Catch me live on MS Now in about 90 mins

TONIGHT - Americans cheer Trump's latest humiliation: having his name stripped from the Kennedy Center. Plus, Trump is set to mark his birthday (and America's) with a White House cage fight, and can Americans believe ANYTHING the White House says about Trump's health?

JOINING US - @arashtehran.bsky.social, Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, @repcohen.bsky.social, @noahshachtman.bsky.social, @mondairejones.bsky.social, Basil Smikle, @ross.house.gov, Dan Cogdell, Rashad Robinson, @jamessample.bsky.social and Rob Copeland

I was on MS Now earlier today www.youtube.com/watch?v=CarM...

"Have the #Iranians come out of the war with an upper hand? 'Definitely,' Hertling says" @arashtehran.bsky.social @markhertling.bsky.social @msnowreports.bsky.social @ms.now @ahylton26.bsky.social on YouTube youtu.be/CarMKv1DYwU?...

"Acting like if we just change the leader to someone who's less obnoxious to me personally, that that somehow changes the situation...when we haven't changed the regime...is crazy." @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu tells @timmiller.bsky.social why Trump’s Venezuela victory lap is built on fantasy.

DC statehood yesterday

I wrote about the economic crisis Iranians are suffering from. I spoke to many across the country who helped me paint a picture of just how dire things are.

Two months into the cease-fire, the Iranian economy lies in tatters—and the country faces an economic calamity with little precedent in its modern history, @arashtehran.bsky.social argues:

Well, at least @haaretzcom.bsky.social's Liza Rozovsky isn't afraid to say it: The Palestinian question "is what underlies Israel's deepening isolation... And the occupation continues to destroy Israeli society and cause it to rot." www.haaretz.co.il/news/politic...

The hit movie “Obsession” dramatizes a particular kind of Gen Z anxiety spiral, Emma Stefansky writes:

Is European cinema capable of painting a sympathetic portrait of religious conservatives facing prejudice from zealous secular liberals? Yes! Says @arashtehran.bsky.social unherd.com/2026/06/can-...

I amped that I got to write about Cristian Mungiu's brilliant Fjord, my favorite film at Cannes. He bravely asks questions about liberal societies and what minorities we protect and which we scoff at. Please tell me what you think!

Fjord — the inspired-by-real-events drama that wowed last month’s Cannes Film Festival, earning the Palm d‘Or — explores the limits and paradoxes of liberalism. @arashtehran.bsky.social makes his UnHerd debut. unherd.com/2026/06/can-...

Obviously there are a lot of reasons why antisemitism has become such a big force in US politics, but I think the fact that "socialist" ideas are so often transmitted through parasocial, online-mediated agitprop instead of mass organization makes the socialism of fools all but inevitable.

Guys guys hello I’m alive and I’m here to ask ur help in promoting the campaign I’m working on called fight for light by Usyk (yes that one) & DTEK (Ukrainian power grid) aimed at raising awareness about ru terror bombings of the power grid please please help share xx love u x.com/dtek_group/s...

"Israel is ideal for this trans-spectrum populism. Those on the left embrace hostility toward Israel as an anti-imperialist cause, while those on the right advocate an American nationalism suspicious of entanglements abroad, such as the steadfast U.S. support for Israel."

The AOC-MTG spat wasn't about coalitions or tactics. It was about two fundamentally different visions for the future of the American left. I wrote about it. www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

What's even more infuriating is that the Met seem to have only just worked this out for themselves (the below taken from @lizziedearden.bsky.social's Oct '25 piece) Pretty much anyone in London with half a brain cell could have told them this

At some point in the future you are going to get scammed, not because you are dumb, but because you literally cannot be expected to keep up with the pace of deception software.

The combination of social algorithms pushing whatever gets an emotional rise out of people PLUS the inherent vapidity of short-form video as compared to text (or even longer form video/audio) has decimated our ability for serious, mass public discourse

The early blogosphere was an explicit counterpoint to vapid mainstream coverage, with the link economy encouraging curation. The first degeneration cam with social media encouraging engagement-bait and cheap aggregation. Then the rise of short-form video made that far worse.

Really liked this @mattyglesias.bsky.social piece on the problem with the podcast/creator approach to political news. www.slowboring.com/p/political-... I see it as basically the ESPN-ification of internet political commentary, which used to be the serious counterpoint to dumb cable shows

Such an insightful convo between @timmiller.bsky.social & @arashtehran.bsky.social re: Iran. youtu.be/V2_PkWp0OCU?...

"The Islamic Republic since 1979 tried first of all to bring about an Islamist puritan society... If you try to force anything down people's throats for so long, you will have a reaction against it." @arashtehran.bsky.social on the chasm between the Islamic Republic and everyday Iranians.

"You said that the rich people in Iran...there's a notion going around of apocalypsemaxxing where we might as well just have orgies and parties?" "They're like 'things are shit...we might all die. We might as well have fun while it lasts.'" @arashtehran.bsky.social on apocalypsemaxxing.

One of my favorite pods in a while! First @arashtehran.bsky.social on What Iran Wants, the latest in the negotiations, & apocalypsemaxxing. Then @jodikantor.bsky.social on SCOTUS, #MeToo revisited, & advice for those starting or reinventing their careers. Enjoy! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

Iran’s Leaders Mostly Want a Deal Sure, there’s “infighting,” but not along the lines many assume. @arashtehran.bsky.social with an enlightening and informative piece on Iran’s collective leadership: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

I wrote about politics of diplomacy in Iran and why the purported “infighting” is overstated and misunderstood. Let me know what you think! www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Yes, but some very good work is being done by those in the diaspora to attempt to be a voice. They held a very important convention, it’s well worth following up on what they discussed and how they are moving forward. @arashtehran.bsky.social is a good go to on this imp subject.

This morning at Hancock High, seniors headed to the floor of the gym to receive their caps and gowns, each from a teacher they had chosen. Stacy Campbell waited there, holding her student Israel Makoka's cap and gown. But he wouldn't come. He and his brother, Max, 15, had been taken by ICE.

US, Iranian teams could return to Islamabad for peace talks this week, five sources say Credit to @arashtehran.bsky.social who had this scoop, far in advance of any news outlet. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

The U.S. has begun its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Laura Barrón-López, Inzamam Rashid, @rickstengel.bsky.social and @arashtehran.bsky.social join @anacabrera.bsky.social with more updates and analysis on the war with Iran. www.ms.now/ana-cabrera-...

Warum die Verhandlungen Erfolg haben können. Lesenswert von @arashtehran.bsky.social über die Rollen von Qalibaf und Vance und das Machtgefüge in Teheran. www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

“Hassan Asadi Zeydabadi, a human-rights lawyer & a former political prisoner, hopes the talks help curb anti-Western hostility. “Iranians want to live normal lives,” he said. “If the Islamic Republic continues its past international policies, we’d go back to conflict abroad and protests at home.””

I wrote about the coming Iranian-American talks in Pakistan, the role of Vance and Ghalibaf; and how the talks could change Iran. Let me know what you think! www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

btw this is textbook power play by Vance; the one person in Trump's circle who cannot be fired 😎 @arashtehran.bsky.social on the other site reported that Vance's direct talks with Iran's speaker of parliament Ghalibaf today facilitated the ceasefire

👁️👁️ Non-monarchist Iranian diaspora gathers in London: interesting and informative free article. 👇

TONIGHT - Trump celebrates Easter by threatening to unleash "hell" on Iran. Plus, the Democrat who thinks he can flip Marjorie Taylor Greene's old seat blue, and the extremely cursed AI renderings of Trump's future presidential "library."

JOINING US - @MarkHertling, @mpolymer1.bsky.social, @rebeccafelliott.bsky.social, @anneapplebaum.bsky.social, @arashtehran.bsky.social, @maxboot.bsky.social, @pkrugman.bsky.social

The Iran Freedom Congress has the potential to be the most significant achievement of the Iranian opposition in the past 47 years of the Islamic Republic. I recommend this read to anyone interested.

“But obstacles remain. As if to remind us of this, as the meeting wrapped up, Pahlavi supporters surrounded the building to protest the congress. Fearful of a violent confrontation, the London police escorted us out a back door.”

Last week I was in London to attend the launch of Iran Freedom Congress. I wrote about it and about the broader tasks facing the Iranian opposition. Let me know what you think! www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Boy, what a terrible headline. We *need* the wealthy to participate in public services. If only poor people ride the bus, then rich people won't wield their power in support of public transit or, worse, will wield their power *against* it.

Photo credit @cortado82

Tehran today. “Because Tehran lives on. Because Iran wasn’t born in a day” Via fellow Tehrani @arashtehran.bsky.social

India has banned ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’, citing foreign relations with Israel. Diplomacy must not be a blank cheque for censorship. Stand up for freedom of expression in Israel and India: join Israelis, Indians and allies against the ban. Sign and share: joshualoo.net/censorship

Thanks to @arashtehran.bsky.social, @yairwallach.bsky.social and @annaziel.bsky.social (apologies if I’ve missed anyone here) for signing.

This is a harrowing report on what life is like in Iran right now, from @arashtehran.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/internationa...