By Shahrokh Saei

A Trojan Horse for Gaza

10 reasons the UN Gaza resolution masks injustice behind diplomacy

TEHRAN – The United Nations Security Council has approved a U.S.-drafted resolution on Gaza, hailed in Washington as a diplomatic breakthrough. But for Palestinians and many around the world, it's another failed plan—one that prioritizes policing over justice and control over freedom.

By Shahrokh Saei 

China's Fujian and USS Gerald R Ford: Stability vs. coercion on the high seas

TEHRAN – China’s Fujian aircraft carrier, commissioned earlier this month, marks a historic milestone in the country’s naval modernization and stands as a symbol of reassurance. More than a warship, Fujian embodies Beijing’s rise through self-reliance, stability, and a commitment to peace, projecting confidence without aggression and ensuring maritime order remains predictable and secure. 

By Wesam Bahrani 

New report exposes U.S. atrocities in Iraq during occupation

TEHRAN – More evidence has emerged revealing that U.S. troops carried out horrific civilian killings in Iraq that were long concealed.

By Sondoss Al Asaad

Hezbollah will counter financial stranglehold amid hybrid war

BEIRUT—With a sharply worded warning, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem cautioned the Lebanese authorities and Banque du Liban (BDL) against taking any step that would constrict Al-Qard Al-Hassan institute, describing it as nothing less than the “social lung” of a country whose state structures have all but collapsed. 

By Wesam Bahrani 

Rising Hamas popularity in Gaza 

TEHRAN – Despite over two years of U.S.-backed genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip, American media reports Hamas has seen its popularity increase.

By Sondoss Al Asaad

Hezbollah’s unshakable echo: Mourning the mind that engineered resistance discourse

BEIRUT—With the assassination of Hajj Mohammad Afif Al-Naboulsi by the Zionist regime in an air raid in November last year, the Resistance loses not merely a media official, but one of the rare architects who shaped collective consciousness in times of war and calm alike. 

By Wesam Bahrani

Bombing and coming winter worsen plight of Gaza survivors

TEHRAN — Israeli strikes and bitter cold are driving Palestinians into deeper hardship as humanitarian needs surge.

By Sondoss Al Asaad

Fortresses of fear: Israel’s walls and the myth of security

BEIRUT - Since its establishment, the Israeli entity has relied on walls, both physical and ideological, as central pillars of its security doctrine. The project itself emerged from the logic of “preventive isolation”:  fortifying settlements against an Arab environment portrayed in Zionist discourse as inherently “hostile.” 

By Shahrokh Saei 

Decoding the deception: How Trump’s ceasefire blocks Palestinian statehood

TEHRAN – U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza has been promoted as a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and eventual statehood. Yet Israeli officials have made clear that such statehood will never be accepted, exposing the truce plan as a diplomatic pretense designed to advance U.S. and Israeli agendas under the guise of peace.

By Shahrokh Saei 

BBC at a crossroads: From Trump dispute to Gaza bias allegations

TEHRAN – The recent dispute between US President Donald Trump and the BBC has drawn renewed attention to the broadcaster’s editorial practices, highlighting questions of accountability and internal oversight. 

By Wesam Bahrani 

U.S. blueprint envisions divided Gaza

TEHRAN – The future of Gaza is being shaped by external powers rather than the people who live there.

By Shahab Sarmadi

U.S. proposal for Gaza: ‘Board of Peace’ or cover for occupation?

TEHRAN – President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, presented by Washington as a blueprint for stability and reconstruction, has drawn significant criticism for functioning as political cover for Israel’s ongoing military campaign. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad

How Lebanese actors empower Israel

BEIRUT — Washington’s pressure campaign against Hezbollah is not new, but its latest tone is unmistakably sharper.

By Wesam Bahrani

Post-election Iraq review

TEHRAN – As Iraq concludes a hard-fought election, attention is now turning to the challenge of forming a new government.

By Wesam Bahrani

Sudani scores “major victory” in Iraq elections

TEHRAN – A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani reportedly comes first in Iraq’s parliamentary elections.

By Shahrokh Saei

Imperial ambitions at sea: U.S. military escalation against Venezuela

TEHRAN – The deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean has marked a dangerous escalation in U.S. military activity and sharply heightened tensions with Venezuela. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Israel escalating assault on Lebanon’s environmental security

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s forests, farmland, and green expanses are once again under siege. The recent wave of wildfires sweeping across the country recalls the devastation of 2010, when hundreds of hectares of pine and oak vanished in smoke and ash.

By Shahab Sarmadi 

Sharaa–Trump summit: U.S.–Israeli interests at play

TEHRAN – Monday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syrian leader Ahmed alSharaa in Washington has been described as a milestone and historic. For the first time since Syria gained independence from France in 1946, a Syrian head of state was welcomed into the Oval Office with full honors.

By Sondoss Al Asaad

Lebanon and secret side of Egypt’s initiative

BEIRUT — The so-called initiative presented by Egypt’s head of general intelligence agency, Major General Hassan Rashad, has been framed as an Arab-international attempt to stabilize southern Lebanon. 

By Shahab Sarmadi

Confessions of carnage: Israeli soldiers admit to war crimes in Gaza

TEHRAN – The war in Gaza, which erupted on October 7, 2023, has become a defining crisis of our time — not only for its staggering human toll, but for what it reveals about the erosion of ethical boundaries in modern warfare. More than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them women and children. Despite a ceasefire announced last month, Israeli military operations have continued unabated. What began as a response to a Hamas attack has evolved into a campaign that many international observers now describe as genocidal.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

US putting pressure on Lebanon’s politics and economy

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s future is increasingly dictated by external powers, particularly the United States, as its embassy in Beirut and visiting delegations from its Treasury and State Departments are exerting decisive political, financial, and diplomatic influence. 

By Wesam Bahrani 

Promising high turnout in Iraqi election

TEHRAN – The first phase of Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections officially ended, marking an important milestone ahead of the general vote. With a participation rate exceeding 82%, the process witnessed smooth operations and high voter engagement among members of the security forces and displaced persons.

By Shahab Sarmadi

Ceasefire as camouflage: Israel’s continued assault on Gaza

TEHRAN – The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States and officially put into effect on October 10, was intended to pause the violence in Gaza. However, recent developments suggest the truce may have served as a strategic cover for Israel to continue its military operations with reduced international scrutiny.

By Layla Saad 

Rising tensions in Syria’s northeast: What is driving US military activity?

BEIRUT – More than seven months after the March 10 agreement between Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmad al-Sharaa (al-Jolani) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi, the deal lies in tatters.

By Wesam Bahrani 

Iraqis to vote amid tension with Washington 

TEHRAN – Iraq’s November 11 election will test whether a new government will challenge U.S. control over oil revenues and sovereignty.

By Shahab Sarmadi

Haaretz details Israel’s costly campaign to reverse declining U.S. public support

TEHRAN – U.S. public support for Israel has been declining in recent years, a trend highlighted by a recent Haaretz report. Surveys show that negative views of Israel among Americans rose from 42 percent in 2022 to 53 percent by 2025. This decline spans political lines: even among young Republicans—traditionally reliable supporters—criticism of Israel is growing. Younger Evangelical Christians, who were once among Israel’s most steadfast allies, are increasingly skeptical, no longer offering automatic support.