On June 18, Iran and the U.S. signed an agreement, titled the “Islamabad Memorandum,” which committed both countries to an immediate and permanent end to hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and 60 days of negotiations to reach a final agreement. Within 48 hours, Iran had closed the strait again. The reason was … Read more
To commemorate World Refugee Day (June 20) without confronting the American militarism driving the crisis is just plain hypocrisy. Data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows global displacement has reached record highs, with more than 117 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, including 42.5 million refugees. As this crisis grows, it is too … Read more
The Israeli military’s demolition of an entire village in Lebanon is “a Nakba of 2026,” the presence of hunting rifles and a Hezbollah flag is enough to have a Lebanese home designated “terrorist infrastructure,” and Israeli soldiers have operated there and in Gaza out of a “sense of revenge.” Those are some of the observations … Read more
It remains unclear whether Iran’s effort to establish a new equation in the region has truly succeeded — an equation in which, for the first time, Iran would directly strike Israel if Israel attacks Lebanon. What is clear is that recent events suggest the strategic landscape may be shifting. Israel chose to defy President Trump … Read more
The magnitude of what just happened may take some time to sink in. This is the first time Iran has struck Israel after Israel struck another country’s territory (that is, not Iran). This means that the battle lines have been moved. Iran’s deterrence had already been restored in the sense that Israel knew that any … Read more
Despite the ceasefire and tentative progress toward a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, the Persian Gulf has remained perilously volatile. In the past 24 hours alone, several rounds of fire have been exchanged between US and Iranian forces in the region. Though both sides appear to view the incidents — which may have … Read more
The emerging deal between the United States and Iran represents an existential danger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future. With his coalition fracturing and elections approaching, Netanyahu can’t survive a peace that leaves Hezbollah intact and Iran’s nuclear program deferred. The only path that may keep his future viable now runs through Lebanon. … Read more