Iran

The Climate Emergency Comes for Iran, as Thousands of Angry Farmers Protest in Dry Riverbed at Isfahan

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Friday, Kayhan London reports that thousands of farmers and other activists gathered in the dry riverbed of the historic Zayandeh Rud river at the major west-central city of Isfahan to protest the lack of water in the province. The crowd alleged that the Iranian administration of President Ibrahim Raisi […]

Featured

To Avoid another War Biden must get US Troops, caught in Israel-Iran Crossfire, out of Syria

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Eric Schmitt and Ronen Bergman at the New York Times report that a drone strike on a US base in eastern Syria last month has been assessed by the Pentagon as retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Iranian bases in Syria. US troops abandoned the base before the strike, based on […]

China

As Biden and Xi Zoom, the Iran issue Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden and his counterpart Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for half an hour on Monday by video, as Biden attempted to establish “guard rails” in the relationship of the two countries so that tensions do not spiral out of control. Biden is a status quo president, attempting to […]

Donald Trump

In Irrational COVID Policy, is there any Difference between Republicans and Iran’s Ayatollahs?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – David Axe at the Daily Beast reports on what he says is very bad news for the US red states whose Republican governors are depending on herd immunity to get us past the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Iranian provinces have, since its beginning, reported more cases of the coronavirus than they […]

Cybercrime

The Cyberwar between Israel and Iran is Heating Up

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – It is becoming clear that the cyberwar between Israel and Iran is heating up, although neither side has accepted responsibility for recent attacks. Things became even clearer when hundreds of thousands of Iranians found themselves unable to fill the fuel tanks in their vehicles due to a computer glitch […]

Featured

American Legacy of Instability in Iraq continues as caretaker Prime Minister Narrowly avoids Assassination by Drone

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Jazeera reports that Iraqi authorities on Sunday announced that Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped being assassinated by three drones loaded with explosives that targeted his residence in the Green Zone in the center of Baghdad around dawn. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which damaged the prime […]

Featured

Top 3 Ways Biden can restore Iran Nuclear Deal if he Really Wants To

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Diplomacy is the art of the possible, and so far the Biden administration isn’t showing a mastery of that art when it comes to Iran and restoring the Joint Plan for Comprehensive Action (JCPOA) or 2015 nuclear deal. President Joe Biden has not made restoring the nuclear deal a top […]

Houthi

Saudi-Iranian Rapprochement would bring Stability to Mideast, but would it make America Irrelevant?

Middle East Monitor

By Mohammad Makram Balawi | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Since 1979, when Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats captive, the US strategy towards Iran has been aggressive. The US led the whole world to isolate Iran, turning it into a pariah state even among its neighbours and […]

Houthi

Yemen: Will talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran offer hopes for an end to bitter seven-year civil war?

The Conversation

By Simon Mabon | – Recent statements from Iran and Saudi Arabia have provided hope that a pathway might be emerging to an end to the bitter seven-year civil war in Yemen which has killed an estimated quarter of a million people and left millions more homeless. On September 21, officials from Saudi Arabia and […]