U.S. Economic Pressure is Tightening a Multipolar World

U.S. Economic Pressure is Tightening a Multipolar World

U.S. tariffs wear the cloak of financial policy to address trade imbalances, but they mask deeper geopolitical ambitions. That strategy may backfire. The pressure of U.S. tariffs is firming up the multipolar world it is meant to prevent. Pressure from sanctions has already fused Iran even tighter with Russia and Saudi Arabia. It is now, stunningly, contributing to the birth of relations with Egypt, a Middle Eastern power with whom Iran has had broken relations since 1979. In 2024, Iran and Egypt both became members of BRICS, a large and growing international organization whose primary...

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Ukraine Abandoned

Ukraine Abandoned

The war with Russia is going very badly for Ukraine. At the beginning of July, the Russian armed forces took full control of the Luhansk region for the first time. And, though it is too early to tell if they will hold it, there are now unconfirmed reports that the Ukrainian front line defending Pokrovsk has collapsed and that the Russian army has broken through, rapidly advancing 6-10 kilometers and cutting Ukraine’s supply lines. There are now even unconfirmed reports that Russian forces have entered Pokrovsk, which, if true, is a severe strategic setback for Ukraine. But Ukrainians must...

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Trump’s Ukraine Reassurances Are More Complex Than You Think

Trump’s Ukraine Reassurances Are More Complex Than You Think

U.S. President Donald Trump has consistently insisted that the war in Ukraine “is not Trump’s war. This is a Biden war, this is a Democrat war.” But on July 14, it started to look a lot like Trump’s war, as the president announced “billions and billions” of dollars of American military equipment to be sent to Ukraine along with “severe tariffs” to be applied to any country who buys oil from Russia if a peace deal is not reached in fifty days. But that appearance may be illusory, and the new weapons deal may be a deception. From one perspective, Trump’s reversal may be celebrated in Ukraine...

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US Bombing of Iran Harms Non-Proliferation

US Bombing of Iran Harms Non-Proliferation

Iran didn’t violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the United States did. When the U.S. bombed Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities on June 23, they didn’t just violate the cardinal rule of international law by attacking a sovereign nation, without Security Council approval, that had neither attacked it nor threatened to attack it. They also violated the NPT. In doing so, the U.S. may have done irreparable harm to the non-proliferation regime. As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran was protected by the “inalienable right to a civilian [nuclear] program.” Iran...

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America’s Deception Strengthens Iranian Hardliners

America’s Deception Strengthens Iranian Hardliners

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done…Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” President Donald Trump made this post on the morning that Israel struck Iran. Expressing the belief that the devastating attacks on Iran would weaken Iran’s hardliners and push them to capitulate to American terms and sign a nuclear deal, Trump said,...

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The Media Is Falsely Labeling Ukraine-Russia Talks a ‘Failure’

The Media Is Falsely Labeling Ukraine-Russia Talks a ‘Failure’

On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since the first months of the former's invasion. Despite the pessimistic evaluation by Ukrainian and European leaders, the return to diplomacy is itself a major achievement and step forward. The talks lasted an hour and forty minutes. Western leaders and Western media have given the first round of talks a failing grade. They have dismissed it for three reasons. They claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin first suggested direct negotiations and then did not show. They claim that he sent an insultingly low-level delegation. And...

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Iran Nuclear Negotiations Bring New, Surprising Developments

Iran Nuclear Negotiations Bring New, Surprising Developments

In the past several days, there have been surprising developments in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s civilian nuclear program. U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently, but not always, defined the goal of the negotiations as being limited to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. He repeated that definition as recently as May 15, saying Iran must “permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons…They cannot have a nuclear weapon.” But the message from his team has been contradictory. Then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that the...

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Do Trump’s Slick Comments Put Iran Talks in Jeopardy?

Do Trump’s Slick Comments Put Iran Talks in Jeopardy?

U.S. President Donald Trump’s unexpected answer on Sunday to an interviewer’s question has thrown his administration’s nuclear negotiations with Iran into confusion. Trump has consistently said that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are limited to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon: “You know, it’s not a complicated formula. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” But in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, when the interviewer asked Trump, “Is the goal of these talks limiting Iran’s nuclear program or total dismantlement?” Trump answered, “Total dismantlement.”...

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