NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Wendy Sherman, a former U.S. diplomat who has been part of teams negotiating with Iran, about the status of latest negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite wars ranging across the Middle East, more than 20 million Shia pilgrims gather in Iraq shrine city for Arbaeen festival

(Image credit: Mohammed Sawaf for NPR)

As Iran works toward a final agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, leaders there have a political incentive to drag out negotiations: their desire to put pressure on President Trump.

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, about how the Iranian regime's understanding of U.S. politics informs its war strategy.

NPR's A Martinez asks longtime U.S. diplomat Richard Haass about peace plans for Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected an agreement with Hamas proposed by President Trump.

Netanyahu's comments come just over a week after President Trump said his Board of Peace had reached a "historic" agreement with Hamas to give up its weapons.

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Meanwhile, Iran has made new demands about the restart of negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Pentagon is pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate production of weapons.

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More than 20 million Shia pilgrims flocked to a shrine city in Iraq this week, including millions of Iranians, despite the wars tearing across the Middle East.

An agreement over the Strait of Hormuz is still far away. Tim Wilkins, who works for a tanker industry group, says the ships stuck around the waterway are in limbo, and transiting is still dangerous.

President Trump is looking for a breakthrough on the Strait of Hormuz and is feeling the pressure of the ongoing war.

Israeli efforts to establish new Jewish settlements and seize Palestinian land have reached a frenzied pitch in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian residents say they have been encircled and besieged by violent settlers.

Iran reveals details of an agreement on reopening Strait of Hormuz, but questions remain.

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Marc Sievers, former U.S. ambassador to Oman, about the negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump announced a breakthrough on his Gaza peace plan last week, but the logistics remain daunting.

President Trump is under pressure to find a breakthrough with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, but it's proven elusive.

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to John Sopko, who served as Special Inspector General for Afghanistan under Obama, Trump and Biden, about the back-and-forth around bringing the Iran war to an end.

Iran's parliament is reviewing a plan to ban ships linked to the U.S., Israel and other "hostile countries" from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration has rejected the plan.

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

At least seven states experienced cyberattacks against their water systems recently, and the FBI is investigating whether they are linked with the war in Iran.

Iranians are driven in greater numbers by the U.S. killing of their spiritual leader

Mediators say Iran and Oman are close to an agreement to partially reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The US has also signaled a deal could be close.