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The answer to the second question is more ambiguous. Yesterday, the U.S. appended a farcical element to the tragedies unfolding in the Gulf, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright first posted, then deleted, a tweet saying the Navy had successfully escorted a tanker through Hormuz. Greater clarity from the U.S. on this question does not appear to be forthcoming.

None of this is to suggest that the hawks’ project to lure Azerbaijan into the war has run out of steam. If the war continues for weeks or months, as now seems likely, the “humanitarian aid” that Aliyev has professed to be willing to offer Iran could plausibly turn into “humanitarian intervention” to protect his ethnic kin, a possibility that Baku’s pro-regime commentators openly entertain. That could include encroaching deep into Iranian territory to create what the latter call a “buffer zone.”

A Quincy Institute study found that 80% of four-star admiral and general retirees between 2018 and 2023 accepted lucrative positions in the defense industry. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has warned that government officials cashing in on their public service can lead to questions about whether “special interests gain access to key decisionmakers, undermining public officials’ integrity and casting doubt on the fairness of government contracting.”

Hezbollah’s decision to resume cross-border operations may therefore not be the irrational risky gambit some may claim it to be, especially given that the war against Iran poses an existential threat to the group itself.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.ca/post/61366641

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.ca/post/61366641

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/60195185

By their shameful, spineless stance on the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, European leaders have doomed whatever remained of their global influence and their pretensions to promote a “rules-based international order.”

cross-posted from : https://sopuli.xyz/post/41930733

cross-posted from : https://sopuli.xyz/post/41930733

The joint statement from the E3 — France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — is a master class in evasion. “We did not participate in these strikes, but are in close contact with our international partners, including the United States and Israel,” they declared. The text also lists all the references and rationalizations used by Iran hawks — “nuclear program, ballistic missile program, regional destabilization and repression against its own people.”

Yet despite the resolution’s growing support, Democratic leadership has not clearly rallied behind it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has issued public concerns about Trump’s rush to war, but has not said whether or not he supports the Khanna-Massie bill.

For presidents wary of protracted ground wars, airpower can appear to provide decisive action while minimizing American casualties and long-term commitments. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has bombed Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia and Venezuela, and has kidnapped a country’s leader, at almost no cost to the United States.

If Washington’s participation in Israel’s June 2025 war with Iran elevated U.S. military force to a perfectly viable instrument of the United States’ Iran policy, the success of current talks would signal the formal undoing of that logic. But should the failure of talks pave the way for another full-scale war, the United States and Israel will be fighting an Iran vastly different from June. For the Iran of today appears to have made its peace with the grim conclusion that while a decisive slog with Israel and the United States is sure to be agonizing, it is preferable to the recurring attrition of repeated wars and a chronic strategic vulnerability that only emboldens adversaries to target Iran and its regional allies.

Any sober analysis of America’s confrontation with Iran should tell us that the carrier battle groups can achieve no meaningful or positive political objectives should they be ordered to attack. The United States could order its land forces to somehow invade the country, but is there anyone who believes that such an extreme and unfathomable action would create a favorable outcome with what would be horrific costs?

But while U.S. military planners look at target lists, Iraq and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states see only risk.

Critics say Washington should walk away from a $210 million contract for Israeli-made weapons

On June 11, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a significant speech to a group of scientists, experts, and officials in Iran’s nuclear industry. He praised their achievements and cautiously approved the possibility of a deal with the West regarding Tehran’s nuclear program but also emphasized the importance of preserving Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

On June 11, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a significant speech to a group of scientists, experts, and officials in Iran’s nuclear industry. He praised their achievements and cautiously approved the possibility of a deal with the West regarding Tehran’s nuclear program but also emphasized the importance of preserving Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

On June 11, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a significant speech to a group of scientists, experts, and officials in Iran’s nuclear industry. He praised their achievements and cautiously approved the possibility of a deal with the West regarding Tehran’s nuclear program but also emphasized the importance of preserving Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

On June 11, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a significant speech to a group of scientists, experts, and officials in Iran’s nuclear industry. He praised their achievements and cautiously approved the possibility of a deal with the West regarding Tehran’s nuclear program but also emphasized the importance of preserving Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.