Trump Has No Path in Iran

July 23, 2026

Trump Wants to Drag Us into Another War?

October 11, 2026

Trump’s Retreat: From the Gulf to Britain, American Forces Pull Back

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A war that was intended to demonstrate the reach of American power has now done the opposite. It is a lesson in unintended consequences.

To hear President Trump and his aides describe it, the rush to withdraw 12 B-1 bombers from an air base in Britain over the weekend was a prudent precaution, in response to a threat they refused to describe.

It was no big deal, Mr. Trump insisted, and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, tried to wave it away by noting that the Pentagon is “constantly reallocating resources where they need to be.”

But to anyone watching the deployment of American power around the globe in the seven months since Mr. Trump decided to attack Iran, it was another glaring example of how, time after time, Mr. Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have been forced into retreat, pulling back military forces that had been deployed to the Middle East and Britain as a deterrent.

Over the past several months, as the conflict has dragged on, the Iran war has come to reveal enormous new American vulnerabilities, forcing changes that the Pentagon was not contemplating a year ago. But it has also proved a bitter lesson in the unintended consequences that have flowed from Mr. Trump’s war of choice. » | David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt | David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt have reported on American conflicts and geopolitical strategy for the Times for more than forty years. Mr. Sanger is a White House correspondent and Mr. Schmitt covers the Pentagon. | Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Iran Has DESTROYED U.S. Bases in the Gulf (w/ John Mearsheimer)

September 30, 2026

Houthis Claim Biggest Advancement This Year in Yemen | BBC News>

Sep 18, 2026 | Iran-backed Houthi rebels have made significant gains in Yemen on the Red Sea coast, impacting Saudi Arabian exports and contributing to the continued price of a barrel of oil at above $100.

Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of the Islamic holy city of Mecca on Tuesday evening, according to the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said attacks on Mecca and Medina province, where Islam's second holiest shrine is located, constituted an "unacceptable and intolerable transgression".

Meanwhile, the US has allowed Iranian officials to attend the UN General Assembly next week in New York. The delegation will take part in the United Nations General Assembly's grand debate for 2026, but will face strict travel restrictions whilst they are in the country.

Iran Declates "No Negotiations" Until Its Terms Are Met – w/ Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi

September 12, 2026

Iran Warns of 'Heavier Response' after Trading Strikes with US in Strait of Hormuz | BBC News

Sep 7, 2026 | Iran's top negotiator warns of "a faster, heavier, and more painful response" to US attacks, after the sides traded strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes as Iran's security chief says Tehran will announce a prohibited zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, saying any ship entering the area will be added to a sanctions list.

Seyed M. Marandi: U.S.-Iran War Enters a New Dangerous Phase

Sep 6, 2026 | Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi is a professor at Tehran University and a former advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiation team. Marandi discusses a new phase of the US-Iran War as both the US and Iran aim to assert escalation dominance.

IRGC Vows ‘Most Severe’ Revenge Strikes after US Bombs Iranian Oil Tankers

Sep 5, 2026 | Iran has issued a fresh and furious warning to the United States, threatening a “more severe” and potentially expanded military response if Washington continues its naval blockade and what Tehran calls the harassment of Iranian commercial vessels. The warning comes after U.S. forces said three Iranian oil carriers were hit. Iran’s armed forces have warned that American military vessels could face intensified strikes, while Tehran says Washington will bear responsibility for the consequences of continued aggression. With the U.S. tightening pressure around Iranian shipping and the Strait of Hormuz, fears are growing that the confrontation could escalate into a much wider regional war.

What Would Happen If South Korea Joins War on Iran?

Prof Mohammad Marandi shares his opinion.

Fears of Return to All Out US-Iran War after Sharp Escalation in Deadly Strikes | BBC News

Sep 2, 2026 | Iran and the United States have carried out on the biggest exchange of attacks since July, stoking fears of a return to all out war.

Iran said 18 people were killed and more than 100 injured in latest US bombardment. It accused the US of committing a war crime by striking a wedding in the city of Kuhestak, killing four people including two children. The Pentagon responded by saying it does not target civilians.

In retaliation, Iran launched a wave of strikes against American targets in the region, including in Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, and Bahrain. President Trump is warning that the US is prepared to carry out further strikes in response to those attacks.

There are warnings of a serious impact on the global economy, with further disruption to oil and gas supplies, affecting inflation and global borrowing costs.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Caroline Hawley and Jeremy Bowen.

US-Iran Conflict Has ‘Makings of a Tinderbox’ as Putin Assures Iran of Russia’s Support

Sep 2, 2026 | “This really has the makings of a possible tinderbox.”

The US has struck Iran after Putin expressed solidarity with Tehran which means that the US-Iran conflict can get “particularly out of hand”, says former US colonel Cedric Leighton.

Is MBS Out of Money as Saudi Seeks Loan to Cover Costs due to Iran War? | Vantage on Firstpost

September 1, 2026 | The Gulf spent years building an economic fortress on the back of oil wealth, diversification and a promise of stability. But the Iran war is putting that model under unprecedented pressure.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly exploring billions of dollars in fresh borrowing, Qatar is facing a severe LNG shock, while Bahrain and Kuwait are seeing mounting financial stress. Even the UAE, the region’s most diversified economy, has taken a hit.

Growth forecasts for the GCC have been sharply downgraded. The message is clear: the Gulf may have enormous financial reserves, but when war disrupts energy, trade and transport, even the region’s deepest pockets can feel the strain.

The Iran War Is the Biggest Strategic Blunder in US History (w/ John Mearsheimer) | TCHR

Aug 30, 2026 | John Mearsheimer breaks down the current state of the Iran War, and how the conflict increasingly appears to look like the most dire strategic mistake in US history.

Trump Allies Won’t Defend ‘Lake America’ Stunt | Harriet Alexander

Aug 29, 2026 | “A lot of Americans are quite embarrassed by this.”

Even Trump supporters reportedly think renaming Lake Ontario is “a bit ridiculous”, but the move is designed simply to “kick the hornet’s nest and get everybody talking”, says Harriet Alexander.

‘Iran War Is Effectively Done’: Trump Adviser Reflects On 6 Months Of Iran Conflict

Aug 28, 2026 | “The Strait of Hormuz is not going to be used by Iran to blackmail the world again.”

National security adviser to Trump KT McFarland says the US-Iran conflict is “effectively done” as Iranian nuclear weapons are buried underneath mountains and oil is increasingly being moved through Middle Eastern pipelines.


KT McFarland is a far-right loon! Nothing she says should be taken seriously. She utters nonsense. — © Mark Alexander

'Trump Is a Catastrophe for the Entire Planet' – Professor Mohammad Marandi

Professor Marandi is spot-on ! Trump is a disaster!

Six Months In, Iran’s Regime Stands, U.S. Goals Remain Unmet

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | A man holding an Iranian flag in an apartment destroyed by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran earlier this year. Credit: Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Trump’s replacement of a military war with a heightened economic one is not expected to alter Iran’s strategy, while further impoverishing its people.

It was supposed to be quick.

Still, six months after the U.S. and Israel launched massive airstrikes on Iran, the conflict drags on. The Trump administration has replaced its military war with an economic one, but the result is likely to be no different, analysts said, with a lack of American clarity about goals, a decline in American credibility and a strategic defeat.

One thing remains constant, however. The ordinary people of Iran are bearing the brunt of the war, victims of both the United States and their own leaders.

On the first day of the war, Feb. 28, President Trump promised Iranians that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.” Six months later, his administration is trying to impoverish them further, hoping against hope that they will revolt against a repressive, militarized regime and overthrow it.

The Iranian leadership, increasingly dominated by military men, sees its own survival as the nation’s, and it considers the sacrifices of ordinary Iranians as a necessary act of patriotism and even martyrdom. It has been ever more ruthless in stamping out the slightest signs of dissent. » | Steven Erlanger | Steven Erlanger, based in Berlin, has covered Iran and the diplomacy around it for many years. | Friday, August 28, 2026

Iran and Oman Announce Hormuz Deal - What Does This Mean for Trump’s ‘Economic Onslaught’

August 27, 2026 | Pakistan is the latest country to hit back after the White House threatened countries who trade with Iran.

China has already said it won’t be taking orders from America.

So is this another failed bid by Donald Trump to bend Iran and its backers to his will? Or could this actually work?

Several senior Iranian leaders have recently acknowledged the economic pain that the country and its people are feeling.

On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Mohammed Marandi, a professor at Tehran University and a former adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team to get a view from inside Iran.

Trump’s Iran Gamble: Will It Backfire? | The Global Story

Aug 27, 2026 | There have been a lot of sanctions programmes against Iran. But this week US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast, which promises to go further than ever before. It will punish not just Iran but any country helping Iran - including China. It is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to end the war. Will it work? We speak to Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, and ask whether in trying to end one war, President Trump risks starting a global trade conflict.