A Lost War, a Bad Agreement and a Possible Good Outcome

June 29, 2026
L. Michael Hager
One thing is certain. The U.S. lost its war of choice against Iran. Trump and Netanyahu failed to eliminate the perceived Iranian nuclear threat, despite relentless bombing that killed thousands and destroyed both military assets and civilian infrastructure. The desired “regime change” left a more hawkish leader in charge. Iranian forces then deployed missiles and drones to carry out devastating attacks on American bases in the Gulf. Thirteen U.S. soldiers lost their lives. Most significantly, Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz sparked global panic in energy, fertilizer, and other vital markets. For Americans, the war meant a dollar a-gallon increase at the gas pump. For Trump, ending the war became a political imperative.

Capitalism and the Crisis of Meaning in Our Times

June 28, 2026
Helena Sheehan
How to explain the cascading crises of our time? What are the most striking indicators of crisis? What causes are put forward? What solutions are proposed? Is there an underlying dynamic generating the many manifestations of destruction, decadence, and despair in contemporary society? Is there some kind of connective tissue running through the chaos, the craziness, the injustice, the myopia, and the deception that unfold before us daily? Why do so many attempts at explanation fall so far short? Why is academe such a theoretical wasteland? Is there a systemic explanation of a world that systemically disempowers systemic thinking? Does the concept of polycrisis capture the connections? What is the impact of capitalism on the production of meaning? What does Marxism have to offer in this scenario? Is it a worldview that explains these crises and opens an alternative path?

Israel’s ‘campaign between the wars’ against Iran hurts US Ties

June 27, 2026
Amy McAuliffe
(The Conversation) – A lot hangs on whether the United States can compel Israel to cease operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. After all, an end to the Israeli military offensive was a key provision of the broad U.S.-Iran agreement setting out a road map to end the Iran war.
And even though Israel did not sign the deal, policymakers in Washington will continue to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abide by the truce.

Vance Says Iran Agreed To Establish a Direct Line Between the IRGC and the US Military

June 25, 2026
Dave DeCamp
Vice President JD Vance has said that during talks in Switzerland, Iranian officials agreed to establish a direct line of communication between Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the US military.

Trump's war on Iran becomes 'most unpopular conflict' in US history

June 26, 2026

Recent public opinion polls indicate that the illegal war on Iran has fallen to a new low in public acceptance, even surpassing the unpopularity of the Vietnam War

Trump wants $87.6 billion to pay for his war in Iran, etc.

June 25, 2026
Jennifer Shutt

Of the total, $61.5 billion would go to the Pentagon, but Democrats are skeptical

Drones and decomposing babies: What's in UN report on Israel's genocide of Palestinian children

June 25, 2026
Sondos Asem

Israel has killed over 20,000 Palestinian children since 7 October 2023. The UN has detailed instances of torture, rape and murder in a landmark report

Wounded children wait for medical care at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on 25 May 2026 (AFP)

Release the Minab Report: Did Grok Help Kill 168 Children?

June 24, 2026
Thom Hartmann

The Pentagon has finished investigating its bombing of an Iranian elementary school. Congress still hasn’t seen the results. The families deserve answers—and so do we.

A man works on his smart phone in front of a mural honoring schoolchildren killed in a Feb. 28 strike in the southern Iranian city of Minab that was likely caused by U.S. airstrikes, in northern Tehran, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Hundreds of Bedouin left homeless as Israel ramps up Naqab expulsions

June 24, 2026
Oren Ziv

Residents of two unrecognized Palestinian villages were forced to dismantle their own homes — the latest chapter in a decades-long cycle of displacement.

پیشرفت

 بزرگترین عواملی که ما انسان‌ها را به جلو هدایت می‌کنند، حسّ پیشرفت کردن، همواره تکامل یافتن، و ترقی‌ خواهیِ ماست. بدین لحاظ است که ما همواره در تلاش هستیم که از نسل پیشین خود پیشی‌ بگیریم، و در مسیری که قدم می‌گذاریم، نگاه و اندیشهٔ ما به سمت جلو و بالا است. در هر برنامه‌ای که طرح می‌کنیم و در هر تدبیری، پیشروی شرط نخست است.ا

Losing the War of the Future

June 23, 2026
Paul Scharre

How New Technologies Threaten America’s Military Advantage

 

Iran to set up Hormuz hotline with US

June 23, 2026

The new channel will help resolve incidents in the strategic waterway amid conflicting guidance for shipowners

 
Cargo vessels in the Strait of Hormuz ©  Getty Images/quantic69

What if the Peace Memorandum between the U.S. and Iran were a trap?

June 22, 2026
Lorenzo Maria Pacini

With Russia and China watching, and the Axis of Resistance at stake, Pezeshkian’s tense signature hints: “We hope we’ve done the right thing.”

 

Iran makes World Cup statement just hours after Donald Trump threatened to blow it up

 June 22, 2026
Iran continued their impressive showing at the World Cup amid heightening tensions that left Donald Trump warning he would “blow the s---“ out of the country.

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz

June 21, 2026

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz once again over Israeli “violations” of the peace deal agreed with the US, Tehran’s military has said.

People search for victims under the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Qannarit village, southern Lebanon on Saturday - (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari

Trump May Be Drawing Down Iran War, But He’s Demanding Billions More for Bombs

June 20, 2026
By Mike Ludwig

The GOP is souring on Trump’s $1.5 trillion military budget as the president pushes for yet another reconciliation bill.

Donald Trump leaves after announcing the U.S. Navy's new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Trump takes aim at critics of US-Iran MoU, says Iran ‘finished’

June 19, 2026
Joseph Stepansky

Trump says deal amounts to Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’; Negotiations thrown into doubt as Vance delays trip.

US President Donald Trump speaks at a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on June 18, 2026. [Ken Cedeno/AFP]

Meet the biggest winner of the war with Iran

June 18, 2026
Muhammad Sahimi

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf began the conflict as a controversial speaker of parliament. He ends it as a leading presidential hopeful.

At Iran's World Cup opener, a banned flag became a flashpoint at the stadium gates

June 18, 2026
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Two hours before Iran's national soccer team opened World Cup play against New Zealand on Monday night, an Iranian American man and his teenage daughter got in line to enter SoFi Stadium.

Fans hold up pre-revolutionary Iranian flags as Iran played New Zealand in a FIFA World Cup 2026 match at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)

Inside the US-Iran Memorandum: The 14 Points Released by IRNA

June 18, 2026

Iranian state media have published the full text of a 14-point memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington.