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.
On the night of 4-5 April, US Special Forces suffered a debacle near Isfahan. Trump claims the operation was a pilot rescue, but that’s false. His meltdowns on 5th and 6th April were a consequence of the failure of some plan. Consensus is that the failed op was to seize Iran’s enriched U-235 at Isfahan. Note: Please see essay of 8 April, “The Jews of Iran,” which has an update. Included at the end of this essay is a note covering the negotiations in Islamabad last weekend and the blockade of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz!
Trump is refusing to accept that the United States has suffered a “strategic defeat” in the war he started for Israel. BBC News just got caught trying to manufacture consent for the use of nuclear weapons on Iran. US-Israel terror campaign continues and may intensify when Trump’s “Bridge and Power Plant” deadline expires tonight. Israel is now bombing synagogues in Tehran.
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.
The Euro Troika is threatening to “snapback” UN sanctions on Iran. But Tehran has a history of combatting pressure with pressure. What are Tehran’s options?
An Iranian source published a video on 24 May 2025 purporting to demonstrate Iran’s ICBM potential.
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.
Trump has re-imposed “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran and Ayatollah Khamenei closed the JCPOA file. Where does Iran go from here? The U.S. oil embargo on Japan and Pearl Harbor suggest military scenarios.
In a speech to the military, Ayatollah Khamenei took a firm stance against new negotiations with the U.S. Subtitled video at link, with my comments.
“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.
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