Iran

Politics: no shooting – yet

May 16, 2026 2:25 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

Well, that point has arrived – I can no longer bear to write about the train-wreck that is British politics.... View Article

Middle East: never the same again

May 5, 2026 3:58 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

I’ve long since given up trying to understand the British media, so I can’t claim to be surprised by the... View Article

Middle East: Project Freedom

May 4, 2026 3:26 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

Operation Epic Fury (subtitled “beat the living shit out of Iran”) officially ended with the declaration of the ceasefire, thus... View Article

Middle East: speculation is fruitless

May 2, 2026 3:21 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

According to the Guardian (and others), Iran has passed a new proposal to Pakistani mediators in the latest effort to... View Article

Middle East: get ready

May 1, 2026 3:17 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

There comes a point in any long-running drama when, in the absence of any clear developments, monitoring and analysis becomes... View Article

Middle East: No more Mr Nice Guy!

April 30, 2026 3:27 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

At times, it seems perverse writing about a distant conflict when, to all intents and purposes, we have a low-grade... View Article

Middle East: a major escalation is looming

April 27, 2026 3:39 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

As I was reviewing the media for today’s post, it struck me rather forcibly that the British legacy media is... View Article

Middle East: confusion

April 26, 2026 4:20 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

Injecting an element of farce into the nightmare scenario of the Iran conflict, it appears that the widely broadcast news... View Article

Middle East: calm before the storm?

April 25, 2026 3:32 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

Although nothing has been formally declared, there seems to be something of a consensus that close of play yesterday was... View Article

Middle East: an internal coup

April 22, 2026 3:18 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

While the Mandelson show has been in town, through yesterday and the day before another drama has been playing out... View Article

Middle East: Round two… deadly force

April 20, 2026 3:33 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

It says something of the British media (and our politics) that, just as the US Navy has opened fire on... View Article

Middle East: final showdown?

April 19, 2026 3:48 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

For all the excitement of the past 24 hours, there’s actually very little in the way of substantive news to... View Article

Middle East: a state of flux

April 18, 2026 3:46 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

The thing to remember about the Middle East is that nothing is over until it is over and, where grudge... View Article

Middle East: a reckoning

April 16, 2026 3:38 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

In its second full day, the US blockade of ships using Iranian ports is holding. The latest report of an... View Article

Middle East: the die is cast

April 15, 2026 4:03 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

Opinion on Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz seems to be split into two irreconcilable camps. There are those... View Article

Middle East: in for the long-haul?

April 14, 2026 3:50 am Published by Richard North Post a Comment

As the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz took effect, the world stopped briefly to note Starmer’s complaint that,... View Article