هدیه مجوسان

 شاهکاری از ویلیام سیدنی پورتر - ا«او هنری»ا

The Gift of the Magi

A Masterpiece By William Sidney Porter- “O’Henry”

ONE DOLLAR AND eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

US Sends Thousands More Troops to Middle East, Considers Ground Ops in Iran

April 15, 2026
Dave DeCamp
The US is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East and is considering restarting the bombing campaign against Iran or launching ground operations in the country, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US officials.

Marines aboard the USS Portland, part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, conducting weapons functions check during a drill in the Pacific Ocean on April 9, 2026 (US Marines Corps photo)

LIVE BLOG: Iran Signals Ceasefire End over Hormuz Rights as Lebanon Toll Rises – Day 46

April 14, 2026
Iran warns ceasefire may collapse without recognition of Hormuz control, as Israeli strikes intensify across southern Lebanon front.

 

PFP Gubernatorial Candidate Ramsey Robinson is Fighting for the People of California, not the Billionaires

April 13, 2026
“Billionaires have their two parties. Working people need our own. That’s why I’m thrilled to be part of the Peace and Freedom Party’s long history of anti-war candidates. I’m fighting for a socialist California where healthcare, housing and good jobs are human rights, not luxuries.”

Trump Orders Naval Blockade of Iran After Failed Talks, Iran Threatens Retaliation in Gulf

April 13, 2026
Ship traffic has been halted again in the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to begin a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Iran denounced Trump’s move as an illegal act amounting to “piracy” and has threatened to strike Gulf ports in retaliation. Trump ordered the blockade after the U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war following 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. Global oil prices jumped after Trump announced the blockade.

DAYS 41-44: Trump Declares Blockade As Talks Collapse

April 12, 2026
Joe Lauria

Donald Trump has announced plans for a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks following 21 hours in an Islamabad hotel, writes Joe Lauria.

Trump’s Truth Social post on the blockade.

US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Universities Signal Higher Ed No Longer Off-Limits

April 11, 2026
Kourosh Ziabari

Even if the ceasefire holds and the war comes to an end, Iran’s academia will bear great costs and long-term impacts.

The Shahid Beheshti University seen destroyed after a missile strike the previous day, on April 4, 2026, in Tehran, Iran.

US ceasefire with Iran: What’s next? A former diplomat explains 3 possible scenarios

April 10, 2026
Donald Heflin
President Donald Trump on April 7, 2026, announced a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, after more than a month of war marked by U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iranian military leadership, Iranian retaliation against regional oil infrastructure and a global energy crisis.

A vessel passes through the Strait of Hormuz following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images

What Israelis can learn from the nightmares of an Iranian hangman

April 9, 2026
Orly Noy

As Israel embraces the death penalty, government ministers can look to what they call the ‘Iranian terror regime’ for inspiration — and caution.

A public execution in Fayyam Square, Shiraz, November 21, 2018. (Students' News Agency)

US-Iran talks in Pakistan: Who’s attending, what’s on the agenda?

April 9, 2026

Abid Hussain

Islamabad hosts negotiations as US and Iran seek an off-ramp. But deep mistrust and regional tensions threaten talks.

Middle East ceasefire may have made Iran stronger

April 8, 2026
Bamo Nouri and Inderjeet Parmar

Sustained bombing of its infrastructure may have left Iran with new financial mechanisms to rebuild and even expand its regional influence

آتش‌بس با شرایط ایران، اشتباه استراتژیک جنگ را برجسته می‌کند

نوشتهٔ تریتا پارسی‌

استفاده ناموفق ترامپ از زور، اعتبار تهدیدهای نظامی آمریکا را از بین برده و پویایی کاملاً جدیدی را در مسیر دیپلماتیک ایجاد کرده است

Iranian Synagogue ‘Completely Destroyed,’ Reportedly By US-Israeli Airstrike

April 7, 2026
Stephen Prager

The representative for Iran’s Jewish community in Parliament said Israel “showed no mercy... during the Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues.”

A person holds the damaged fragments of a text in Hebrew after a US-Israeli strike on a residential building destroyed the adjacent Rafi-Nia Synagogue on April 7, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Iran war live: Israel strikes second petrochemical plant after hitting South Pars

April 6, 2026

Iran reviews Pakistan's ceasefire deal but rejects any immediate move to reopen Hormuz

How the oil crisis and the so-called apocalypse are man-made

April 6, 2026
Sonja van den Ende

The so-called fuel crisis is being executed exactly on time, after the Epstein cult was exposed, which of course was not in the script.

Iran claims retaliatory strikes on key Gulf energy sites, warns US of ‘more destructive phase’

April 5, 2026

US-Israeli strikes have been targeting major infrastructure across Iran, including bridges, medical facilities and energy and petrochemical sites

A View from Tehran: War caused a new Kind of Stability

April 4, 2026
Peiman Salehi

Tehran (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – In Tehran, the expected signs of wartime breakdown are largely absent.

Trump has no good options to resolve the disaster he created in Iran

April 3, 2026
Mitchell Plitnick

Trump faces a disaster of his own making in Iran. He had no plan to address Iran's predictable retaliation, including closing the Strait of Hormuz, but even if he did, he faces another problem: Israel, his disastrous choice for a partner in crime.

Rescue operation underway after Iran downs two US fighter jets (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

April 3, 2026

According to American media, two of the three pilots have been located and brought to safety