For what could be the first time ever, post-revolutionary Iran might not back out of competing against “Israel” in an international sporting event because of the serious damage that this stunt could do to its already strained relations with Russia if it refuses to play against its foe in the field medicine challenge that they’re…
Since his earliest days on the campaign trail, it has been clear who Donald Trump and his team have had in their sights. “Iran is the biggest destabilising force in the Middle East and its policies are contrary to our interests,” Defence Secretary James Mattis told his Senate confirmation hearing, having previously claimed that the…
Russian military police forces have established eight static positions along the 1974 disengagement line and have registered a strong presence with UNDOF observer forces on the occupied Golan Heights line. Moreover, a Russian force headed by a Russian General arrived, for the second time this year, at the Lebanese Hezbollah post at the Syrian-Lebanese borders…
In the past few days, the Internet has been flooded with a frankly silly rumor about the US soliciting Australia’s assistance in preparing an attack on Iran. Needless to say, that report does not explain what capabilities Australia would possess which the USA would lack, but never-mind that. Still, the report was picked up in…
The US establishment wrongly believed that it could deal with Iran as with North Korea, using a carrot and stick. Threatening diplomacy has never worked with the “Islamic Republic” since 1979 when the Shah fell and Imam Khomeini seized power. It is true that US pressure on Iran over the last months has plunged the…
Strictly speaking, this is not the first time that Washington has imposed sanctions against Turkey. But the circumstances are entirely different, which makes the present crisis far more intractable. The US imposed an arms embargo on Turkey in 1975 followed the latter’s invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus. Ankara retaliated by shutting down all US…
