Middle East

( Middle East Monitor) – At a recent J Street Conference online, US Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke yet another political taboo when they expressed willingness to leverage US military aid as a way of putting pressure on Israel to respect Palestinian human rights. Sanders believes that the US “must be willing to […]

Donald Trump

No, Kerry didn’t Leak Israeli strikes to Zarif; but Trump did leak Israeli Intel to Russia

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ted Cruz and other far right demagogues have charged for over half a decade that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was misguided because you can’t trust anything Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarid says. Now all of a sudden they are treating an offhand remark by Zarif in a leaked interview […]

Israel/ Palestine

Some in Congress want Oversight of US funds used by Israel for War Crimes, but AIPAC says ‘No’

Walter L. Hixson

Akron, Oh. (Special to Informed Comment) – In mid-April, Rep. Betty McCollum (D.-MN) introduced a bill requiring oversight of how Israel uses U.S. aid and forbidding its use to detain Palestinian children. Although Congressional limitations on the billions of dollars it sends Israel every year were the norm only a few decades ago, it is […]

Afghanistan

U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Bring Iran Opportunities, Threats

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) – The announced withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will grant Iran one of its biggest wishes and lead to the departure of all foreign forces, which Tehran has long blamed for insecurity in the region. Analysts say the pullout of U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan could potentially give Iran more room to […]

Iran

The Iranian Government is more Pragmatic in dealing with Sunnis than its Sectarian image Implies

Shivan Mahendrarajah

St. Andrews (Special to Informed Comment) – The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is often depicted by its enemies and their press (the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel in particular) as an ideological and sectarian Shiite state, drunk on fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism, however, is a key part of the politics of these […]

Featured

Israeli Police injure 12 Palestinians in Continued Iron Fist Crackdown on Jerusalem Ramadan Crowds

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)- Arab48 reports that Israeli security forces on Saturday night attacked Palestinian worshipers at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem with batons and teargas, leaving 12 Jerusalemites wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Cross. Damascus Gate or Bab al-Amoud in Arabic is the major entrance way to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is […]

astronomy and outer space

Palestinian NASA Scientist Elbasyouni: Easier to Fly a Helicopter on Mars than to Visit Home in Gaza

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Long time readers may know that I am a science buff and a science fiction fan. I have therefore been geeking out since February about the Perseverance rover on Mars. This week there was even more to marvel at, as the Ingenuity helicopter that accompanied the rover managed a couple […]

Israel/ Palestine

Jerusalem Pogrom: Extremist Jewish Mobs injure 100 Palestinians, chanting “Death to Arabs”

Asa Winstanley

( Middle East Monitor ) – The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines a pogrom as “a mob attack, either approved or condoned by authorities, against the persons and property of a religious, racial, or national minority”. That is exactly what is happening today against the Palestinian people in Jerusalem. Middle East Eye: “Hundreds of far-right Israeli activists […]

Featured

Syrian Missile strikes Near Israel’s Nuclear Facility at Dimona, Which could have Turned into a Dirty Bomb

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli site i24 reports that on early Thursday morning, a Syrian missile slammed into the desert very near to the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona, which Israeli authorities have used to produce an arsenal of an estimated two hundred nuclear bombs. Air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel. Explosions […]