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.

Media Overlooks Civilian Casualties, Champions US Destruction Of Raqqa

The US war on the Syrian city of Raqqa has already killed over 1,800 civilians, but the media’s attention has been focused instead on the “pitilessly effective military power of the United States.”

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Massacre of Raqqa

Opinion -- America’s illegal war in the Syrian city of Raqqa has already killed over 1,800 civilians, according to the monitoring group Airwars. At the time the offensive was launched in June, the U.S. was aware that some 200,000 civilians were trapped. In that first week of operations alone, the U.N. accused the Trump administration of killing 300

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Yemenis To Americans: Your Las Vegas Massacre Is Our Everyday Life

“Our 9/11 is their 24/7.”

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
People inspect the aftermath of a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a funeral hall in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016.

The recent events in Las Vegas shook the entire nation, and the rest of the world has watched intently as authorities have struggled with their investigation and independent media outlets have spread uninvestigated and sensationalized narratives. Yet one should always remember that events that shake the West from time to time regularly occur in

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Mid East’s Only Christian President Backs Hezbollah, Denounces Israel

“Israel would have the right to wage war whenever it wants at the same time that others would be deprived of their right to weapons to defend themselves? No, it’s not possible.”

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Supporters of Christian leader Michel Aoun hold his picture and Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanese flags and Hezbollah flag as they celebrate the election of President Michel Aoun, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has dismissed claims that the Shia militia known as Hezbollah should be disarmed as long as Israel “fails to respect” U.N. resolutions and international law, the Jerusalem Post reports. Aoun – a Christian – said the Lebanese-based Iranian-proxy army ensures Lebanon’s “resistance against the State of Israel,” in an

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US And Russia Converge On ISIS In Dangerous Showdown

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels are fighting in dangerously close proximity to Syrian forces and their allies, including Russia, in what experts warn is a tinderbox waiting to erupt.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen standing on pickup trucks with heavy machine-guns mounted on them, in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, Syria, Monday, Sept 4, 2017. Syrian government troops and allied forces reached the eastern city of Deir el-Zour Tuesday, breaching a nearly 3-year ISIS siege on government-held areas of the contested city near the Iraqi border. (SANA via AP)

One wouldn’t know it by reading establishment media headlines, but the Russian air force and the U.S. air force are about to come head to head in Syria in a battle that has been brewing for some months now. Only the Independent, a U.K.-based media outlet, aptly phrased the looming encounter for what it was in an article titled: “US troops and

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Survey: Most Americans Accept Preemptive Nuclear Strike Against Iranian Civilians

As the survey notes, a clear majority of Americans “would approve of using nuclear weapons first against the civilian population of a nonnuclear-armed adversary, killing 2 million Iranian civilians, if they believed that such use would save the lives of 20,000 U.S. soldiers.”

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Frank Gaffney, founder and CEO of the Center for Security Policy, speaks during a rally organized by Tea Party Patriots in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

A new survey published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggests Americans are willing to make a first nuclear strike against Iran and kill millions of civilians in the process. According to the report, entitled “Revisiting Hiroshima in Iran,” although the majority of Americans initially approved of President Harry S. Truman’s

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Why The Most Unpopular President In History Is Still More Popular Than Hillary Clinton

The Donald Trumps of this world, no matter how abhorrent, thuggish, racist and infinitely unwise, only exist because of the policies of the Clinton and Obama-style neoliberal eras.

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters after winning the New York state primary election, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The latest Bloomberg national poll has found that despite the fact that Donald J. Trump possesses one of the lowest approval rates of all time (41 percent), he is still more popular than Hillary Clinton, who has a net favorability of 39 percent. The result is likely somewhat distressing and arguably inexplicable to Democrats and

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Amid Qatar-Saudi Rift, Qatar May be Turning Its Back on the US Dollar

“The failure of this insurgency, however, has spelled the death of this proposal, leaving Qatar bound to look East to Asia – already their biggest customers – for their LNG markets. But most of the existing Eastbound LNG pipeline infrastructure is controlled by Iran. For Qatar, then, cutting its Iran links would be cutting off its nose to spite its face. This is why the Saudis aim to demonstrate that the alternative is having their entire face cut off.”

Darius Shahtahmasebi
By Darius Shahtahmasebi

Late last week, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that are involved in attempting to isolate Qatar sent the tiny Gulf nation a list of 13 demands. They are insisting that Qatar meet these demands within ten days or face unspecified further action. The list of demands includes Qatar shutting down Al-Jazeera and

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