This Iran War Vet Has Some Advice for Trump: Don’t Play Checkers with the Grandmasters of Chess

War is not our business, but negotiations and diplomacy are. War is not our purpose. Peace is our mission. Peace is our philosophy in life, and you are right, diplomacy is our art.

Habib Ahmadzadeh
By Habib Ahmadzadeh
Mohammad Javad Zarif

Dear President Trump, In a recent Tweet, you claimed that “Iranians never won a war, but never lost a negotiation.” As a world citizen and a veteran of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, I have firsthand experience with the bitterness of war, and I have a few suggestions and responses for you. First, I would advise you against using the words win

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For the US and Israel, Iran Works Best as a Perpetual Threat

Both Israel and the U.S. need Iran: they need to be able to point to Iran as a threat, as a menace, as the source of terrorism and evil in the world. That threat is also an important part of any election campaign for politicians in both countries. The fact that Iran is none of those things is beside the point.

Miko Peled
By Miko Peled
Trump Netanyahu Iran Feature photo

JERUSALEM, PALESTINE -- According to a story in Haaretz, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said recently that “the United States will respond with military force if its interests are attacked by Iran.” However, there are several reasons why Israel and the U.S. will not attack Iran, at least not directly. Al Jazeera reports that

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Bolton Alleges Iran Maritime Sabotage But Evidence Points Elsewhere

The accusations against Iran come only weeks after US mine-laying ships and divers ran drills in the same area that the alleged sabotage incidents took place.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Artemis Trident 19 | Feature photo

ABU DHABI, U.A.E. -- On Wednesday, National Security Advisor John Bolton told a group of reporters in Abu Dhabi that “naval mines almost certainly from Iran” had been used to conduct the alleged “sabotage” attack on four commercial vessels off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’ port of Fujairah earlier this month. “There is no doubt in

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With the US-Iran War Ball Now Rolling, Could an “Accident” or “False Flag” Serve as Pretext?

Certain forces in the U.S. and Israel have been actively pushing for war with Iran for years and have a track record that demonstrates little inhibition about using an “accident” to start it.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran threaten to boil over, the probability of a provocation or “accident” that would provoke hostilities between the two countries is higher than ever. U.K. Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, openly stated as much on Monday, telling reporters in Brussels that the

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Bolton’s Vague Press Release Lays Foundation for Military Attack Against Iran

According to Bolton’s statement, an attack launched by a “proxy” of Iran on not just assets but “interests” of the U.S. in the region or “interests” of a U.S. ally in the region, would now be sufficient to trigger a U.S. attack on Iran, even if Iran itself was not directly responsible.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
John Bolton

In a late Sunday press release, National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the deployment of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG) and a bomber task force to U.S. Central Command as a “clear and unmistakable message to Iran.” The press release claims that the move was made “in response to a number of troubling and escalatory

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Biden Sides With Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo in Backing Venezuela Coup Effort

The Democratic frontrunner characterizes effort to overthrow the elected government of President Nicolas Maduro at gunpoint, as just another benign effort to “restore democracy” in Latin America.

Jon Queally
By Jon Queally
Joe Biden | #MeToo

Despite progressive critics and anti-war voices speaking forcefully against the Trump administration's overt backing of the attempted coup d'état by rightwing opposition forces in Venezuela on Tuesday, 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden aligned himself with the White House by throwing his support behind the overthrow effort. "The violence in

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