The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter said, casting the Gulf monarchy as an active combatant in a war in which it has been Iran’s biggest target www.wsj.com/articles/the... via @WSJ

Israel spent tons of $$$$ to manipulate the Eurovision vote last year, a @nytimes investigation shows. Countries that don't commit a genocide usually don't take extreme measures such as manipulating the voting in a silly singing competition... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/w...

On @NPR's @KQED, @voxdotcom's @joshuakeating and I discussed why US-Iran talks have stalled, why both sides have dug their heels in on the issue of the stockpile, and why a return to war would be disastrous. www.kqed.org/forum/201010...

The Iranian counter-proposal is publicly rejected by Trump, but if WSJ reporting is correct, Tehran is trying to move closer to US demands, but not fully. Read the full analysis on my Substack: tritaparsi.substack.com/p/the-import...

Felicia won the Swedish Eurovision contest (she will represent Sweden in the final contest), but is now facing death threats after criticizing Israel's participation. (Few in the US appreciate the importance of Eurovision to Europeans, but this is big.) www.expressen.se/noje/musik/f...

Pakistan steps up to mediate peace between the US and Iran, and the UAE - the close Israeli ally who claims to be a force for peace and a force against sectarianism - punishes Pakistan for its peacemaking by expelling Shia Pakistani workers. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/w...

In this extremely sensitive stage of the talks, the last thing needed - beyond the exchange of fire - is rhetoric that pours more fuel on the fire. During the campaign, Trump showed great message discipline on Iran; that's what he needs to do now, instead of the below:

Some Trump officials point to the 'Christmas bombings' in Vietnam and argue that a new wave of airstrikes will force Tehran to bend to America's will. @Carr12Brandon and I explain in this military analysis why the Vietnam example does not apply to Iran. responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-str...

.@LenaPetrova and I discussed Trump's options regarding Iran and why the Iran war may prove to be an inflection point that accelerates the decline of American global primacy and the shift toward multipolarity. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuCq...

"Since 2015, the view that the U.S. is too supportive increased among Democrats from 26 percent to 66 percent, among independents from 20 percent to 51 percent and among Republicans from 7 percent to 22 percent." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

To say that Trump underestimated Iran is an understatement. The Israelis sold him - and he ended up believing - a narrative that portrayed Iran as so weak that the war would be won within 4 days. 60 plus days later, Trump is still stuck in the mess Israel sold him.

Both Trump and Iran need a deal. Iran is in dire need of sanctions relief, and it can only lock in its gains in the war through a deal. Trump desperately needs to end the war before it does more damage to his presidency and to the GOP.

Told @BBCWorld that progress appears to have been made in the talks, but it is still subject to Trump's self-sabotage. But one factor may help him muster much-needed discipline: It'll be embarrassing for him to show up in Beijing next week without having stabilized the situation

Not sure why these networks invite me to do all these interviews on Trump and Iran, they should bring this guy on, he nails it in less than 45 sec :)

A @WashPost investigation shows that Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at U.S. military sites across the region - far larger damage than what has been acknowledged by the USG. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Told the amazing hosts of @TheDuranReal podcast that the US's failure in the Iran war may prove an inflection point that accelerates the end of American primacy globally - not just in the region - and the arrival of a more multipolar order. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv70...

Whatever was left of the "West's" moral standing and credibility was destroyed here, in Gaza. Gaza will be rebuilt, but it will take a Herculean effort to rebuild the standing of the West.

Spoke at length with @Channel4News's @AnushkaAsthana and @mattfrei about Trump and Iran, but we ended up discussing how Europe largely has betrayed international law, how that undermines Europe's own global security, and the problem with Germany :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-fZ...

I write in @theipaper that the geopolitical repercussions of the Iran war are likely to be more far-reaching than those of the invasion of Iraq. www.msn.com/en-ie/news/o...

Watch this space: Ahead of Trump's summit in Beijing - already once delayed due to Trump's Iran war - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will arrive in Beijing today to meet his Chinese counterpart.

Tehran has been under sanctions for 47 years. None of those sanctions has proven to be the silver bullet that would bring Iran to its knees. The only thing that has worked is the same disciplined, patient, and constructive diplomacy that delivered the JCPOA.

Iranians have suffered tremendously from this war, but also from a ceasefire that keeps the risk of war alive. Tehran signals readiness for war, though it doesn't seek it, and still believes it has escalation dominance. If war erupts, Iran will escalate horizontally & particularly target the UAE.

Told @BeckyCNN that Trump's escalation appears driven by frustration that his blockade has failed, but if he truly brings US naval ships into the Persian Gulf, he will give Iran more targets and risk US casualties in a manner that he had managed to avoid during the war itself.

Told @krystalball and @esaagar that Trump's escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is a reflection of the failure of the blockade. At the end of the day, the blockade was supposed to have collapsed Iran's economy about 10 days ago... www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFgw...

John Mearsheimer and I discussed the latest Iran developments on Tom Switzer's podcast, whether war will break out again, and how Trump still can turn this around and get a deal that serves US interests if he stops listening to Israel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-a-...

While the US and Iran can hold out for weeks, perhaps months, other countries are paying an even greater price for the blockade and the deadlock. Kuwait has not exported a drop of oil in 30 days. Many Asian countries are suffering from acute fuel shortages.

Trump's blockade has already proven itself to be too expensive for both Iran and the US. But Iran has been under various forms of sanctions for 47 years. None of them has forced Iran to capitulate, and they have found ways to circumvent all of them.

Trump had time on his side during the ceasefire - until he imposed the blockade per the recommendation of FDD, Israel, and Lindsey Graham. Though the blockade is hurting Iran, it has ended up hurting Trump more, with oil prices now exceeding where they were even during the war itself.

Told @AJE that the US's strategic defeat against Iran also raises questions about the sustainability of American primacy, not just in the Middle East, but globally. Iran has done to the US what Ukraine did to Russia.

Told @LyndaKinkade that Iran's goal appears to be to secure a complete rather than partial end to the conflict with the US. Trump is the right president to strike such a grand bargain, but he keeps undermining his own diplomacy with endless tactical errors.

Told @cnn that Iran wasn't pursuing a nuclear weapon according to US intelligence services before the war, but the war may dramatically incentivize them to go in that direction if a deal is not reached.

MUST WATCH: Majority of US military sites in Middle East damaged by Iran, CNN investigation reveals. Many of them are "virtually unusuable." Day by day, we will find out more and more about what actually happened in this war... www.cnn.com/2026/05/01/w...

Spoke to @ABC about the meaning and implications of Khamenei's message today, as well as Trump's continued yet futile search for a coercive silver bullet that brings about Iran's capitulation. The sooner Trump gets about disciplined diplomacy, the better. abcnews.com/video/132532...

If you watch these militant Pahlavi supporters, marching as an army in a manner reminiscent of Hitler's brown shirts, and you have the audacity to doubt their ironclad commitment to democracy and freedom, you must be a supporter of the Islamic Republic. Clearly. (sarcasm)

At the beginning of the war, Trump spoke with Keir Starmer, requesting that Britain join the war. Starmer says he will get back to him in one week. Trump replies: "Next week is not good! The war is going to be over in three days." www.ynet.co.il/news/article...

I was asked by @NewsNation about Merz's comments, and I told them that the Chancellor may have said it, but most world leaders think it. Because Trump didn't have a plan B, the war has created a mess, and other countries are suffering economically far more than the US is.

Told @CGTNEurope that Trump is undermining his own position through the blockade, because it appears to be pushing up oil prices (which is bad for Trump) more than it is exerting pressure on Iran. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPCA...

It was only a matter of time before Trump would lash out at Merz and Germany...

At first, I thought Trump was living in an alternative reality in which the war was going splendidly well. I am incessantly convinced that his detached-from-reality positions are due to him not accessing accurate information about what reality currently looks like.

Trump won't like this... Germany's Merz says the US is being humiliated by Iran “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership,” he said, adding that Iran is “obviously negotiating very skillfully” & “clearly stronger than one thought.” www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Let this sink in: Congress is about to extend US veterans’ benefits to Americans who served in the ISRAELI military and partook in the genocide in Gaza... www.military.com/feature/2026...

This is a MUST-READ. @williamalden spent extensive time with Monarchists to better understand their perspective and their philosophy. Ironically, in that effort, he ended up being threatened by them and accused of being an agent of the Islamic Republic. www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...

Trump's blockade escalation isn’t giving the U.S. leverage over Iran—it’s blocking diplomacy. I explain to @KaranThapar_TTP how Trump is sabotaging his own diplomacy by centring it on pressure at the expense of credibility and trust. www.youtube.com/live/dXgjGXN...

After weeks of discussing the micro-tactics of Trump's foolish Iran war, you will find our excellent discussion with @monicaduffytoft, @stephenwertheim & @stephenWalt about the implications for US grandstrategy most illuminating. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8MK...

Amazing reporting by @JSweetLI at @DropSiteNews, identifying the key people behind Canary Mission, the notorious site that has for years doxxed Americans opposing Israeli crimes. The top 5 people are all Americans who have moved to Israel: www.dropsitenews.com/p/canary-mis...

Told @CNN: “Are there differences? Of course there are,” Parsi said. But to assess that the reason both sides can’t strike a deal is not because of Trump’s conflicting messaging but rather due to Iranian fractured leadership is “detached from reality." au.news.yahoo.com/trump-claims...

Told @ABC that rather than divisions inside the Iranian gov blocking talks, a much more relevant factor is that Trump knows that the sanctions relief required for a deal will trigger the largest fight Trump's ever had with Netanyahu. abcnews.com/video/132276...

Don't miss! Has Trump's failed Iran war dealt a blow to US power comparable to the Iraq War? What will the grandstrategic repercussions of the war be? Join the discussion w/ @monicaduffytoft, @stephenWalt & @stephenwertheim Thursday at 2pm ET. RSVP: quincyinst.org/events/grand...

The list of losers of this illegal war of choice is plenty, the winners are few. Even if Iran considers itself a winner - and to some extent that is true - it means very little unless it is translated into a new order with sanctions relief. The Iranians have failed to achieve that yet.

The idea that TTrump'sump's blockade is needed to get Iran to the table is bizarre - the blockade pushed Iran away from the table.