officials were reluctant to discuss the U.S.-war driven oil shock.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron leave a news conference after the multinational virtual summit at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2026
European leaders offer military help to secure Strait of Hormuz
Trump said the waterway is “open and ready for business,” though a U.S. naval blockade would remain in place until a broader agreement is reached.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Busan, South Korea, last October.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 18, 2026
China steps up Iran diplomacy while seeking smooth summit with Trump
China is accelerating its efforts to end the Iran war, walking a diplomatic tightrope as it prepares for a summit next month with U.S. President Donald Trump while trying not to alienate Tehran.
A seal for the Department of War appears on the podium, after the Trump administration renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War in 2025, on the day of a briefing on the Iran war at the Pentagon in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2026
U.S. to delay weapons deliveries to some European countries due to Iran war
The delays underline ​the degree to which the war against Iran has ‌begun to ‌stretch U.S. supplies of some critical weaponry and ammunition.
An oil refinery in Yokohama. The government has stressed that the total volume of oil needed for Japan as a whole can be sourced from reserves and alternate locations that do not require transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japanese government urges suppliers not to hold back critical materials from the market
It insists that shortages are in part the result of companies limiting sales due to fear of future scarcity.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. sails in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war on March 18.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2026
Blockade as war: The perilous logic of strangulation
Under Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions (1949), starving civilians as a method of warfare or inflicting disproportionate suffering on a population is explicitly prohibited.
Chairperson Hiroyuki Nagahama (center rear) and others attend a House of Councilors constitutional review committee hearing at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 17, 2026
Four things to understand in Japan’s constitutional debate
Japan’s legislature started debate on constitutional amendment as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to have a proposal ready in a year.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a roundtable focused on tax cuts in Las Vegas on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
Trump tries economic reset as Republicans fret over high gas prices
Spiking prices nationwide have shaken the U.S. economy, and ​with it, U.S. President Donald Trump’s clout to drive support to fellow conservatives in November’s midterm elections.
Displaced people react as they return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, on Friday.
WORLD
Apr 17, 2026
Trump says Iran war should end ‘soon’ as Lebanon-Israel ceasefire begins
Trump said a two-week ceasefire, which ends next week, could be extended, although he did not believe that would be necessary as Tehran wanted a deal.
Crude oil buyers in Japan led the charge to purchase May-loading cargoes from the U.S. early in the month, along with South Korean, Singapore and Thai processors.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2026
Asia relying on U.S. crude to replace Middle East supply
U.S. exports of oil, including crude and refined products, reached a record 13 million barrels a day last week, government data showed.
The LNG Aquarius liquefied natural gas tanker in the Java Sea, off Indonesia.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2026
Iran war pushes Asia to think twice before doubling down on LNG
The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the serious damage sustained by Qatar’s LNG export plant has sent prices higher and buyers scrambling for alternatives.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival