Wars are easy to start, harder to end. Are the US and Iran any closer to a full peace agreement, much less a settlement — or is a return to all-out war inevitable? On the one hand, President Donald Trump has told multiple reporters in recent days that Iran has effectively agreed to all US conditions and that talks are going well, with Vice President JD Vance set to head out to Pakistan for more talks. On the other hand, after briefly declaring it reopened last week, Iran once

As far as announcements go, this one was pretty earth shattering, but to observers of Middle Eastern politics, it was not entirely unexpected. After all, Israel had a tradition of decapitation attacks. “After a lifetime of struggle,” a state newsreader declared, “Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei drank the sweet, pure draft of martyrdom and joined the Supreme Heavenly Kingdom.” The broadcaster praised Khamenei for being “unceasing and untiring” and for his “lofty and celest

Seventeen years ago, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, then the Iranian president was dominating western headlines. But even then, concentrating on his vitriolic statements was a mistake. One needed to concentrate on the pronouncements and actions of the one person who really counted in that regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was then 69 and widely believed to have cancer. As we know, Khamenei did not die then. Not until two weeks ago, when U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Pri

It's no secret that U.S. President Donald Trump is a competitive man and the world has grown used to his constant employment of hyperbole in describing his (real or perceived) achievements. This is especially true whenever he compares himself (always favorably) to his predecessors in the role. In this vein, perhaps over eager to show that he can do what no American leader has done before, Trump has chosen conflict over diplomacy and essentially gone to war with Iran. The word

Like a proverbial sword of Damocles the specter of conflict once more hangs over the Middle East. The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the perpetually volatile region than most Americans (and for that matter most everyone else) realize. In fact, it could begin very soon. Why should anyone care? A U.S. military operation in Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign that would look more like full-fledged war than last month's pinpoint operation in Vene

After the euphoria and relief of Monday’s prisoner exchange and ceasefire, Tuesday has brought some ominous signs for the future of the Gaza peace deal wrought by president Donald Trump. Despite the ringing words of the leaders gathered at Sharm El-Sheikh the shooting didn’t entirely stop. Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike on Tuesday morning in Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood. According to the (IDF) Israel Defense Forces, they had crossed the “yellow line”

There is much unknown and unclear in the days ahead since both Israel and Iran agreed to end what U.S. President Donald Trump has dubbed...

On June 12th Israel unleashed a series of meticulously-planned strikes that damaged Iranian nuclear facilities and missile sites,...

Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol was swift and predictable: Arab nations, among them hitherto staunch...