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.

Iran May Have Little to Lose as U.S. Tries to Squeeze Its Economy

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Experts warn that a campaign aimed at avoiding military escalation could instead provoke it, as Iranian leaders vow retaliation across the oil-rich Gulf.

Screenshot taken from this NYT article. | Drivers waiting at a taxi station in Tehran last month. Credit: Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times
Facing a fresh economic assault from the United States, Iran’s leaders are gambling that they can weather the coming storm and make the cost of their suffering felt in an oil-rich region that is critical to the global economy.

With Iran’s devastating economic crisis deepening, experts warn, Iranian leaders may feel they have little to lose by responding to U.S. pressure with the kind of military escalation President Trump now seems keen to avoid.

“The harder Washington pushes third countries to sever Iran’s remaining lifelines, the stronger Tehran’s incentive becomes to demonstrate that participating in Iran’s isolation carries costs of its own,” said Sina Toossi, an Iran expert at the Center for International Policy.

For months, as military confrontation has slowed, Iran’s struggle with Washington has amounted to a game of chicken over who can withstand the economic pain longer. » | Erika Solomon and Sanam Mahoozi | Tuesday, August 25, 2026

China Responds to US Sanctions: "Illegal" Threat over Iran Trade Branded ‘Operation Economic Outcast’

Aug 25, 2026 | China has officially slammed US threats of secondary sanctions over its trade with Iran, calling the measures illegal and vowing to take "all necessary measures" to defend its national interests. As Beijing continues to purchase an estimated 80% of Iran’s oil exports, this standoff puts the Trump administration's "Operation Economic Outcast" to the ultimate test. While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on 60 individuals, entities, and vessels tied to Iranian trade, Chinese financial institutions were noticeably absent from the list. When asked why the White House stopped short of targeting Beijing directly, Bessent responded: "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?"

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

It doesn’t matter what scheme or ‘operation’ these ineffective people dream up, they are destined to lose this war with Iran. Iranians are an extremely intelligent and very well-educated people. They are also wily. If I am not greatly mistaken, victory is Iran’s for the taking. — © Mark Alexander

Professor Marandi: Global Consensus Growing that Israeli Regime, Allies Are a 'Menace to Humanity'

Speaking on Al Mayadeen’s The Grand Standoff: Iran and the World on Monday, Professor Mohammad Marandi said he believes “the future belongs to the people of the region.”

He said Iran’s resistance and resilience, together with its partners in the Axis of Resistance, have brought about an “enormous and extraordinary change.” Professor Marandi added that the broader global resistance movement is also part of this shift, saying it exists across the world and is standing up against the Israeli regime.

“There is a broad consensus across the world, across the global majority, across the Global South, and even increasingly in the West, that the United States and the Israeli regime, the US government, the regime in Washington, and the Israeli regime and their allies are a menace to humanity,” he said.

Prof. Mohammad Marandi explains.

U.S. Treasury Secretary's Total Fail on Iran

August 23, 2026

Scott Bessent thinks that America can grow its way out of its $40 trillion national debt! Who the hell is he trying to kid? A country would need one hell of a lot of economic growth to be able to grow its way out of a debt as big as that! That man is living in Cloud-cuckoo-land! He is also talking tosh! — © Mark Alexander