The conflict has not only pitted the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against a band of rebels, but drawn the U.S., Iran, Russia and Turkey, among others, into a complex proxy war.

Nuclear inspections have been a key part of the Iran nuclear deal. International inspectors stand to permanently lose access to key sites, unless the U.S. and Iran can find a way forward.

The Thursday strikes targeted Iranian-backed groups in eastern Syria in response to rocket attacks against Americans in Iraq.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran announced an deal to keep some verification activities going for the immediate future. Iran earlier had said it would suspend snap inspections.

Arab and U.S. liberals differ on how to handle Iran and its proxies, writes Firas Maksad. He says reactions to the killing of his friend Lokman Slim, a critic of Hezbollah, are a case in point.

Grammy-winning Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor called the U.S. home for decades, until chaotic encounters with the immigration system caused him to leave the country permanently.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said Sunday that all U.S. sanctions must end before Tehran will return to its commitment under the 2015 nuclear accord.

President Biden's Iran policy is significantly different from that of his predecessor. But there are some things started by former President Donald Trump that Biden plans to build on.

Iran has announced new nuclear steps aimed at the incoming Biden administration, but the U.S. has leverage to push back, argues analyst Henry Rome.

It's the second time Iran has announced its hope to arrest Trump. The country says it won't stop pursuing him, even after he leaves the government later this month.

The move is likely to increase tensions during President Trump's final weeks in office. Separately, Iran seized a South Korean oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, South Korea said Monday.

The attack killed one Iraqi civilian and caused damage to the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad as well as surrounding residential areas. No embassy personnel were hurt.

"It's a very important acknowledgment, probably long overdue," a senior U.S. official tells reporters on a conference call about the sanctions. Former FBI agent Robert Levinson went missing in 2007.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for the ambush that left Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and others dead Friday. Without offering specifics, he threatened a reprisal.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, believed to have led Iran's military nuclear program, died from wounds after an attack, causing outrage in Iran and raising international concerns over potential retaliation.