Monthly Archives: September 2024

Israel Has Called Iran’s Bluff

Published by the Atlantic At the center of current conflicts in the Middle East is a long-running staring contest between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. And Netanyahu seems to have calculated that, even if Israel moves ferociously against Khamenei’s so-called Axis of Resistance—the region-wide network of militias arrayed against …

Iran’s Russia Problem

Published by the Atlantic Iran’s newish president and foreign minister could hardly be more different in demeanor. President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks informally, often goes off script, and loves to crack jokes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a career diplomat who earned his Ph.D. in Britain, chooses his words with painstaking precision. But the two men have been saying …

Pezeshkian’s Iraq visit was rich in symbolism, but what did it amount to?

Published in The National For any newly elected leader, picking a country to make his or her first official visit holds great significance. It’s no exception for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who assumed office in July. There was much chatter around which country he would visit first and what that might say about his administration’s foreign policy …