Category Archives: Middle East

The UK’s Dubious Role in the New Tanker War With Iran

Unpacking the issues in the seizure of an Iranian tanker.

Trump’s Version of the Iran Accord: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

A clinical look at the Administration’s disingenuous Iran spin.

Ilargi: Memo to the US – The Winds Are Shifting

Why the US looks like it has a glass jaw.

”Maximum Pressure” Campaign Fails To Kill Off Iran’s Oil Exports

Iran and the US look deadlocked.

Lawrence Wilkerson: Trump Is Deepening the ‘Economic War’ Against Iran

Lawernce Wilkerson offers another dose of his pithy commentary on US policy versus Iran.

The Two-State Solution Is Dead. Bloodbath Next?

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Israeli plan to force integration of Palestine will lead to a bloodbath. But what are the alternatives?

Privacy Watch: US Visa Applicants Must Provide Social Media Details

The US will now require applicants for visas to share social media details, thus formalizing an existing policy of government monitoring of such traffic.

Does Iran’s Economic Fate Depend on a Lifeline From China?

How China is likely to view defying US sanctions on Iran.

What Does It Mean to Live in a Multipolar World? We May Be About to Find Out

Possible American and EU responses to multipolar politics.

The “Forever Wars” Enshrined: Visiting Mar-SAYLZ

Those whose names are engraved on the wall in Marseilles died in service to their country. Of that there is no doubt. Whether they died to advance the cause of freedom or even the wellbeing of the United States is another matter entirely.

On The Cusp Of War: Why Iran Won’t Fold

Is Iran in the midst of a “strategic surge”?

Why Everyone in the U.S. Who Counts Wants Julian Assange Dead

Keep your eye on what Assange’s real offenses are in the minds of the officialdom.

Will the U.S. Start a War Against Iran?

The US announced plans to park warships on Iran’s doorstep and tries to depict Iran as the provocateur. What gives?

Boys Go to Baghdad. Men Go to Tehran.

The US now seeks to shut down Iranian exports to zero. Will Iran respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz?

Spring Stirrings and Misgivings: Of Autocrats and Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa

This spring, eight years later, there has been a new set of popular uprisings in northern Africa, from Algeria to Morocco, to Sudan. Let’s hope they have more lasting success than Egypt’s Arab Spring.