Iran
Iran Protest Crackdown Deepens as Government Shuts Down Internet
Iran’s economic protests have developed into something much more serious than the demonstrations I wrote about two weeks ago. What began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over the collapse of the rial and rising living costs…
Iran Protests Spread as Currency Collapse Turns Into a Crisis of Political Legitimacy
Iran has entered 2026 facing another serious wave of anti-government protests, but this one began somewhere politically significant: Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. Shopkeepers began closing businesses and demonstrating in late December after the Iranian rial collapsed…
Israel and Iran Have Stopped Fighting. Trump Says the Nuclear Programme Was Destroyed. But a Ceasefire Is Not the Same Thing as Solving the Nuclear Problem.
The direct war between Israel and Iran has, for now, ended almost as suddenly as it began. After twelve days of Israeli strikes, Iranian missile attacks and the unprecedented American bombing of Fordow, Natanz and…
The United States Has Bombed Iran’s Nuclear Facilities. Trump Says the Programme Has Been “Obliterated”. The Harder Question Is Whether America Destroyed a Nuclear Threat or Changed Iran’s Incentive to Build a Bomb.
The United States has now entered the Israel-Iran war directly. Overnight, American forces struck Iran’s three principal nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, using B-2 stealth bombers and bunker-busting munitions against facilities that Israel…
Israel Has Attacked Iran’s Nuclear Programme. Iran Is Firing Ballistic Missiles Back. This Is What Happens When One Country Believes Waiting for Deterrence to Work Is More Dangerous Than Starting a War to Prevent It.
The shadow war between Israel and Iran has become an open interstate war. On 13 June, Israel launched a large-scale series of strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, missile infrastructure, air defences and senior military…
Trump Has Ordered Major Strikes on Yemen’s Houthis. The Problem Is That Destroying Missiles Is Easier Than Destroying the Incentive to Keep Firing Them.
Donald Trump ordered a major new American military campaign against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on 15 March, after the Iran-aligned movement threatened to resume attacks on shipping connected to Israel in response to restrictions on…
Bashar al-Assad’s Government Has Collapsed. After Thirteen Years of Civil War, the Hardest Question Is Who Actually Owns the Victory.
Syria has undergone one of the most dramatic political collapses of the twenty-first century. On 8 December, rebel forces entered Damascus and Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, ending more than fifty years of rule by…
Iran Has Fired Ballistic Missiles at Israel Again. The Problem With “Restoring Deterrence” Is That Both Sides Are Trying to Do It at the Same Time.
Iran launched roughly 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 October, its second direct attack on the country this year and a major escalation from the shadow war that defined their relationship for decades. Iran…
Israel Has Killed Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah Has Lost Its Leader of 32 Years. The Harder Question Is What Comes After Decapitation.
Israel has killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general since 1992 and one of the most influential political and military figures in the Middle East, in a massive air strike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in southern Beirut.
Iran’s President Has Died. The More Important Question Is Why the Political System Can Continue Without Him.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials were aboard a helicopter that crashed today in mountainous northwestern Iran while returning from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan. As of…
Iran Just Attacked Israel Directly for the First Time. The Most Dangerous Part Is That Both Sides May Believe They Can Control What Happens Next.
Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles towards Israel overnight on 13–14 April, marking an extraordinary escalation from the decades-long shadow conflict between the two states into direct military confrontation. Israel…
Iran and Pakistan Both Say They Were Fighting Terrorists. They Ended Up Bombing Each Other.
Iran and Pakistan exchanged military strikes across their shared border this week in one of the most serious confrontations between the two neighbours in years. On Tuesday, Iran launched missiles and drones into Pakistan’s southwestern…
