Scholar Gilbert Achcar on the U.S. War Against Iran & Trump’s “Old-New Imperial Doctrine”

April 30, 2026

We speak with Lebanese-born academic Gilbert Achcar about the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, U.S. foreign policy under President Trump and more. Achcar says Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran are not as dramatic a departure from U.S. policy as some commentators have suggested, calling it “an old-new imperial doctrine.” While the George W. Bush administration believed in “regime change,” says Achcar, Trump is “just going back to 19th-century gunboat diplomacy: You bomb a country until they submit.”

‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’: Trump Threatens Iran With AI Image of Himself Holding a Gun

April 29, 2026
Dave DeCamp

The post comes amid reports that the US is considering restarting the bombing campaign

A view of the UN General Assembly hall in New York during the NPT conference on April 28, 2026 (UN Photo/Manual Elias)

افسانه‌ی بنیان‌گذاری - چرا ناسیونالیسم مسیحی غیرآمریکایی است - نوشته‌ی اندرو- ال- سایدل

این کتاب در سال دو هزار و هجده، و در طول نخستین دورهٔ ریاست جمهوری ترامپ نوشته شده است. در این کتاب انتقاداتی نسبت به ریاست جمهوری ترامپ وجود دارد، اما نکتهٔ اصلی‌ کتاب، همانطور که از عنوان آن می‌توان حدس زد، بررسی این ایده است که ایالات متحده بر اساس و ارکان ناسیونالیسم مسیحی‌ بنا شده است، و این کتاب چنین نظریه‌ای را رد می‌کند. در حقیقت، این یک سند تحقیقی است، چرا که برای هر ادعا نقل قول‌هائی ارائه می‌شود.ا

The Founding Myth- Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American‌- By Andrew L. Seidel

The above titled book was written in 2018, during the first presidency of Donald Trump. It has some criticism of Trump’s presidency here and there, but the main point of the book, as it can be guessed from the title, is investigating the idea that the United States was built on the basis and pillars of Christian Nationalism. Andrew Seidel attempts to disprove such theory. It is a well-researched document, providing quotations for each claim.

Masoud Pezeshkian ; Donald Trump; Vladimir Putin Iran and Russia are gaming the United States, and winning

April 28, 2026
Ian Proud

Is Trump running out of time to end the war before the American economy catches up?

Iran Group’s ICC Evidence of US & Israeli War Crimes

April 27, 2026

Jake Johnson

Since the ICC does not have jurisdiction over war crimes committed on Iranian territory, human rights organizations and advocates have implored Tehran to grant the court jurisdiction, Jake Johnson reports.

International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands. (Vysotsky, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Iran war live: Tehran’s FM returns to Pakistan; Israel attacks Lebanon

April 26, 2026

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has returned to Islamabad, Pakistan, after a brief stint in Oman, where he met with its sultan to discuss efforts to bring an end to the US-Israeli war on his country.
• Israel has carried out more deadly attacks in southern Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “forceful” strikes, accusing Hezbollah of sabotaging peace efforts.
• US President Donald Trump has cancelled his envoys’ visit to Pakistan for negotiations, saying Iran did not make a satisfactory offer for a peace deal.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Tehran will not enter into negotiations with the US under pressure, threats or siege.

Iran seeks Omani, Russian mediation in addition to Pakistan

April 25, 2026
Juan Cole
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to the pro-government Tasnim newspaper, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has begun a trip to Islamabad, Musqat and Moscow. Iran appears to be attempting to widen negotiations beyond Pakistan, feeling that Field Marshall Asim Munir is well-meaning but is captive to Washington and may lack the independence necessary to be a third-party mediator.

Middle East conflict looks increasingly like a war nobody can win

April 24, 2026
Bamo Nouri and Inderjeet Parmar

Describe things as they are: This now is not a war moving toward a decisive conclusion but a conflict settling into a pattern

A billboard in a square in Tehran reads in Persian: “Forever in Iran’s hand.” Photo: Abedin Taherkenareh / EPA

Indestructible Iran: What does D.C. want from Tehran? Regime change, total collapse, or a deal?

April 23, 2026
Joaquin Flores

Trump sounds crazy, but he is not. He is, however, the product of an American empire that had gone completely mad.

Israelis are being recruited as spies for Iran in what security experts call an espionage ‘epidemic’

Apri l22, 2026
Abdaljawad Omar 

Israel has long used the same playbook to recruit informants from enemy societies. Iran is now using it to recruit spies in Israel by exploiting new cracks in Israeli society.

حکومت‌های حاکم بر ایران

بسیاری پرسش می‌کنند که چگونه است که ما نه تنها مطالبی را در موافقت با پاره‌ای از فعالیت‌های جمهوری اسلامی در اینجا عنوان نمی‌کنیم، بلکه بطور یک‌جانبه و صرفا به آنچه که در موافقت با سایر دیدگاه‌ها و یا نظرات می‌باشد می‌پردازیم.  از طرف دیگر و در عین حال در توافق و همسوئی و همصدایی با رژیم‌های پیشین، چون رژیم پهلوی و سایر حکومت‌های حاکم بر ایران، اثری در این مجموعه نمی‌توان یافت.ا

$2 Billion Per Day Spent by US on Iran War Could Have Saved 87 Million Lives, Says UN Humanitarian Chief

April 21, 2026
Stephen Prager

A UN official said a proposal to provide food, water, medicine, and shelter to tens of millions of those facing war and poverty could have been funded “in less than a fortnight of this reckless war.”

Protesters hold signs at the US Capitol to for the Anti-Iran War Rally on January 09, 2020 in Washington DC, United States. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Live: Trump says Iran deal will be signed 'today' in Pakistan

April 20, 2026

Vance and US negotiators are due to arrive in Islamabad within hours, US president says

Trump renews threats to ‘knock out’ Iran’s power plants, bridges if final deal fails

April 19, 2026

Iran has reclosed the Strait of Hormuz due to Washington’s ongoing blockade on the country’s ports

Iran: Strait of Hormuz is Open; but with Conditions

April 18, 2026
Juan Cole
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, announced on “X” Friday morning that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open.”

Victory Disease in Iran

April 17, 2026
Matthew Stevenson 

Old fortification in Oman. Photo by Matthew Stevenson.

War on Iran leaves $58 billion repair bill across region – report

April 16, 2026

US-Israel strikes and Tehran’s retaliation are pushing oil and gas facility damage costs toward $50 billion, Rystad Energy projects

Research reveals that EU AI rules stop at its borders with little accountability for human rights impacts abroad

April 16, 2026

Nadim Nashif

EU exports AI systems that are escalating human rights violations in Palestine and the WANA region

An aerial view of the Flour massacre, when at least 118 Palestinians were killed, and 760 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire while they were seeking food from aid trucks, February 29, 2024. Photo on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

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

No Exit in Iran

April 1, 2026
Mel Gurtov

جنگ برای کیست؟

 حمله به ایران توسط نیروهای آمریکائی و اسرائیلی در روز نهم ماه اسفند سال پیش، مصادف با بیست و هشت فوریهٔ این سال مسیحی‌ آغاز شد. با توجه به اینکه حملهٔ پیشین آنها زمانی‌ صورت گرفت که نمایندگان ایران در حین مذاکرات اتمی‌ بودند، دولت ایران آمادگی چنین حملهٔ غافل‌گیرانه‌ای توسط این دو نیروی متخاصم را داشت، و به سرعت پاسخ داد. البته در این شکّی نیست که نیروی نظامی ایران قدرت مقابله با نیروهای نظامی آمریکا و اسرائیل را ندارد، و بنابراین تلفات ایرانیان بسیار بیشتر از تلفات دو نیروی دیگر می‌باشد، بخصوص که ارتش ایران در مقام دفاع، و نه حمله است.ا