In the days since the January 3 assassination of Major General Qassem Suleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, on the orders of US President Donald Trump, the world has anxiously waited to see whether, where and how Tehran would fulfill its pledge to wreak vengeance on the Americans. Thus far,...
Following the attack on Saudi oil facilities, US President Donald Trump has finally responded with action by sending troops to the Middle East. He has left his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, the challenge of justifying why the US even needs to take action. The impression that emerges for a naive...
The ongoing conflict with Iran showcases all the reasons why US President Donald Trump remains a hit with his base. First of all, the guy tells a ripping yarn. While critics of US policy drone on about complex agreements with opaque acronyms, Trump boils down the problem to a TV episode with a...
On June 21, Fair Observer contributor Raman Ghavami expressed his concern with what he sees as Europe’s “desire to appease Iran.” At the same time, he complimented the Trump administration for its zeal that has led it to “call out Tehran on its destructive behavior.” Ghavami should learn...
After last week’s tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, Tehran will need to undertake a sober assessment of its options, which are few, and its prospects, which only get worse. Last week’s attacks on two oil tankers outside the Strait of Hormuz show that for now Tehran is choosing from a very...
The portrayal of the United States as a hostile adversary has helped hard-line conservatives to maintain their position within Iran's political system over the past 40 years. In the first week of May, the Trump administration accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the...
For four decades, relations between Iran and the United States have been marked by misunderstandings, tensions and enmity. The two countries seem to find it impossible to settle their differences and engage with each other on a basis of mutual respect. Reckless decisions by the leaders of the two...
The measure of the dysfunction of US democracy and the US empire has never been more apparent as the population resigns itself to seeing another war, feared by the public but craved by the media. Last week, a public opinion poll by Reuters/Ipsos revealed that “51% of adults felt that the...
John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are on the lookout for Iranian provocations and are skilled at finding them, even when they don’t exist. On May 21, Trump administration officials treated key members of Congress to closed-door briefings to persuade them to back what appears to be a build-up for a...
The easiest way to determine whether a political spokesperson is hiding something and misrepresenting the truth of their own government’s position is to examine their misuse of the tools of rhetoric. An article in Forbes with the title, “Saudi Arabia Threatens 'Force If Necessary' Against...
