Iran
Iran vs the rest: the Middle East has reached a tipping point
The next six weeks will be crucial for the Middle East
Biden would be a fool to reverse Trump's foreign policy wins
‘We’re going to be back in the game,’ our presumptive and somewhat previous new president tells us. ‘It’s not America…
Is AppleTV's Tehran the new Fauda?
If you love Fauda — and of course you do — you’re in for a long wait for season four,…
What Bahrain’s deal with Israel really means
On September 15, representatives from the oil-rich Kingdom of Bahrain will meet Israeli leaders at the White House to sign…
Leaked letter: Boris Johnson rejects Trump on Iran sanctions
A leaked letter to the UN Security Council shows that the British government has rejected the US position on Iran’s…
The Foreign Office has lost the plot in the Middle East
The Foreign Office has lost the plot
Pompeo is right on Iran sanctions
The halls of the UN are a habitual stage for empty gestures and vaporous rhetoric, but last Friday’s Security Council…
Get ready for the return of the Iran Deal
The Trump administration has the first successful foreign policy of any administration since that of George H.W. Bush. It must…
Why the US assassination of Iran’s top general didn’t spark a war
Why the US assassination of Iran’s top general didn’t spark a war
In memory of the man who never slept
The enforced boredom of lockdown has been replaced by a feeling of loss. My nephew by marriage, Hansie Schoenburg, died…
Dear dictators: don’t lecture the US on how to treat its people
If you’ve been watching the news, you would think the United States is a third world nation on the verge…
Oil on troubled waters: the US-Saudi alliance is crumbling
The US-Saudi alliance is crumbling
What is the US Navy doing in the Persian Gulf?
American alliances and security commitments tend to live on long after the world has changed. Many of our far flung…
The director of Persepolis talks about her biopic of Marie Curie: Marjane Satrapi interviewed
The director of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi, talks to Sarah Ditum about her new biopic of Marie Curie, exile from Iran and her fears for the future of democracy
Will coronavirus lead to a US war with Iran?
In a roundabout way, coronavirus may have been responsible for the deaths of two American service personnel and a British…
An Al-Qaeda double agent explains what’s really going on in Middle East
When will the definitive history of the modern Middle East be written? For 20 years and more, a continent has…
The Shia Krays: the whole of Iraq is being held to ransom
The whole of Iraq is being held to ransom
Donald Trump, president of peace
This article is in The Spectator’s February 2020 US edition. Subscribe here. Groupthink is the last thing a country needs when debating…
Portrait of the week: Harry and Meghan quit, America avoids war and the Labour leadership race begins
Home The Queen agreed to ‘a period of transition’ during which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would spend time…
I was joking about Meghan and Harry becoming king and queen of Canada
Washington, D.C. On 8 January, I tweeted about the Sussex-Markles: ‘Obviously the plan is to return to Canada, lead a…
Could this be the beginning of the end for Iran’s mullahs?
It is easy to construct a scenario in which tit for tat actions by the Americans and Iranians lead to…
Portrait of the week: Crisis in Iran, fires in Australia and Manchester rapist jailed
Home Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, who had not been told in advance of America’s killing in Iraq of Qassem…
World war three? No, this was about Trump’s second term
If this is the start of the third world war, as some quivering liberal commentators seem to believe, then my…
All forecasts are off if Iran shuts the Strait of Hormuz
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… Late last year, a range of forecasts…