Middle East
10 briefs
The Ceasefire That Keeps Shooting
US and Iran are exchanging fire in the Strait of Hormuz while both sides insist a ceasefire is still in effect. One of them is lying, or neither knows what a ceasefire means.
Iran Offered a Deal. Trump Said No. The Blockade Continues.
Day 64 of the US-Iran war: a ceasefire holds in name while both sides blockade the world's most critical shipping strait and reject each other's terms.
The Lebanon Ceasefire Is Holding on Paper and Collapsing on the Ground
Thirteen people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday. Hezbollah fired back. Both sides are calling this a ceasefire.
Trump Extended a Ceasefire That Lebanon Cannot Keep
The Oval Office meeting produced a three-week truce extension and a photo opportunity. It did not produce a party that controls Hezbollah. That remains the only thing that matters.
The Ceasefire That Isn't
The US and Iran are both blocking shipping and calling it peace.
The Siege That Talks Are Supposed to End
The US blockade of Iranian ports is working militarily and collapsing diplomatically at the same time.
Israel and Lebanon Met in Washington. One Side Wanted a Ceasefire. The Other Wanted Disarmament.
The first direct Israel-Lebanon diplomatic talks in 30 years ended without agreement. Israel came to demand Hezbollah's disarmament. Lebanon came to ask for a ceasefire. Those are not the same conversation.
Pakistan's Both Sides
Pakistan is hosting US-Iran peace talks while simultaneously sending fighter jets to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact. The two moves are not contradictory. They are Pakistan's bet on being indispensable to everyone.
The Iran Ceasefire: Trump's Victory Lap Is a Cover Story
The deal was built on Iran's 10-point plan. Calling that a win requires ignoring what the plan says.
Trump's Iran Ceasefire: Victory or Surrender?
The strongman who threatened to destroy Iran just settled for a two-week pause.