Iranian missile display at the Holy Defense Museum in Tehran -- Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad The gravest danger in the present war is not that Iran has already decided to manufacture a nuclear weapon. There is no verified evidence of such a decision. The danger is that another major US escalation could convince Tehran that remaining a non-nuclear state inside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) no longer provides protection, recogni

Axadem, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad Dear friends and colleagues, The United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran in February of this year. For six months, US missiles and bombs have fallen upon civilian and military targets inside the country. Hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and neighbourhoods have been struck. The 168 schoolgirls killed in Minab have become the terrible symbol of this war. Iranians have been forced to live

Vessels in the Staright of Hormuz -- image via news video screenshot By Vijay Prashad For more than three decades, the United States has treated Middle Eastern diplomacy as an exercise in writing the terms for others. Iran’s emerging regional strategy is challenging that privilege. The immediate evidence is emerging in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and Oman are negotiating an arrangement under which Tehran could oversee vessels entering the Gulf while Muscat manages outbound tra

From the Civil War and World War I to the ongoing conflict in Iran, America’s and other nations’ expectations of war have repeatedly been challenged by the realities that emerge once fighting begins. U.S. Marines in their gas masks during a gas mask drill, France, WWI, 1917 By John P. Ruehl A nominal ceasefire reached in April 2026 has done little to halt the escalation in the Persian Gulf. After Iran’s “attempted surprise attack” against US forces on July 28, the US retaliat

Marco Rubio meets with the Saudi Foreign Minister, June 25, 2026 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad On 22 July, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed what Washington calls a ‘peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement.’ The agreement has been presented as a commercial arrangement that will help Saudi Arabia diversify its energy system while creating a vast new market for US-based nuclear companies. But its significance goes far beyond the construction of power stations.

Trump signs a Memorandum of Understanding between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States on June 17 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad The Iran–US Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) emerged not from reconciliation, but from exhaustion and strategic failure by the United States and its allies. It was the product of a war that had reached its political limits. Washington and Tel Aviv presented their illegal war of aggression as a necessary response to Iran’s nuc

A rally of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement -- Photo source: redacaonline By Guillermo Barreto The right to food and to choose what we plant, how we plant it, how we harvest it, how we distribute it, and even how we cook it is what is known as food sovereignty: a central concept when discussing people’s sovereignty, introduced by the international peasant movement known as La Vía Campesina during the World Food Summit in 1996. Food sovereignty is defined as ‘the right of p

Automation has shaped governments for decades, but new AI-driven systems are taking on functions from warfare to welfare. Promising speed and efficiency, their growing influence over decision-making complicates political accountability and risks autonomous governance being beyond human control. Miami-Dade fully autonomous patrol vehicle -- image via news video screenshot By John P. Ruehl In April, the General Services Administration announced plans to automate 1 million work

A scene in Tehran, March 4, 2026 -- Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Ali Abutalebi On April 7, the Prime Minister of Pakistan posted on X a call for an ‘extension of the deadline,’ following Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s ‘civilization.’ Shortly afterward, diplomatic sources announced that U.S. and Iranian authorities had agreed to a ‘ceasefire’ and to resume talks in Islamabad. These developments came after 40 days of unprovoked aggression aga

Gathering in Tehran on April 7 in memory of the Minab students killed on the first day of the war -- Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Carlos Ron and Vijay Prashad The United States has agreed with Iran to cease hostilities for two weeks. The illegal US and Israeli imposed war has not ended but has a break, although not in Lebanon which was supposed to be part of the deal. Just before the ceasefire was announced, the Iranian authorities released a ten-p

Trump with Pete Hegseth on March 23 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad US President Donald Trump has increasingly become unhinged as the war on Iran has not gone as he imagined. Both the United States and Israel felt that a series of domination strikes against Iran would decapitate the leadership of the country and force the remaining mid-level leaders into surrender. The miscalculation of the Trump-Netanyahu agenda has been total: a depth of wartime leadership has emerg

Trump addresses the nation, April 1, 2026 -- public domain image By Dae-Han Song Trump is infamous for his cavalier disregard for the truth. So, we, in South Korea, should inspect his words and claims critically. In fact, many of the claims in his recent 1 April (US time) address are false and constitute disinformation. So, let’s cut through the fog of war: Lie One: The US is Winning the War Against Iran. The US might have air and naval superiority, but Iran’s control of the

Signs at a No Kings protest in Washington DC, March 28 -- G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Biljana Vankovska We are living through times where the architecture of global peace is not merely crumbling; it is being deliberately dismantled. The drums of global war beat louder than ever, drowning out the voices of reason. Across the globe, imperial power grinds forward, indifferent to human lives. In the face of such force, silence is complicity. We are com

Trump and Vance at a ceremony for the return of the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, Saturday, March 7, 2026 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad Last year, in July, the United States and Israel bombarded Iran’s nuclear energy and nuclear research facilities over twelve days. After a few days, the two belligerent powers—who had no United Nations authorisation for this war of aggression—opened the door for a ceasefire . At that time,

The Cayman Islands sits at the heart of a network of British financial jurisdictions. Together, they manage trillions in assets, influencing global capital flows and investment networks. Flag of the Cayman Islands -- Dickelbers, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By John P. Ruehl China, which was the largest holder of U.S. government debt as recently as 2019 , has cut its holdings to the lowest level since 2008 , driven by changing trade patterns, geopolitical concerns, and

Trump on March 19, 2026 -- public domain image By Biljana Vankovska A few days ago, I had the honor of participating in an international webinar organized by SHAPE —Serving Humanity and Planet Earth. As its name suggests, this project is focused on safeguarding humanity and the planet, and its acronym carries a meaningful symbolism: shaping. The theme I addressed, alongside distinguished figures such as Richard Falk, Joseph Camilleri, Chandra Muzaffar, and Helena Cobban, was

Flag at a ceremony on Wednesday March 18, 2026 -- Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad Wars are rarely decided on the battlefield alone. Military campaigns can destroy cities and kill large numbers of people, but political outcomes are defined by endurance, legitimacy, and the historical currents that flow beneath the immediate violence. While the war that US President Donald Trump imposed on the people of Iran may produce tactical victories f

U.S. military action is disrupting key energy suppliers, putting China’s reliance on foreign sources to the test. Even as Beijing strengthens domestic capacity and diversifies imports, the crisis exposes the limits of its energy strategy. A tanker docked in the Chinese port of Qingdao -- Benlisquare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Brittani Banks (WP User) and John P. Ruehl China’s energy security may be put to its first true test in 2026 with the seizure of Venezuelan

The US-Israeli strikes against Iran are part of a decades-long war against the Islamic Republic which has refused to bow to US demands that it surrender its sovereignty. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile at Iran, February 28 -- public domain image By Vijay Prashad Having just formed the Board of Peace, the United States and Israel have begun the board’s first war, this time on Iran. The US-Israel attack launched ear

Cuban and Palestinian flags outside the University of Havana, May 2024 By Biljana Vankovska Últimamente, me encuentro pensando en una personaje de la antigua película partisana yugoslava La batalla de Sutjeska . La película está dedicada a la heroica batalla y a la brillante maniobra táctica de Tito para liberar a las unidades partisanas rodeadas. Sin embargo, ese no es mi tema aquí, aunque ahora estemos hablando de un cerco mucho mayor que se cierne sobre la humanidad. En un