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The last time Iran's nuclear envoys held talks with the U.S. and other world powers, the negotiations limped along until a parting shot by the Islamic Republic: Its labs boosted the enrichment levels of uranium in reply to demands for a full-scale freeze.
By dawn, the unmarked speedboats from Iran pull into port. By dusk, they are racing back across the Strait of Hormuz loaded with smuggled consumer goods ranging from Chinese-made shoes to cut flowers from Holland.
For leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil.
In the high desert along Iran's Afghan border this week, soldiers from the powerful Revolutionary Guard practiced ambush tactics in subzero temperatures. Next month, the Guard's warships are expected to resume battle drills near Gulf shipping lanes that carry much of the world's oil.
During a graduation at Iran's main army academy, the country's leader laid down a tougher military posture for the Islamic Republic. Iran must never hesitate to display its power in a hard-edged world where the weak pay the price, he told the newly minted officers.
It was a remark designed to send chills through Washington and its allies: an influential member of the Saudi royal family suggesting the kingdom could someday consider making its own atomic weapons if stuck between nuclear arsenals in Iran and Israel.
In the middle of Iran's diplomatic meltdown with the West, the country's influential parliament speaker appeared unruffled. He calmly lectured reporters about historical grievances with Britain and the pent-up "wrath" behind the assault on its compounds in Tehran.
The son of a prominent Iranian conservative who ran against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 has died in a Dubai hotel in an apparent suicide, a Dubai police official and an Iranian website said Sunday.
For Iranian envoys at an Asian affairs summit this week in Russia, it was the ultimate dream team: The Russian prime minister and China's premier standing shoulder to shoulder and promising to keep Western influence at bay.
Among the many alliances of convenience in the Middle East, one is so unusual that the partners can barely hint about it publicly: Israel and the Gulf Arab states linked by shared fears over Iran's nuclear program.
Much has changed since the age of "ping pong diplomacy" 40 years ago when nine American players first looked across the net at Chinese opponents, breaking the barriers between the two world powers.
Among the many mysteries inside Iran's ruling hierarchy, the Quds Force has a special place in the shadows.
During Friday prayers in Tehran last summer, one of the ruling system's most firebrand clerics, Ahmad Jannati, had worshippers pumping their fists to denounce Saudi Arabia and other Arab foes across the Gulf.
In shaky videos posted on the web, some protesters in Syria have begun flashing signs appealing for international help. "Where is NATO?" some messages ask amid crackdowns that have claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Iran has never been shy about claiming military advances such as missiles capable of hitting Israel or an attack drone dubbed the "ambassador of death." Its latest focus: The high seas.
Two weeks after Egypt's uprising swept aside Hosni Mubarak, the presidents of Iran and Syria stood side by side in Damascus in a blunt message to the Arab Spring: The Syrian regime can count on its allies in Tehran.
Hand signals are passed from the rooftop spotters to the street protesters below: Another group of riot police are moving in their direction.
The first elections since the Arab Spring uprisings will be more about holding back change than expanding political freedoms: voting in three Gulf nations that poses no threat to old guard rulers or their efforts to unite against calls for fast-track reforms.
There was a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used his annual trip to the United Nations for two big objectives: Basking in the attention of America's media hub and personally delivering the views of the Islamic Republic to Western leaders.
One afternoon in May, police in Bahrain led away security guard Mahdi Ali from his job at the Gulf kingdom's state-controlled aluminum plant. He claims he was blindfolded and beaten so severely that the bruises still have not healed.
When Libyan rebels first called out for international aid, the wealthy Gulf was quick to answer: Warplanes from Qatar and United Arab Emirates joined the NATO-led military coalition against Moammar Gadhafi and critical aid and diplomatic support were funneled to opposition fighters.
Saudi Arabia is getting bolder in its strategy for dealing with the Middle East's uprisings. No longer waiting for Washington's cue, the kingdom is aggressively trying to influence the regional turmoil and boost its two goals — protect fellow royal houses and isolate its rival, Iran.
The head of Bahrain's main Shiite Muslim opposition party wants a referendum over whether the Gulf kingdom's rulers should retain their wide powers.
Among the protest banners in Cairo's Tahrir Square was a hand-drawn map of the Arab Spring with black target symbols covering each country hit by anti-government uprisings since the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt were ousted earlier this year.
On a cold March morning last year, an Iranian diplomat was flown home nearly 15 months after being kidnapped by gunmen in an ambush on the Pakistani side of the Khyber Pass.
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