Darius Shahtahmasebi

Darius Shahtahmasebi is a New Zealand-based legal and political analyst who focuses on US foreign policy in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific region. He is fully qualified as a lawyer in two international jurisdictions.

Book Exposes New Zealand’s Cover-up of Possible War Crime in Afghanistan

New Zealand — recently ranked as the least corrupt country in the world by the Transparency Index’s Corruptions Perception Index, as well as famously ranked as the world’s second most peaceful country last year — has a dark and hidden secret of its own.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
A New Zealand soldier stands guard as an elderly man rides a donkey north west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 5, 2006. (AP/Musadeq Sadeq)

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (Analysis) -- According to the BBC, there are some 40 countries involved in the current NATO mission in Afghanistan, currently known as “Resolute Support.” In other words, approximately one-fifth of the world’s countries have deployed troops to this war-torn nation. Yet, after a decade and a half of war, success in Afghanistan

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A Latter-Day Al Capone? Corruption Charges Against Netanyahu Continue to Stack

Corruption charges against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue to stack, and as the noose tightens, the distractions grow.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Feb. 11, 2018. (Ronen Zvulun,AP)

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (Analysis) -- On February 13, Israeli police recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted in two corruption cases on suspicion of accepting bribes, fraud, and breach of trust. Under Israeli law, prime ministers do not need to resign unless they have been convicted of a serious crime. However, as noted by the New

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Genocide? As Gaza Dries Out, Israel Turns Off Fresh Water Spigot

Rather than heeding the warnings from the UN to open up Gaza’s blockade and allow vital aid, what we have witnessed over the course of the last decade is a periodic all-out Israeli assault on Gaza’s vital infrastructure.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Palestinian children fill their bottles with water from a UNICEF tap in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo: UNICEF)

GAZA  (Analysis) -- Near the end of last month, Haaretz reported that, according to an expert hydrologist, 97 percent of Gaza’s drinking water has been contaminated by sewage and salt. The UN also confirmed that this was the case early last year, and clearly, the situation has remained unchanged even up until 2018. Robert Piper, the UN’s local

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Will Washington’s Syria Chess Game Lead to War with NATO Ally Turkey?

America’s current Syria strategy opens up the door for a war with Turkey and a potential war with Iran and Syria. All the while the U.S. loses its status as the so-called global leader, with Russia emerging unscathed from the conflict as the region’s major power broker.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and Turkish troops secure the Bursayah hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, Syria, Jan. 28, 2018. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (Analysis) -- It’s not clear if the United States knows what it is doing in Syria anymore. Having successfully toppled the Libyan government in 2011, former President Barack Obama subsequently spent a good three years attempting to bring about the fall of the Syrian government, under the guise of humanitarianism, that embroiled the

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Iran Proposes a Path to Peace in the Middle East

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif laid out Iran’s proposed framework for bringing stability to the Middle East.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends the Foreign Ministers meeting within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Summit in Istanbul, Dec. 13, 2017. (Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/AP)

In an article published by the Financial Times on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif laid out the country’s proposed framework for bringing stability to the Middle East region. "ISIS displayed the darkest depths of human evil,” Zarif wrote. Yet it also provided an opportunity to come together to battle an existential threat.

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The US Finally Tells the Truth About Its Objectives in Syria

If the U.S. wants to counter Iran and al-Qaeda and bring peace to Syria, logic dictates that the U.S needs to try a brand new strategy altogether and for once, respect international law.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Syrian children watch a U.S. armored convoy pass on a road in northeast Syria, July 26, 2017. (AP/Hussein Malla)

After over a year of flip-flopping and reversing its position on Syria and its president, Bashar al-Assad, the U.S has finally admitted the real reason its military continues to violate Syria’s sovereignty. From the Washington Post: After months of incoherence, the Trump administration has taken a step toward a clear policy on Syria and its

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Israel’s Ongoing Bombing of Syria Threatens Dangerous Escalation

Israel has hit Syrian territory over 100 times since the conflict began in 2011.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
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The Syrian Army is alleging that Israeli jets struck positions dozens of times within Syria early Tuesday morning in the al-Qutayfa area east of Damascus. According to a statement by Syria’s General Command, the Syrian government’s air defenses not only intercepted all of the missiles Israel fired, but it even managed to counter strike one of

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