Iran
Double agents and dog-ears
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
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…
Donald Trump has just blown up his goal of isolating Iran
A blood-red flag was raised over the Jamkaran mosque in the Iranian holy city of Qom last week, one normally…
Is there method – or madness – behind Trump’s actions in Iran?
Leaders are often accused of escalating a conflict abroad in order to distract from headaches at home. On Tuesday, before…
The Middle East for dummies
Gstaad The French have a saying: ‘Il n’y a rien de plus bête que le sourire du gagnant.’ In…
The downing of a civilian jet only adds to Tehran’s desperation
Drama and tragedy continue to envelop Iran. Just hours after the regime struck two US bases in Iraq on Wednesday,…
My despair at those who weep for Quassem Soleimani
A few hours into the new year, pro-Assad forces targeted a school in southern Idlib with a cluster bomb. The bombing took…
Soleimani’s assassination has exposed the EU’s big weakness
What a difference a day makes. When I went to bed on 2 January what seemed to be the most…
Could Iran’s retaliation against the United States lead to war?
So it happened. Iran has just struck back against the United States for its killing of Quds force chief Qassem…
Trump’s Iran strategy has finally won over the ‘Never Trumpers’
As a general rule, neoconservatives and hawkish Republican foreign policy officials don’t respect President Donald Trump’s capacities as commander-in-chief. They…
So much for de-escalation
‘We are not looking to start a war with Iran,’ said defense secretary Mark Esper today. ‘We are looking to…
Iran’s generals are weeping for Qasem Soleimani. But soon they will prepare to fight
It has been 24 hours since America droned Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad airport. Now both Iran and the United States…
Qasem Soleimani’s demise is a gamechanger for Israel
The targeted assassination of Qasem Soleimani is a game changer for Israel in its simmering conflict with Tehran. This drone…
Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through the coming Iran crisis
That gathering drumbeat you hear could be the sound of World War III, or it could be 10,000 journalists still…
The Soleimani assassination is Donald Trump’s biggest gamble yet
Ever since Donald Trump was elected president on a non-military interventionist platform, sceptics have questioned his commitment to withdrawing troops…
Taking out Soleimani is like stepping on a landmine to cure a headache
Talleyrand once commented that Napoleon’s execution of the Duke of Enghien in 1804 was worse than a crime. It was…
What could go right for Trump in 2020?
It’s starting to dawn on Democrats that Donald J. Trump might stand on the steps of the Capitol in January…
The alliance between America and Saudi Arabia is over
The oil-for-security alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia, forged in 1945 when Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz…
