The war Iran prepared for: How Tehran is raising the cost of war
March 13th, 20260 Iran is pursuing a multi-layered strategy—military, economic, political, and diplomatic—to raise the cost of war and prevent regime change. Iran’s strategy in the current war As the war on Iran continues to expand across multiple fronts, Tehran appears to be pursuing a complex strategy that combines military escalation, economic...
Iraq’s lessons and the Powell Doctrine: Why Americans question a new war with Iran
March 13th, 20260 In February 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell went to the United Nations to present the George W. Bush administration’s case against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. His remarks were directed at two audiences: reluctant allies and unconvinced Americans. Hawks who wanted this war termed Powell’s performance “compelling and...
Debunked and confirmed: Myths and realities from the war on Iran
March 6th, 20260 The war on Iran has not merely opened a new military front in the Middle East. It has shattered long-standing myths that have shaped U.S. policy and regional politics for decades. What has unfolded in the past days is not simply a battlefield confrontation; it is a historical rupture. Several narratives that once appeared unassailable...
Who decides what is legitimate? Power, democracy and the war on Iran
March 6th, 20260 Democracy is invoked as moral legitimacy in war, while Iran’s authority rests on layered political, religious and historical foundations. Democracy, however, is not the enemy. Its manipulation is. For decades, Western political discourse has equated legitimacy with elections — numbers counted on a single day, certified by...
House rejects bid to halt Trump’s war on Iran as Congress confronts growing conflict
March 6th, 20260 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly rejected a resolution Thursday that would have forced President Trump to halt military operations against Iran without congressional authorization, highlighting deep divisions in Washington as the conflict threatens to expand across the Middle East. The measure failed...
U.S. tells U.N. Security Council all options on table, Iran warns it will respond to any aggression
January 16th, 20260 The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran” and President Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where...
Trump imposes surprise ceasefire in Israel–Iran war, signals talks with Tehran
June 27th, 20250 On the 12th day of the Israeli–Iranian war, President Trump imposed a cease‑fire between the two countries through a phone call. In that call, it was reported that he chastised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, compelling him to turn Israeli warplanes — already en route to Iran — back to base and swallow Iran’s...
Iran strikes back after Israeli assault; Trump weighs war while U.S. military repositions in region
June 20th, 20250 It took Iran only a few hours to recover from Israel’s devastating “opening strike” on Friday, June 13, which killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Islamic Republic responded forcefully and directly, launching waves of heavy missile attacks that struck deep inside Israel — including central Tel Aviv — in...
“No war on Iran” demonstration held in downtown Grand Rapids
June 20th, 20251 GRAND RAPIDS – “When Iran is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” rang out loud alongside the pounding rain on Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids Wednesday evening. Despite the heavy rain that poured throughout the evening, at least 30 demonstrators among community members and activist groups rallied in an...
U.S.-Iran talks postponed, new date depends on U.S. approach, Iranian official says
May 2nd, 20250 A fourth round of talks between the United States and Iran, which had been due to take place in Rome on Saturday, has been postponed and a new date will be set "depending on the U.S. approach," a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday. "U.S. sanctions on Iran during the nuclear talks are not helping the sides to resolve the...
A political blow to Netanyahu?: Trump shifts Middle East strategy with Iran talks, pressures Israel on Gaza and warms ties with Turkey
April 11th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise visit to the White House dominated headlines about Middle East developments, yet it was President Trump who set the tone for the next phase in regional policy — one that Netanyahu, labeled by critics as a “war criminal”, found entirely unpalatable. At the...
A region in crisis from Gaza to Istanbul: War, resistance and power struggles
March 28th, 20250 The Arab American News weekly Arab world report: The Middle East remains in the eye of the storm, with many of its nations burdened by decades-old political, security, economic and social crises. These issues continue to erupt in connection with regional conflicts. Against this backdrop, Iran’s announcement of its willingness to...
U.S., Israel to hold high-level talks on Iran at White House next week
March 21st, 20250 WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel will hold high-level talks on Iran's nuclear program at the White House early next week, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The planned meeting follows President Trump's letter to Iran's leadership earlier this month in which he warned Tehran it had the choice of either...
Iran’s president tells Trump: “Do whatever the hell you want.”
March 14th, 20250 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected negotiations with the U.S. under threats, telling President Trump to "do whatever the hell you want," according to Iranian state media. He also criticized U.S. foreign policy, referencing the recent Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "You...
Helicopter of Iran’s late President Raisi crashed due to weather, Fars says
August 23rd, 20240 The helicopter crash in which Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft's inability to handle the weight it was carrying, Iran's semi-official news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a security source informed of the final investigation results. The communications center......
Nasrallah: War with Israel has entered “new phase” after killings of top resistance leaders
August 2nd, 20241 On Thursday, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase,” as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. Meanwhile in Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei prayed over the...
Iran’s President Raisi buried in Mashhad as mourners pack Iranian holy city
May 24th, 20241 President Ebrahim Raisi was buried in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad on Thursday as many thousands of mourners packed its streets for his funeral, four days after he died in a helicopter crash, footage broadcast by Iranian media showed. Raisi, 63, was widely seen as a candidate to succeed 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who......
Tehran vows revenge after U.N. Security Council fails to condemn Israel’s strike on its embassy in Syria
April 7th, 20241 On Wednesday, the United States, Britain and France opposed a Russian-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran's embassy compound in Syria, which Tehran has blamed on Washington's ally Israel. Press statements by the 15-member council have to be agreed to by consensus. Diplomats said the U.S.,...
ISIS claims responsibility for deadliest attack in Iran since 1979, Tehran vows revenge
January 5th, 20240 ISIS claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone. In a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the militant Sunni Muslim group said two ISIS members had...
Biden to seek $14 billion in military aid for Israel as invasion of Gaza nears
October 20th, 20230 On Thursday, President Biden asked Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas while Israel's defense minister told his troops to be ready to go into the Gaza Strip to destroy the Palestinian militant group. In a televised White House speech late on Thursday that also addressed Ukraine's effort to repel Russia's...
Israeli intelligence ministry planning moves that will create chaos throughout Iran
September 7th, 20230 Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel met with Iranian diaspora anti-government “activists and journalists” in London on Wednesday as part of an ongoing Israeli campaign to reignite protests and civil unrest throughout the Islamic Republic before the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini died after being detained by......
Iran backs the Syrian government’s demands for withdrawal of foreign forces
August 25th, 20230 Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian permanent representative to the United Nations, says Iran supports the demands of the Syrian government for a complete withdrawal of “all illegal foreign military forces from Syria.” During a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday addressing the situation in the war-torn country, Iravani argued...
Saudi Arabia, Iran relations “on the right track,” Iranian minister says after Riyadh visits
August 18th, 20230 Saudi Arabia and Iran are making progress on mending ties, Iran's foreign minister said after meeting with his counterpart in Riyadh on Thursday, as two regional heavyweights seek to overcome past hostility and boost cooperation. "Relations between Tehran and Saudi are on the right track and we are witnessing progress," Hossein......
Iran’s navy unveils new vessels equipped with 375-miles-range missiles, Tasnim reports
August 7th, 20230 Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km (375 miles) range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the U.S. in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. The announcement was made during a military exercise off the coast of Abu Musa island, one of three Gulf islands...
Iran seizes U.S. tanker, claims it broke basic international maritime laws
July 6th, 20230 According to Iran’s maritime authority, it confiscated a tanker owned by the U.S. energy company Chevron because the tanker caused damage to an Iranian vessel on Wednesday, July 5, in the Persian Gulf and then illegally rerouted to the territorial waters of Oman. On Thursday, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, PMO, released a......
