A friend just returned from Palestine. Daily humiliation & oppression is intensifying everywhere: raids, settler attacks, home seizures, checkpoints, systematic discrimination for Palestinians in 1948 Israel. It's hard to fathom. Yet this is what so many in Washington defend. 🧵>>>

Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza continues unabated despite ceasefire

There’s still a segment of the liberal political & foreign-policy pundit class that, even now, can’t bring itself to criticize Israel — though they’d condemn any other state for the same actions. At this point, that silence says something deeper and darker about many of them. 🧵>>>

Israeli analysts are whipping up a more fervor against Syria as Israel expands its attacks. On Telegram, Eran Lahav, fresh off a program with FDD, casts Syria’s internal dynamics as “Al-Jolani’s sophisticated jihad.” The narrative is clearly primed for more attacks. 🧵>>>

Apartheid South Africa waged endless regional wars under a “total strategy,” claiming it was fighting the Soviets while feeding off Western backing. Israel now does the same with Iran. But Pretoria’s militarism only brought isolation, economic strain & accelerated collapse. 🧵>>>

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's about gratitude. It reminds us how interconnected we are. Even in foreign policy, the suffering we cause elsewhere reshapes us at home. Gratitude brings us back to our better nature. Some thoughts ⬇️

Apartheid South Africa waged endless regional wars under a “total strategy,” claiming it was fighting the Soviets while feeding off Western backing. Israel now does the same with Iran. But Pretoria’s militarism only brought isolation, economic strain & accelerated collapse. 🧵>>>

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's about gratitude. It reminds us how interconnected we are. Even in foreign policy, the suffering we cause elsewhere reshapes us at home. Gratitude brings us back to our better nature. Some thoughts ⬇️

"But nothing has stirred my soul quite like Persian – the language of mystics and lovers." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

⭕️ Newly shared footage from Tehran captures the aftermath of Israel’s strike on a packed intersection during the war in June:

New footage shows the aftermath of Israel’s strike on a busy traffic intersection near Tehran’s Tajrish Bazaar in the June war. Cars & surrounding infrastructure destroyed, streets flooded, many killed or injured, people trying help each other at the scene.

Yes! Understand this, you’ll understand 99% more than many Iran “experts!”

“Eat grass before becoming a colony again.” The Polish Foreign Minister's line echoes across the world, from Iran and Taiwan to Latin America and Palestine. I wrote about the universal struggle to resist domination and the hard tradeoffs nations face 👇

The new Epstein emails are the most incriminating evidence to date on Trump & Epstein & let's be clear, there has been plenty of incriminating evidence for many years. So, can we stop treating this like a process story and start focusing squarely on the likelihood Trump is a pedophile sex criminal.

Beware of narratives that serve to manufacture consent for another war, especially a new one against Lebanon or Iraq. Both are in the Netanyahu government's crosshairs, even as Israel’s military is worn down. They're hunting for another war & trying to drag the U.S. along.

The fact that the NYT even entertains such an outlandish, agenda-driven accusation isn’t just bad journalism. It’s how establishment outlets police the boundaries of “acceptable” debate and manufacture controversy over positions & people they want to keep on the margins.

Centrist Dems aren’t built for moments like this. They rose in a politics designed to preserve status quo institutions of power, not challenge them. This is why they'll crumble even when "democracy" is on the line. Their instincts simply aren't fit for this Trump-era authoritarian moment.

Iran’s postwar politics are in flux. Beneath the surface noise, one trend is unmistakable: Tehran is pivoting more decisively toward China, out of necessity. @sinatoossi.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/11/i...

Important analysis from @sinatoossi.bsky.social: “The lesson in Iran is that international law and institutions no longer matter, so Tehran must act on its own national interests.” thebulletin.org/2025/10/why-...

Trump believes he can get more than a nuclear deal from Iran, but pressure will make Tehran stick to its guns and turn to China and Russia – @sinatoossi.bsky.social told @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Very valuable @nonzeronews.bsky.social podcast conversation about this weekend's US-Iran talks between @sinatoossi.bsky.social and @connorechols.bsky.social. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwYz...

I spoke to The Hill about the Trump-Iran talks set to begin. This could be a real opening — if both sides recognize that serious diplomacy, not threats or ultimatums, is the only viable path to avoid conflict.

Trump blindsided Netanyahu by announcing high-level talks with Iran. It’s a rare opening for diplomacy—and the war camp is scrambling to shut it down. I've written in Mondoweiss on why the US must not waste this chance:

🧵In a striking moment at the White House today, Trump told reporters that direct talks with Iran have begun—and will continue this Saturday. The implications could be huge. Here's why this matters and what could really be happening behind the scenes. >>>

“Forgive me, mother. I chose a path that was helping people.” He was a medic. Shot in the head by Israeli forces while saving lives. Buried in a mass grave. Israel tried to cover it up. But video found on his body proves the truth. Another atrocity in a genocidal war.

🧵There’s no military solution to Iran’s nuclear program. Strikes might set it back a year—at best—but carry a high risk of pushing Iran to weaponize. Retaliation would also likely be fierce: Iran’s missiles and drones can overwhelm US & Israeli defenses. >>>

Trump has reportedly fired several NSC staffers for being too hawkish. Could Waltz be next? His call for a Libya-style dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program isn’t a path to a deal, it's a formula for making war inevitable.

The US military buildup—2 carriers, B-2s to Diego Garcia—may signal strength, but it hasn’t even neutralized Houthi strikes. An attack on Iran would trigger wider conflict while likely failing to destroy Iran’s retaliatory capabilities. How credible is this threat, really?

Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate! This joyous and festive arrives under a heavy shadow once again, as Palestinians endure unimaginable suffering at the hands of a brutal war machine.

Trump wants a deal with Iran but many of his advisers are pushing war. Such a war would drain US resources, distract from domestic priorities & weaken America’s global leverage. Yet, there’s still a real path to a deal. I break it down in Responsible Statecraft:

Not sure if this has been shared here yet, but this is video of Rumeysa Ozturk's arrest posted by WCVB. It's terrifying.

In this sharp piece, Hadi Kahalzadeh of Brandeis University explains how Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign backfired--hurting the US, hardening Iran’s ruling elite, and pushing Iran onto a path of “neither prosperity nor imminent collapse."

A compelling piece in the NYT calling for a new nuclear agreement with Iran that "should center on the same simple tenets: Iran pulling back its nuclear program from producing weapons-grade fissile material in exchange for relief from US sanctions."

Bernie Sanders and AOC are drawing massive crowds across the country with their #FightTheOligarchy tour. The energy is real. The message is clear. Most Americans want bold change, yet Democratic party leaders keep missing the moment, just like they did in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

In one day last week, Israel killed over 200 children in Gaza, the "largest child massacre in its history." In the past 18 months, Israel has killed over 14,500 children. This isn’t ancient barbarism. It's happening now, in plain sight, with the full backing of the US & Europe.

Like I said, these are wildly unrealistic, maximalist demands: daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-absurd...

🚨Where do things stand between the US & Iran right now? Donald Trump recently sent a letter to Iran—via the UAE—asking for negotiations. But if the contents are as reported, we may be headed for a major collision course. Here's a breakdown >>>🧵

🧵So much of the Iran discourse in DC is dominated by opportunists with little understanding of the country. They peddle shallow takes, label advocates of diplomacy or sanctions relief as “pro-regime,” & push agendas to make war more likely--without ever owning the consequences.

I spoke to The New Arab about how Iran is recalibrating after Assad’s fall. Tehran faces tough choices: try to rebuild influence in Syria—or exploit instability, as it has in past conflicts. But much depends on Syria’s stability and ties with Israel.

I spoke to AFP about Trump’s foreign policy. Despite claiming to be a peacemaker, he treats diplomacy like real estate in The Art of the Deal: escalate tensions, push things to the brink, then strike a last-minute deal. It’s about narrative, not peace.

Happy #Nowruz! Today marks the arrival of spring and the ancient Persian New Year, celebrated for millennia across Iran, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. May this new year bring everyone renewal, joy, and peace. عید همگی مبارک🌺

The thing about taking political prisoners is that you often inadvertently forge leaders for a movement. Mahmoud Khalil’s letter is a testament to that. It echoes the defiant words of MLK from jail, of Iranian prisoners who turned their cells into podiums. And countless others.

On Trump's threats against Iran: bringing the situation to the brink of war does not necessarily mean entering it. We saw in his first term how he bluffs “fire & fury” only to back down & seek a deal. Yet, in such volatile times, brinkmanship can easily spiral out of control.

🧵The slaughter of hundreds of innocent children, women, and civilians in Gaza was the price for the fanatical Ben-Gvir’s return to Netanyahu’s government. A desperate bid to keep his grip on power and push through a budget before the end of March. >>>

Censorship and repression are unsustainable. They signal desperation & inevitably backfire. Anyone who knows modern Iran understands this. What’s happening to #MahmoudKhalil & American student activists will have the opposite effect of what pro-Israeli government forces intend.

Israel’s Maariv newspaper: “While the public is exhausted by war, Netanyahu is quietly building a dictatorship.” So in America will we be allowed to quote Israelis criticizing their own government, or will that be repressed too? www.maariv.co.il/journalists/...

Chuck Schumer suggests it is antisemitic to say what Israel is doing in Gaza is a genocide. Yet some of Israel’s own top scholars of genocide and the Holocaust, all of them Jewish - Omer Bartov, Amos Goldberg, Daniel Blatman - say it is a genocide in Gaza. Does Schumer consider them antisemite too?