History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
“Contain Iran,” “contain Russia,” and “contain China” are mantras in Washington, D.C. “Containment,” a concept introduced in George Kennan’s “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” (1947) and expanding on his celebrated “Long Telegram” (1946), has been misapplied by U.S. policymakers, from Vietnam to post-Soviet Russia to Iran.
Taking a short break. I leave you with the video recording of “O Iran” (Ey Iran) performed by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra at Azadi Square following Iran’s victory over Israel. Brief history of the song, its composer, and lyricist, are included.
Euro Troika (UK, FR, DE) are threatening to trigger “Snapback Sanctions” on Iran. This would be an act of malevolence against the Iranian people given Israel’s and USA’s illegal attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran, however, has potent “Snapback” tools at its disposal.
Tel Aviv thought the Islamic Republic would collapse with some strike operations, targeted assassinations, and car bombs. Instead, the Israelis are getting a historic battering as Iranians rally fiercely behind their government and armed forces (link to article at external site).
Hundreds of Afghans arrested for aiding Israel; suspected Mossad ties to Ahmad Massoud’s “National Resistance Front”; “Westoxified” (gharbzadegi) Afghan diaspora hates Shia Iran but expects Tehran to host Afghan refugees; ca. 250,000 Afghans deported in June 2025.
In a series of fiery tweets, Ayatollah Khamenei demarcated Iran’s red lines. Trump has two choices: violate his own red lines or go to war.
A cheeky opinion piece on the “Putin Derangement Syndrome” (PDS) that has liberals losing their minds.
An Iranian source published a video on 24 May 2025 purporting to demonstrate Iran’s ICBM potential.
My Memorial Day Weekend post consisting of a sample of clips of former CIA and U.S. Army officers voicing views about a U.S.-led war against Iran. Includes bonus clips of prominent American conservative voices rejecting war with Iran.
Netflix’s recent documentary, “American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden,” features CIA and National Security players from that era who inadvertently expose CIA’s institutional incompetence. As one Congressman said “the truth is we have an intelligence network that is so dumb they could throw themselves at the ground and miss.” Clips and comments in the post.
Perspectives 
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