9 Best Articles in 2021
The Economist
Trapped in Iran
The Economist
20+ min read · 2020-01-28 · In July 2019 Nicolas Pelham, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, received a rare journalist’s visa to Iran. On the day he was due to fly home, he was detained
The New Yorker
The Shadow Commander
The New Yorker
20+ min read · From 2015 · Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he’s directing Assad’s war in Syria.
TechCrunch
The State of Digital In Iran
TechCrunch
5 min read · From 2016 · I don’t think anyone really understands the depth of digital upheaval Iran has experienced in the past few years. Social media and e-commerce consumption have both gone topsy-turvy in…
Foreign Affairs
Confronting Iran
Foreign Affairs
1 min read · 2020-01-06 · Donald Trump has come under criticism for meeting with Kim Jong-un and withdrawing America from the Iran nuclear deal. But, in this essay for Foreign Affairs, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo explains how Trump’s strategy of “disruptive boldness” will put “maximum pressure” on these rogue nations. Though Pompeo fails to address some key criticisms of Trump’s approach, he persuasively argues why the president’s policy will succeed in bringing Iran and North Korea to heel. getAbstract recommends this article to those looking for a deeper understanding of Trump’s approach toward Iran and North Korea.
The Economist’s 1843 magazine
Trapped in Iran
The Economist’s 1843 magazine
5 min read · 2020-01-28 · In July 2019 Nicolas Pelham, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, received a rare journalist’s visa to Iran. On the day he was due to fly home, he was detained
The New Yorker
Donald Trump’s Worst Deal
The New Yorker
20+ min read · From 2017 · The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
gisreportsonline.com
Israel’s military is thinking hard about how to win a potential war with Hezbollah and Iran
gisreportsonline.com
1 min read · From 2018 · Tensions between Israel and Iran have reached an all-time high. Although the two states have engaged in a shadow war in Syria and Lebanon for decades, Israel’s recent attack on an Iranian drone base in Syria and Iran’s threat to retaliate have put stakeholders and international observers on high alert. Writing for Geopolitical Intelligence Services, Dr. Amatzia Baram of the University of Haifa outlines the risks and dilemmas Israel faces in regard to Iran’s expanding influence along Israel’s northern border. getAbstract recommends her assessment to anyone with a keen interest in the Middle East.
The Atlantic
Iran Would Destroy Syria to Get Vengeance on Israel
The Atlantic
20+ min read · From 2018 · Iran has played a pivotal role in helping Bashar al-Assad’s regime regain the upper hand in Syria’s civil war. At first glance, the alliance between a revolutionary Shia theocracy and a staunch champion of secular Arab nationalism seems baffling. Some analysts have emphasized the common strategic interests the two countries share. For Iranian-American foreign policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour, however, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision to back Syria’s brutal dictator stems from a much more elemental place: his deep-seated hatred of the state of Israel. getAbstract recommends this article to readers with an interest in Middle East politics.
The New York Times
On North Korea and Iran, Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump
The New York Times
1 min read · From 2019 · North Korea is “unlikely to give up” its nuclear stockpiles and Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, an intelligence assessment says, challenging the president’s assertions.
Trending
The New Yorker
Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran
The New Yorker
7 min read · Jul 16th · Inside the extraordinary final-days conflict between the former President and his chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
CNN
US government seizes dozens of US website domains connected to Iran
CNN
2 min read · Jun 22nd · The United States government has seized dozens of US website domains connected to Iran, linked to what the US says are disinformation efforts, a US national security official told CNN.
New Scientist
Goats were first domesticated in western Iran 10,000 years ago
New Scientist
2 min read · Jun 7th · The earliest genetic evidence for goat domestication comes fossils of goats that lived in the Zagros Mountains of Iran about 10,000 years ago
The Wall Street Journal
Iran-Backed Militias Threaten Revenge After U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq, Syria
The Wall Street Journal
3 min read · Jun 28th · The strikes highlight the challenge facing the Biden administration as it attempts to deter attacks by the Iran-backed paramilitaries without provoking an escalation.
More like this
NPR
How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy in 4 Days
NPR
2 min read · From 2019 · It's no secret that Iran and the U.S. have a history of animosity toward each other. But when and how did it begin? This week we look back at four days in August 1953, when the CIA orchestrated a coup…
WIRED
How Iran's Government Shut Off the Internet
WIRED
3 min read · 2019-11-17 · After years of centralizing internet control, Iran pulled the plug on connectivity for nearly all of its citizens.
The Guardian
World is approaching coronavirus tipping point, experts say
The Guardian
5 min read · 2020-02-23 · 78,000 cases confirmed, as Italy and Iran scramble to contain major outbreaks
The Guardian
How did Spain get its coronavirus response so wrong?
The Guardian
5 min read · 2020-03-26 · Spain saw what happened in Iran and Italy – and yet it just overtook China’s death toll in one of the darkest moments in recent Spanish history
The New York Times
The Iran Deal in 200 Words
The New York Times
1 min read · From 2017 · A short overview of highlights from the Iran nuclear pact.
TechCrunch
Telegram and Instagram being restricted in Iran
TechCrunch
6 min read · From 2018 · Messaging app Telegram and Facebook-owned social sharing platform Instagram appear to be being blocked in Iran.
BBC News (World)
Why kill Soleimani now and what happens next?
BBC News (World)
3 min read · 2020-01-03 · The assassination is a dramatic escalation in the low-level conflict between the US and Iran.
The White House
Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia
The White House
3 min read · From 2018 · America First! The world is a very dangerous place! The country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile…
cato.org
Unforced Error: The Risks of Confrontation with Iran
cato.org
From 2018 · US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his confrontational attitude toward Iran and his hostility toward the Iran nuclear deal, which he touted as “the worst deal ever negotiated.” Besides criticizing some of the agreement's provisions, the Trump administration has also expressed strong concerns about the country’s long-range missile program and its support of terrorist groups and proxies across the Middle East. Yet if Trump wants to chart a more hawkish course on Iran, what are his options? Two foreign policy experts at the Cato Institute, a conservative US think tank, lay out the different approaches the United States could pursue and weigh their likely consequences.
