History, Religion, Politics, Culture, and Travels in the Islamic World
The US is publicly seeking informants inside Iran’s nuclear program, a signal that the US intelligence community lacks a clear picture of its status. In asking for tips, CENTCOM just confirmed that Iran’s nuclear status is a black box.
Trump wanted to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age.” Fair enough, but what were Iranians doing in their actual Stone Age? Inventing the yakhchal, an ancient engineering marvel that made ice in the desert. That innovation gave rise to sharbat, sorbetto, and faluda—desserts and drinks now enjoyed from Europe to Asia.
Iran’s security chief warns US data centers, AI facilities, and undersea cables in the Persian Gulf are next. See the named targets and cable routes at risk.
Why does Iran fight? What motivates Iranians? An open letter to the American people, published 29 September 2026, lays out the case in Tehran’s own words.
Saudi Arabia reignited war with Yemen's Ansarallah (Houthis) on 13 July, deploying mercenary forces. Ansarallah struck back, hitting Saudi military bases and oil facilities, including the East-West pipeline. By September 11, they'd captured Yemen's west coast and key Red Sea islands, securing fire-control over the southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab
“War is math” is an adage in military sciences. Trump, Hegseth, and Rubio threatened Iran with “tanker for tanker” in the “tanker wars,” but forgot to count the tankers available for Iran to bomb: GCC members (minus Oman) are combatant states; their tankers are, therefore, legitimate targets. This morning, in addition to targeting eight GCC tankers, ten enemy merchant vessels, and two US warships in retaliation for US strikes on five Iranian tankers, Iran launched three waves of ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan.
On Tue. evening, 1 Sep., Trump, following Obama’s practices from AFPAK, bombed a wedding in Sirik, Iran, killing and injuring scores of men, women, and children. This has opened the gates for Iran to retaliate disproportionately. A “perfect storm”—economic and military—is brewing against the US. Will Tehran press its advantage?
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.
Note on the Iran War, and announcement that ‘Perspectives’ now has a podcast that you can follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, etc.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.