The art of the deal author has no clue about how to make a deal

May 29, 2026
Martin Jay

The more Trump threatens, the more it is clear he is weak and desperate, writes Martin Jay.

US Treasury slaps sanctions on Iranian authority overseeing Hormuz

May 28, 2026

Washington seeks to criminalize the newly established maritime shipping mechanism by labeling fee collection as ‘extortion’

Iran Says US Violated Ceasefire and Vows It Will ‘Leave No Act of Aggression Unanswered’

May 26, 2026
Dave DeCamp

Iran's IRGC said that its air defense forces downed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone

US military photo from the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship operating in the Arabian Sea as the US enforces a blockade on Iran (CENTCOM)

از کاخ شاه تا زندان اوین

در سال هزار و سیصد و هشتاد و یک، کتاب "از کاخ شاه تا زندان اوین" نوشتهٔ احسان نراقی که به فرانسه نوشتار شده بود، با ترجمهٔ سعید آذری به فارسی، برای چهارمین بار منتشر شد.ا

U.S. Bombs Iran Despite Peace Talks; Israel Strikes Lebanon to “Force Trump’s Hand”: Negar Mortazavi

May 26, 2026
We get an update on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran from journalist Negar Mortazavi, following the Pentagon’s so-called self-defense strikes on two Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz Monday despite an official ceasefire and ongoing peace negotiations. The “chaotic” ceasefire “has been violated from day one,” says Mortazavi, who notes that Israel’s continuous attacks on southern Lebanon are delaying attempts to end the war — and that this is exactly the intention of the Israeli government. “Clearly, Netanyahu doesn’t want this war with Iran to end,” she says. “Every step of escalation is definitely going to harm the final outcome and narrow the path to a final agreement.” Mortazavi also comments on the new political reality for Iran’s Gulf neighbors in the aftermath of Iranian strikes on U.S. military bases hosted in the region. “The Iranian message is: If war comes to us, it will not stay inside our borders.”

This Tehran Music School Took Ages to Build Up. Airstrikes Turned It to Rubble.

May 25, 2026
Kourosh Ziabari

The destruction of Honiak Music Academy shows the devastating impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran’s creative spaces.

Hamidreza Afarideh and Sheida Ebadatdoust inspect the ruins of the Honiak Music Academy in Tehran, Iran, after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes destroyed the private arts school on March 23, 2026.

Warmongers in meltdown as Trump heralds Iran deal

May 24, 2026
Trita Parsi

In essence, this agreement brings the situation to where it was supposed to be following the announcement of the original ceasefire

GOP Hawks Alarmed as Trump Mulls Deal to End His Illegal Iran War

May 24, 2026
Brad Reed

“Nothing was accomplished by Operation Epic Fury except putting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in charge of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” said one critic of the war.

Pakistan’s moment in the Sun: Can it really end the Iran war?

May 23, 2026
Leon Hadar

The very things that make Islamabad useful as a postman also limit what it can deliver as a peacemaker

Vice President J D Vance, left, talks to Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, right, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, center, before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Pool

When privacy disappears: What life looks like inside displacement shelters in Gaza

May 23, 2026
Marwa Rommaneh

In Gaza's displacement shelters, privacy is not suspended; it is erased

Tents and shelters for displaced families in Gaza. Picture by the author, used with permission

They are killing us off- A Poem

May 22, 2026
Marge Piercy

 

The farce of Israel’s ‘liberal’ investigative journalism

May 22, 2026
Sebastian Ben Daniel (John Brown)

A recent exposé on the killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers highlights how even critical news programs form part of an architecture of public denial.

The war in Iran – again – points to the strategic shortcomings of assassination as policy of foreign affairs

May 21, 2026
Brian O'Neill
The coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war in Iran killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with other key regime figures. In doing so, the United States and Israel crossed what The New York Times and others described as “a new Rubicon”: the deliberate, overt killing of a head of state.

Iran war live: Trump says he’s in ‘no hurry’ to reach a deal

May 20, 2026
Elis Gjevori, Adam Hancock and Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

• Iran has warned that the Middle East war would spread far beyond the region if the United States and Israel resumed their attacks.
• US President Donald Trump has given Iran “two to three days” to reach a deal, as his deputy, JD Vance, said the two sides have made a “lot of progress” in talks.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting Russian leader Vladimir Putin for talks expected to focus on energy and weapons deals that are heavily influenced by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
• Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi heading to Tehran for talks. Iran’s state media reported.
• Israeli forces have intercepted another boat from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, the 61st so far, as international outrage grows over the abduction of hundreds of activists.

قصه

یکی‌ بود یکی‌ نبود، غیر از خلأ هیچی‌ نبود. قصهٔ ما از اونجایی شروع میشه که پیروز، پسر بهروز و مهبانو، داشته جلوی خونش که وسط یه جنگل قرار گرفته بود بازی میکرده، که یه مرتبه یه سیرنگ از آسمون سرازیر میشه و تو یه چشم بهم زدن با نوکش یقهٔ پیرهن اونا میگیره و پیروز رو از زمین بلند میکنه و پرواز کنون به سمت لونش تو کوه قاف میره.ا

Chris Hedges: Trump’s Iranian Nightmare

May 19, 2026
Chris Hedges

Trump’s catastrophic miscalculation in Iran and refusal to accept the inevitability of defeat is pushing us towards a global depression and ensuring the suffering and immiseration of millions.

Iran conflict cost global businesses $25bn – Reuters

May 18, 2026

Companies throughout the world have faced supply shocks linked to the Hormuz blockade, the outlet has said

Trump’s Iran warning sends oil prices soaring and markets tumbling

May 18, 2026
Global markets experienced a turbulent start to the week, with Asian stocks largely retreating and oil prices surging, following a stark warning from Donald Trump to Tehran that "the clock is ticking" amid stalled negotiations over a permanent end to the conflict.

LIVE BLOG: Iran Rejects US Conditions as Hezbollah Escalates Attacks – Day 78

May 17, 2026
Israeli attacks killed and wounded Palestinians in Gaza as Hezbollah escalated strikes and Israeli military losses mounted.

An Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon. (Photo: video grab, via social media)

Araghchi: BRICS look at Iran with Different Eyes after “American Failure”

May 16, 2026
Juan Cole
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The BRICS (a broad geopolitical group including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and United Arab Emirates) held a summit for foreign ministers in New Delhi on May 14-15 that was overshadowed by the relatively fruitless Trump meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Iran, which attended as an observer, was naturally a big subject of conversation.