History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
In 2025 and 2026, US and Israeli wars against Iran transformed Tehran's nuclear program from transparent to highly opaque. Iran now possesses 440.9kg of scattered highly-enriched uranium, complicating potential strikes by US forces. The mention of “Pickaxe Mountain” reflects disinformation tactics employed by Israel.
Sat., 15-Aug-26, is the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s victory over the US. In a 20-minute podcast, two discussants analyze the intellectual failures that led to the US’s strategic defeat. It is based on Shivan Mahendrarajah’s article in “Small Wars & Insurgencies,” and “is a scathing indictment of Generals Petraeus, McChrystal, et al., who brought military hardware to a political battlefield.” The “Afghan Surge” was doomed from day one. Generals were blind to the Taliban’s Maoist “revolutionary warfare” strategy (Rev. War = Guerrilla Activity + Political Activity); and systematic development of “parallel hierarchies” (shadow state) throughout rural villages.
“The Iranian missile cities the US could not destroy” by the Financial Times caused a stir, but Iran specialists knew that underground bases were selected for their geography and geology. They are impregnable. Evidence and analysis in the essay.
Note on the Iran War, and announcement that ‘Perspectives’ now has a podcast that you can follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, etc.
China’s satellite network provides Iran with 24/7/365 coverage and real-time updates: SIGINT, terrain mapping, telemetry; radar, optical, and infrared all-weather, day & night imaging, allowing Iran to precisely strike Israeli and U.S. targets. Details in the essay.
Trump’s Gamble. On Easter Weekend, 4–5 April, US Special Forces suffered a debacle near the nuclear site in Isfahan. Trump’s social media meltdown was because the plan to seize Iran’s enriched uranium failed. The “pilot rescue” story is false. Read the essay at my website.
Shivan Mahendrarajah’s book, The Sufi Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi‘i Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2021) explores the history, religion, politics, and architecture of Ahmad-i-Jam’s shrine, located in eastern Iran. Sunni shrine and community have thrived for over 900 years. This is of particular relevance given prevailing assumptions about Iran’s alleged sectarian and intolerant Shi‘i theocracy.
Videos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s life and funeral. The six day event over five cities in Iraq and Iran drew 40–43 million mourners in six cities across Iraq and Iran, making it the largest funeral in recorded history. It is likely to be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s interview with “Iran Talks.” In a 90-minute discussion, he covers a range of topics: Twelve-Day War, duplicitous negotiations with the US, treacherous Arab neighbors, the Ramazan War, and the MOU. In Persian with English subtitles. A summary by DropSite News is included.
On 17 June 2026, Trump signed the US-Iran MOU at Versailles, France, saying, “this was not easy.” The symbolism of signing an “unconditional surrender” at Versailles was evidently lost on the illiterates at the White House. Israelis, to complete the World War I parallel, supplied the anti-Versailles slogan of Nazism by describing the agreement as a “stab in the back.”
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