Oman as Venue for U.S.-Iran Talks

A primer on why Iran insisted on Oman as venue for talks. U.S. sought UAE—its vassal state—as venue for the Araghchi-Witkoff indirect meetings, but Iran held firm.

“Israel likely to strike Iran in coming months”

Oh, goody. Finally, a war that I can fully support! Brief comments on The Washington Post “leak” is below.

Israel’s Gripe with Iran has nothing to do with Nuclear Weapons

Israel’s real gripe is that Iran is a nationalist, non-vassal state with 90 million literate and educated people. If Iran is allowed to freely develop, it will become an economic and military superpower. Hence, permanent sanctions to hobble Iran. In the absence of diplomacy, Tehran has only one path left: war with Israel and U.S.

Is Trump really ready to negotiate with Iran?

“Trump’s exploratory outreach to Iran, presented as a clean slate, stands in stark contrast to the turbulence of his hawkish first term. Is this a sincere effort at diplomacy or a calculated salvo to throw his opponents off guard?” My essay, published by Cradle Media, can be accessed at the link published on my site. For copyright reasons, I cannot post the full text. Thanks.

Iran-Russia Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Signed 17 January 2025, Kremlin, Moscow, between Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The agreement had been negotiated for years, but the U.S.-NATO imposed war on Russia, and decades-long U.S.-Israel economic war imposed on Iran, added impetus to negotiations and shaped the agreement. The full text has been published. The partnership includes military and intelligence cooperation in addition to economic, energy, and science and technology cooperation.

Axis of Resistance: Who’s In/Out? Objectives?

Rashid Khalidi’s statement that the Axis (AoR) “was designed by Iran to protect the Iranian regime. . . . It wasn’t designed to protect Palestine,” is ahistorical on multiple levels, but raises questions such as (1) who is in/out of AoR?; and (2) what is Iran’s strategic goal?; how will AoR help Iran achieve its objectives?

Christianity in Syria

The Assad regime afforded protections to Syria’s diverse minority faiths: assorted Christian denominations, Alawi Shiʿa (Nusayri), Druze, and Twelver Shiʿa. The Barbarians are inside the gates; the future of Syrian Christianity is uncertain. A photoblog, with commentary on Christianity in Damascus and Ma‘aloula.

Memories of Aleppo, Syria (II): Dead Cities and St. Simeon Stylites

Second photoblog on Aleppo, Syria, and its surroundings. Includes brief comments on St. Simeon and the 700–750 abandoned settlements in northern Syria dating to the transition period from Roman rule to Byzantine rule.

The HTS Offensive and Memories of Aleppo, Syria

Turkish-, American-, and Israeli-backed HTS terrorists (“rebels” in the parlance of the west) have besieged Aleppo in northern Syria, prompting this photo blog. Background note on HTS, which is derived from al-Qaiʾda, along with an observation on who benefits (cui bono?) from this offensive, are included.

IAEA’s Gift to IRGC

UK, France, and Germany, instigated by US and Israel, promoted an anti-Iran resolution before the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Commission. It passed. This was a gift to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Another “L” (loss) and “own goal” by the Anglo-American foreign policy establishment.