United States

Barrack: US Will Back Israeli Withdrawal if Hezbollah Disarms

According to MTV, United States Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack informed Lebanese officials, during his visit to Beirut on June 19, that a government’s public commitment to disarming Hezbollah would significantly advance the issue of Israeli withdrawal from the five hills at the border. This effort, he asserted, would ...

US-Iran: What Is Next?

While most international media are focused on what will happen today or this week between America and Iran, the real story is much bigger—the complete turning of the tables on Iran. While the headlines focus on whether Trump's ceasefire will hold, too many commentators are losing sight of the fact that Iran is trying to surrender (without ...

US Intel Says Strikes Did Not Destroy Iran Nuclear Program

A classified preliminary US intelligence report has concluded that American strikes on Iran set back Tehran's nuclear program by just a few months -- rather than destroying it as claimed by President Donald Trump. US media on Tuesday cited people familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) findings as saying the weekend strikes did ...

How Iran's 'Telegraphed' Strikes on Qatari Soil Paved Way to Israel Truce

Iran's unprecedented strikes on a US base in Qatar were carefully calculated to provide an exit from hostilities with Washington and set up a truce with Israel, according to analysts and an official. Monday's missile launches were signaled well in advance, minimizing the risk of injury and giving every opportunity to shoot down the projectiles, ...

Iran Says Not Seeking Nuclear Weapons But Will Assert 'Legitimate Rights'

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons but would continue to defend its "legitimate rights" in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. As a fragile ceasefire with Israel took hold after 12 days of fighting that also included US strikes, Pezeshkian told his counterpart from the United Arab ...

Oil Slides, Stocks Rise as Trump Says Iran-Israel Ceasefire Holds

Oil prices sank and stock markets rose Tuesday as US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was taking hold after he berated both countries for violating the truce. In volatile trading, crude futures slumped more than five percent after Trump announced a ceasefire. "This morning's ceasefire further reduced the perceived ...

Drones Hit Radar Systems at Iraqi Military Bases

Unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Iraq early Tuesday, security sources said. The strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles at a US military facility in Qatar --the largest US military facility in the Middle East -- in retaliation for the American bombing of Tehran's nuclear facilities. The first attack ...

Debating Tom Friedman on ‘Global Struggle’

I have great admiration for Thomas Friedman and have long followed his writings. He was instrumental in shaping my support for democracy when he argued that two democracies would not go to war. He supported toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, as I did, and we both believe that the nation-state is, in some ways, a defunct concept. Today, ...

Israel-Iran, Day 12: Daybreak Confusion, Ceasefire Claims Collide with Renewed Strikes

At dawn on Tuesday, uncertainty still seems to master of ceremony. What was announced just hours earlier as the beginning of a ceasefire appeared anything but, as missile sirens blared across Israeli cities and explosions lit up the skies over Tehran. As U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire had taken effect Tuesday morning, ...

Iran Says "No Agreement" as of Now on Ceasefire With Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that there was no ceasefire agreement with Israel as of now, but if it stopped its attacks then Tehran would also stop firing. "As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations," Araghchi posted on social media, shortly after the US president announced ...

Trump Says Israel and Iran Agree To "Total Ceasefire"

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Iran and Israel had agreed to a staggered ceasefire that would bring about an "official end" to a conflict that had threatened to escalate into a full-blown war involving the United States. "It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total ...