It is impossible to forget the ‘signature event’ of June 2026, when Donald Trump unexpectedly flew from the G7 summit in Evian les Bains to Versailles, and even more unexpectedly signed up to Iran’s proposed ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ to permanently settle conflict in W Asia. For those who understood what was in the document -… Continue reading The Moratorium on Understanding
Category: Iran
Birth and Rebirth in Mashad
The city of Mashad is hardly known in the Western world, despite being the most visited religious site in Islam. Its location in the far North East corner of Iran, across the great central desert, makes it a natural place of pilgrimage for Shia muslims, both from Iran and Iraq, and from Afghanistan and Pakistan… Continue reading Birth and Rebirth in Mashad
Revered – or Reviled?
On the first day of the funeral for Iran’s martyred spiritual leader, when tens of millions of Iranians came to ‘pay their respects’ at the Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran, SBS’ reporter Liz Maddox had this to say: ..Ayatollah Khamenei, killed in the opening salvo of the US-israeli attack in February, reviled by many Iranians… Continue reading Revered – or Reviled?
The Yellow Line and the Red Lines.
If one thing can be said about Iran’s commitment to the terms of its MoU – the same terms as were presented at the start of ‘negotiations’ in the ’10-point plan’ – it must be that the Palestinian cause lies at the heart of that commitment, and that of the Resistance. Because the current proposals,… Continue reading The Yellow Line and the Red Lines.
Drone-strike Trickery in the Gulf
On June 4th, Sydney time, Al Jazeera showed the video below of damage to Kuwait International Airport, from which the leading photo is taken. What appears to be a recently fired interceptor rocket is shown being hosed down in a car park near the terminal, at some time during the previous night. Al Jazeera’s broadcast… Continue reading Drone-strike Trickery in the Gulf
Trump’s Kiss of Death
In what appears to have been a final effort to ensure that the comatose ‘peace agreement’ with Iran will never regain consciousness, President Trump just added a game-changing new condition to the US demand list: in order to sign onto the proposed regional peace agreement to end the war on Iran, Arab states supporting the… Continue reading Trump’s Kiss of Death
Persian Gulf; Signing Up or Signing Out.
As I wrote in “Persian Gulf; Departure Point”, no further negotiations or mutual agreements can or will be made between Iran and its opponents. The constant flow of reports on ‘progress’ in talks and even suggestions that an agreement is close bear no relation to the reality, and is being generated by individuals and groups… Continue reading Persian Gulf; Signing Up or Signing Out.
Persian Gulf; Departure Point.
I think it can be said that ‘negotiations’ between the US and Iran are now finished, notwithstanding that they don’t appear to have actually taken place. This is not because of the supposed failure of Iran to join talks in Islamabad, or to fail to agree on its requirements for an end to the conflict.… Continue reading Persian Gulf; Departure Point.
BBC misses the Bridge; Bushra Sheikh finds it.
A month ago I speculated on the possible consequences of the US bombing of the Karaj bridge, an act of international vandalism and spite which could only be described as a war crime, given the bridge was unfinished and with no military significance. While we wait to see if ‘hostilities resume’ – or when they… Continue reading BBC misses the Bridge; Bushra Sheikh finds it.
An Open and Shut Case
In the end it has come down to this – an inability in the American mind to comprehend the most basic of truths about ‘the other’ – being that its assumed exceptionalism amounts to nothing in the mind of Iranians. The leaders of the hegemon simply cannot accept that their presence in W Asia is… Continue reading An Open and Shut Case