Top Israeli officials, now on an official visit to Washington, are pushing for US military action against Iran. It's a dangerous provocation that should be mainstream news. Look it up and you'll find next to no coverage in the US media about top Israeli officials visiting Washington this week to push for military strikes against Iran, raising the risk of sparking war. Yet that's exactly what happened. -Branko Marcetic, Jacobin 12/30/21

Seven U.S. foreign policy hawks, with decades of disaster behind them, are urging the Biden administration to threaten a military attack on Iran. The headline should read: "Arsonists Call for Setting Controlled Fires in Iran." Seven U.S. foreign policy hawks, with decades of disaster in the Mideast behind them, just published a statement urging the Biden administration to threaten a military attack on Iran. -Mondoweiss 12/23/21

As negotiations to renew the nuclear deal between Iran and the United States in Vienna grind on, commentators have begun to seriously float the idea of a military strike on Iran to prevent it from going nuclear. Leon Panetta, Michele Flournoy, Dennis Ross and others wrote that the threat of a strike would be necessary to convince Iran "it will suffer severe consequences if it stays on its current path." Regional experts Eric Brewer and Henry Rome reached the same conclusion: the threat of a strike should be kept in reserve to convince Iran to rein in its activity. -Gregory Brew, Responsible Statecraft 12/22/21

This bipartisan framing of the issue, deferentially accepted by establishment media, entirely excludes a third option from the discourse: a common-sense proposal which has nearly unanimous international support. So, what is this international consensus? Simple: a nuclear weapons-free-zone in the Middle East, where all nuclear materials would be under the direct control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. -Jacob Batinga, Common Dreams 12/15/21

New Zealand dramatist Eric Bradwell's play "There Is No Return" on the aftermath of wars is being performed in the form of a stage reading at the Javanmard Hall of the Iranian Theater Forum. The story of the play is about the Forrester family, who assume they have lost their eldest son in the war... 12/15/21

With JCPOA talks not looking promising, Israel is pressuring Biden to turn to a military option that will only make things worse. Israeli officials in Washington on Thursday reportedly urged the United States to launch strikes against Iranian targets, in what would be an unprecedented escalation of hostilities. -Annelle Sheline and Bruce Riedel, Responsible Statecraft 12/14/21

One would think that Israel, which receives $3.8 billion annually from the U.S., would feel obligated not to drag the U.S. and their own people into such a disaster. But that doesn't seem to be the case. -Ariel Gold and Medea Benjamin, Common Dreams 12/13/21

That conclusion seems unavoidable watching President Joe Biden fail to revive the Iran nuclear deal from which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew in 2018. The Iranian side has demanded the removal of sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump, as well as a guarantee that a future U.S. administration will not once again abruptly pull out of the nuclear deal, which is known as the JCPOA. -Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept 12/8/21

As negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program convened in Vienna on Monday, more than three years after the U.S. walked away from an international agreement, anti-war groups called on the Biden administration "to choose the proven path of peace" and re-enter the pact for the benefit of Iranians, Americans, and the global population. -Julia Conley, Common Dreams 11/30/21

There can't be the slightest doubt: America worships its Pentagod and the weapons and wars that feed it. Who is America's god? The Christian god of the beatitudes, the one who healed the sick, helped the poor, and preached love of neighbor? Not in these (dis)United States. In the Pledge of Allegiance, we speak proudly of One Nation under God, but in the aggregate, this country doesn't serve or worship Jesus Christ, or Allah, or any other god of justice and mercy. In truth, the deity America believes in is the five-sided one headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. -William J. Astore, Responsible Statecraft 11/26/21

In Vienna, at the end of November, the indirect talks to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will resume. Of the original P5+1, five states remain within the nuclear deal: Iran, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Of course, the missing country is US. The JCPOA was inked during the Barack Obama administration. It is seen as a bright spot-a true accomplishment-on a foreign affairs record that was otherwise bloody, imperialist, often treasonous, and even genocidal. -Connor Freeman, Libertarian Institute 11/18/21

"We've seen that maximum pressure sanctions don't work and now as we're still reeling from a global pandemic their impacts on everyday people and families in Iran is inexcusable." Dozens of groups called on U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday to restore diplomatic relations with the Iranian government by assisting with humanitarian efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and rejoining the Iran nuclear deal. -Common Dreams 11/3/21

US government has made a habit of threatening other countries with military attack if they fail to do what Washington wants, and in some cases the other country finds itself under attack even when it has complied. Iran fully complied with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for several years, and only began reducing its compliance after the US had violated all its obligations and waged an economic war against them. Nine months into Biden's presidency, the US and Israel now routinely threaten to attack Iran while all the Trump-era "maximum pressure" sanctions remain in place. -Daniel Larison, Antiwar.com 11/3/21

More than three dozen grassroots advocacy and policy organizations across the country are calling on the Biden administration to alleviate sanctions on Iran for the purchase of vaccines and other humanitarian supplies as a gesture of goodwill, and to potentially jumpstart stalled negotiations for both parties to return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. -Ben Armbruster, Responsible Statecraft 11/3/21

Washington must not allow anyone to suck it into self-serving strategies of confrontation in the Middle East or elsewhere. Speeches by the heads of government of Iran and Israel at the United Nations General Assembly this year illustrate two very different ways a regime's international rival might fit into its strategy. -Paul R. Pillar, Responsible Statecraft 11/1/21

Washington and Tel Aviv's threats against Iran are rapidly proliferating. The Israelis reportedly just approved a $1.5 billion budget for a possible military attack on Iran. Israel's Air Force is currently training "intensely" to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Under Joe Biden's watch, the Iranian people continue to be crushed under the same cruel "maximum pressure" sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration. -Connor Freeman, Libertarian Institute 10/28/21

The Israeli alarmists say they are convinced that Iran is on the brink of a dangerous breakout stage in developing its nuclear bomb. Oy-vey, oy-vey; better stop them now before it's too late! The Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, seems to confirm that we are running out of time for bringing the Iranians to the negotiating table to discuss a less forceful resolution to stop the ticking bomb. Israelis believe they now see a green light from Washington, which means that they can take a unilateral military action against Iran without objections or support by the United States. O, really?! -Kambiz Zarrabi 10/20/21

Coordinated warnings last week from the US, Israel and the EU that "time is short" to revive an agreement curbing Iran's nuclear activities raise a disturbing question: what will opposing governments do if, as seems likely, Tehran's hardline regime continues to drag its feet while accumulating the wherewithal to build a nuclear weapon? -Simon Tisdall, Guardian 10/18/21

As indirect talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remain in limbo, the U.S. and Israeli governments continue suggesting that "other options," including military action, are available and will be considered if the talks should fail. The latest example of this came during a press conference between Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week along with their counterpart from the United Arab Emirates. -Daniel Larison, Responsible Statecraft 10/15/21

Amid the growing debate over the U.S. role in the world after the end of its "longest war" in Afghanistan, Americans want more diplomatic engagement and less military intervention in their nation's foreign policy, according to the findings of a new poll released by the Eurasia Group Foundation. -Jim Lobe, Responsible Statecraft 9/30/21

U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has proved to be business as usual for the Biden administration, though superficially presented as a break from the Trump administration's embrace of the region's authoritarian leaders. Biden has also stressed democracy and the rule of law as the linchpin of the United States' contest with China, Russia, and the global rise of authoritarianism. -John Hursh and Sarah Leah Whitson, Responsible Statecraft 9/22/21

The Bible tells us that Cyrus the Great of Persia went to Babylon to rescue the Jewish people from captivity some 2,500 years ago; doubtless a very noble cause. No; he didn't! Cyrus was not motivated or "anointed" by Yahweh for that noble mission; he was a warrior, a conqueror, out to expand the domain of the empire he was ruling over. He was in his seventies when he was slain in another battle of expansion, this time against the Massagetae tribes, in the marshlands of eastern Caspian Sea area, a thousand kilometers away from Persia's capital. -Kambiz Zarrabi 9/16/21

THE U.S.-LED global war on terror has killed nearly 1 million people globally and cost more than $8 trillion since it began two decades ago. These staggering figures come from a landmark report issued Wednesday by Brown University's Costs of War Project, an ongoing research effort to document the economic and human impact of post-9/11 military operations. -Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept 9/2/21

Media coverage of the Taliban takeover of Kabul would lead most Americans to believe that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan began after 9/11, with the invasion launched to topple the previous Taliban government. But Afghanistan has been at war continuously for forty-two years, and the Pentagon has been involved every step of the way, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. -Zoltan Grossman, Progressive 8/24/21

As in Iraq, as in Libya, as in Mali. It is time to finally bury the doctrine of the so-called "responsibility to protect", which was coined at the time of the beginning of the Afghan war, and to brand it as what it was from the beginning: a neocolonial project. -Fabian Scheidler, Common Dreams 8/20/21

The war on terror is still not over, and Spencer Ackerman's new book Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump is essential reading for understanding why it persists. Ackerman, one of the best national security reporters of the last twenty years, has traced the post-9/11 growth of the U.S. security state and the expansion of the war on terror that is as endless as it is toxic. -Daniel Larison, Responsible Statecraft 8/20/21

While the scenes in Afghanistan have been horrifying and much has been said about Biden's decision to withdraw and the process by which it has been conducted, it's also important that we take a wider view of why the United States has stayed so long in Afghanistan, and what that means for competing war powers granted to both Congress and the president in the Constitution. -Sarah Burns, Responsible Statecraft 8/19/21

If you're looking for signs that America hasn't learned much from its decades-long involvement in Afghanistan, I recommend a New York Times piece that ran Saturday under the headline "Afghanistan's Unraveling May Strike Another Blow to US Credibility." -Nonzero 8/18/21

Amid the lightning collapse of Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government and the all-but-certain return of Taliban rule, anti-war activists on Monday stressed that diplomacy, not bombs or the military-industrial complex, is the only path to lasting peace. -Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams 8/17/21

Most people would not have even noticed the careless omission in a news report back in February, 2013. But for filmmaker Granaz Moussavi, it was the catalyst for a powerful new movie. -The Australian 8/13/21

Instability in the Middle East has often been blamed on a single expansionist U.S. opponent, whether that be Libya, Iraq, or Iran. However, a qualitative and quantitative view of the region's conflicts over the past 10 years shows several states to be interventionist to roughly the same degree, contradicting the argument that regional instability is primarily caused by a single "malign actor." -Matthew Petti and Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute 7/22/21

Ending endless war has become an ever-present catchphrase, employed by Republicans and Democrats alike, to appeal to the majority of Americans who wish to see an end to ineffective U.S. wars and adventurism across the world, and better use of their hard-earned tax dollars. But, while we may think of war to mean military incursions, bombs and fighting, there is an aspect to U.S. warfare that is too-often absent from the discussion: economic warfare. -Assal Rad, Responsible Statecraft 7/19/21

Congress's momentum toward finally repealing the decades-old Iraq war authorization has hit a speed bump. After the House of Representatives in June overwhelmingly voted on a bipartisan basis to pass Rep. Barbara Lee's (D-Calif.) bill to revoke the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force, similar efforts in the Senate have hit a temporary standstill. -Elizabeth Beavers, Responsible Statecraft 7/15/21

Let's hope Biden has learned another history lesson: that the United States should stop invading and attacking other countries. If Biden had quickly rejoined the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran on taking office, tensions would be lower by now, and the U.S. troops in Iraq might well be home already. - Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J.S. Davies, Common Dreams 7/13/21

If you ever wondered why Americans have an extremely irrational fear of Iran, two recent articles from Politico can provide a good answer. On Saturday evening over the Memorial Day weekend, Politico published what it purported to be an "exclusive" - "U.S. monitoring Iranian warships that may be headed to Venezuela," the headline read, with the two opening graphs -Ben Armbruster, Responsible Statecraft 6/4/21

Who should I hold responsible for the death of my son, killed in action while serving in Iraq 14 years ago this month? A Washington-based law firm, Sparacino, has stepped up to offer a straightforward answer to that question: I should blame Iran. My wife and I recently received a letter from the firm inviting us to join a lawsuit against the Islamic Republic that will "empower us to attempt to seize Iranian assets on your behalf should any opportunities emerge." -Andrew J. Bacevich, Responsible Statecraft 5/31/21

Nedda Besharat launched the Project Speac website this year, and it connects kids at Pewaukee High School with students in Iran. "I truly believe that cultural understanding can be sparked from just having a simple conversation with another person and discovering we're more alike than we are different," Besharat said. And for Nedda, it's a personal mission. -Natalie Shepherd, CBS 58 5/21/21

After weeks of negotiations in Europe, more than 50 members of the Democratic National Committee and state party leaders sent a letter Monday urging U.S. President Joe Biden to scrap his predecessor's economic sanctions against Iran and return to the nuclear deal that was reached in 2015. -Common Dreams 5/11/21

More than 40 humanitarian and human rights organizations called on the Biden administration to lift economic restrictions that are making it more difficult for Iran to deal with the coronavirus pandemic in a Wednesday open letter. The United States is currently enforcing strict sanctions on the Iranian economy, many of them imposed during the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign. -Matthew Petti, Responsible Statecraft 4/22/21

As diplomats continue negotiations in Vienna aimed at the United States returning to the Iran nuclear deal, over 40 faith-based, human rights, and civil society groups on Wednesday published an open letter urging the Biden administration to lift "unconscionable" sanctions against the Iranian people as they endure the dual crises of the economic embargo and coronavirus pandemic. -Common Dreams 4/22/21

Hundreds of Iranian civility society activists have condemned the recent attack on the country's nuclear facility, which they say was aimed at derailing talks in Vienna on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA. Diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, and Russia are currently meeting in Vienna to reach an agreement on the necessary steps for bring the United States and Iran into compliance with the 2015 accord. A U.S. delegation is also in Vienna but not talking directly to Iranian diplomats. -Sajjad Safaei, Responsible Statecraft 4/21/21

A former advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israeli actions against Iran may lead to a war that endangers civilian life, but supported that strategy over the Biden administration's current diplomacy with Iran. Speaking at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, retired major general Yaakov Amidror found a receptive audience of American hawks who believed the Biden administration needed to be saved from its own policy choices. -Matthew Petti, Responsible Statecraft 4/21/21

You are in the war zone. is a retrospective exhibition of the Iranian artist Farideh Sakhaeifar, curated by Klaudia Ofwana Draber presented by Trotter&Sholer; and KODA. This tight but emotionally packed show harshly criticizes U.S. foreign policy in the MENA region and gives ample space to contemplate the suffering of its people under constant imperialist aggression. -Jonas Albro, Arte Fuse 4/20/21

Last week's cyberattack on an Iranian nuclear facility, reportedly by Israeli intelligence, is the latest gambit from the coalition of Israeli leaders, Christian fundamentalists, and hawkish Washington neocons who want to block a US return to the Iran nuclear agreement. If they're successful, millions of ordinary Iranians suffering under draconian sanctions will pay the price. -Ariel Gold & Medea Benjamin, Jacobin 4/15/21

Whatever else happens in the coming hours and days in the high-stakes drama over Iran's nuclear program, there is one thing we can all be sure of. Israel's apparent, daring attack on Iran's uranium enrichment facility in Natanz will be repeatedly and widely described in U.S. media as a move intended to "set back Iran's nuclear program." But it was nothing of the kind. -John Ghazvinian, Responsible Statecraft 4/13/21

Benjamin Netanyahu is desperate. His first corruption trial has already started; he's struggling to form a government that might keep him out of jail; even observers who recognize his past ability to squirm out of trouble think he may finally have come to the end of the line. As the talks continue in Vienna to restore the Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu's desperation could prompt him to extreme measures to try and sabotage the agreement - but, yet again, the U.S. mainstream media is ignoring the Israel angle. -James North, Mondoweiss 4/9/21

Despite being the most powerful nation in the world, the last U.S. election exposed the fragility of American democracy. It highlighted the need to continually work toward improving and fostering our democratic institutions... In order to nurture democracy, President Joe Biden should abide by its core belief to carry out the will of the people. His administration's openness to diplomacy with Iran reflects that very will. -Assal Rad, Newsweek 4/6/21

Antiwar protesters demonstrated Saturday outside the suburban New Jersey home of Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) over his opposition to diplomacy with Iran. The protest was led by Codepink and Peace Action NJ. About two dozen people marched to the house in the upscale suburb of Englewood Cliffs where Menendez's third wife lives and the senator spends much of the year. -Matthew Petti, Responsible Statecraft 4/5/21

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz is best known for his leadership in promoting "economic warfare" against Iran as a means to foment regime change in Tehran or outright war with the Islamic Republic. Part of that campaign requires spreading a lot of mis- or disinformation, and Dubowitz himself has been a fervent participant in those efforts. -Ben Armbruster, Responsible Statecraft 3/31/21

President Biden campaigned on the promise of reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and we must hold him to that. Returning to the Iran deal is a necessary requirement for effective, broader diplomacy with Iran. The United States, along with people worldwide, deserve a long-term diplomatic approach to Iran and the wider region that minimizes human suffering and fosters lasting peace. -15 Participating Organizations 3/30/21

Can a culturally appropriative murder mystery in the guise of a cooking class prevent war with Iran? Piehole's interactive new Zoom play aims to find out. Disclaimer begins as a Persian cooking class on Zoom. Writer Tara Ahmadinejad also stars as Nargis Saleem, an Iranian American woman flailing in her attempts to teach her class how to cook Sabzi Polo, a dish traditionally served for the Persian New Year. It quickly becomes clear that Chef Nargis has an ulterior motive for this gathering. -American Theatre 3/25/21

President Joe Biden has inherited many debacles at home and abroad, including a global war that spans continents and has seen hundreds of thousands killed and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent. This endless war was almost catastrophically expanded by former President Donald Trump and his aggressive policies toward Iran. As the Biden years begin, the administration must fundamentally end America's reliance on military force, starting with coming to a lasting peace with Iran. -Sina Toossi and Yasmine Taeb, USA Today 3/22/21

Senate Democrats are considering signing on to a letter that critics say is meant to complicate President Biden's plan to return to the Iran nuclear deal, and is led by a senator who has been calling for war with Iran for more than a decade. -Ben Armbruster, Responsible Statecraft 3/18/21

Many Americans and Europeans applauded US President Joe Biden's recent willingness to authorise military strikes against Iranian-backed armed groups in Syria. This show of force was needed, they argue, to establish the credibility of the new US administration and to deter future attacks on US and coalition forces. There is also a sentiment among Europeans that, because Biden is not Donald Trump, the United States can now conduct military strikes in a calibrated manner that avoids escalation. But, in the chaotic battlegrounds of the Middle East, this argument is a dangerous fallacy. -Julien Barnes-Dacey and Ellie Geranmayeh, Responsible Statecraft 3/12/21

The Friendship Tree Planting Ceremony was held in Behesht Madaran Park on Wednesday afternoon with participation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mayor of Tehran Pirouz Hanachi, and the spouses of foreign diplomats residing in Tehran. -Mona Hoobehfekr 3/11/21

Last September, Joe Biden proposed a dramatic alternative to Donald Trump's bellicose Iran policies. As president, he would offer "a credible path back to diplomacy" aiming at return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, if Iran too returned to compliance. While spare on details, the overall thrust was clear: A Biden administration would prioritize the Iran deal as a centerpiece of its approach to the Middle East. -Perry Cammack, American Prospect 3/10/21

On March 3, 2021, 32 organizations, on behalf of the pro-diplomacy majority of the U.S. public, sent a letter to President Biden calling for him to fulfill his campaign promise to move swiftly to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. 3/5/21

As frustration is building among federal lawmakers over President Joe Biden's recent retaliatory airstrikes on facilities in Syria that the administration said belonged to Iran-backed militia groups, a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced legislation to rein in some of the president's war powers. -Common Dreams 3/4/21

American neocons and hawks, including those inside his own administration, appear to be flexing their muscles to kill Biden's commitment to diplomacy at birth, and his own hawkish foreign policy views make him dangerously susceptible to their arguments. -Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J.S. Davies, Common Dreams 2/16/21

A coalition of more than 80 anti-war advocacy groups and experts is calling on President Joe Biden to solidify his commitment to ending U.S. support for the devastating, years-long assault on Yemen by permanently canceling dozens of Trump era arms sales-worth a combined $36.5 billion-to the murderous Saudi regime and the United Arab Emirates. -Common Dreams 2/12/21

Several proponents of regime change and war - as well as a Saudi prince and intelligence chief - signed a letter asking President Joe Biden to be "bipartisan" by continuing the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Iran. The letter was organized by United Against Nuclear Iran, a pressure group that received funding from recently-deceased Republican Party megadonor Sheldon Adelson, and Thomas Kaplan, an investor whose companies looked to profit from unrest in the Middle East. -Matthew Petti, Responsible Statecraft 2/8/21

Peace-loving people around the world and anti-war Democrats in Congress hailed reports Wednesday that the Biden administration is imposing a temporary freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pending a review of billions of dollars worth of weapons deals with the repressive regimes approved during the presidency of Donald Trump. -Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams 1/28/21

President Biden's commitment to re-entering the Iran nuclear deal-formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA-is already facing backlash from a motley crew of warhawks both domestic and foreign. Right now, opponents of re-entering the deal are centering their vitriol on one of the nation's foremost experts on both the Middle East and diplomacy: Robert Malley, who Biden might tap to be the next Iran envoy. -Medea Benjamin & Ariel Gold, Common Dreams 1/27/21

President Joe Biden and his top foreign policy aides have promised to move carefully to achieve one of his main diplomatic goals: restoring the 2015 international agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program, which former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018. Iran hawks like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are determined to quickly stymie Biden's plans. -Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Huffington Post 1/25/21

In violation of legal bans on collective punishment, U.S. sanctions on Iran harm ordinary people, not the Iranian government. These crippling sanctions have robbed the people of their livelihood, violating individuals' right to health, making the Coronavirus pandemic more lethal, and causing unnecessary suffering and death. Many members of the U.S. Congress have expressed their urgent concern. -Action Network 1/22/21

The United States and Iran have spent decades in a tumultuous relationship, including: US overthrowing their elected leader in 1953, Iranian revolution with American hostage-taking, sanctions, diplomatic breakthroughs and a nuclear treaty, US exiting the treaty, coupled with the start of yet more sanctions. President Biden hopes to re-enter the nuclear treaty with Iran, which was working well, according to all international arms inspection organizations. -David Powell, Counterpunch 1/22/21

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is reportedly planning to accuse Iran of links to Al Qaeda in a speech Tuesday, an allegation critics described as a rehashing of a Bush administration lie that served as part of the rationale for the catastrophic invasion of Iraq in 2003. -Jake Johnson, Common Dreams 1/12/21

A group of more than 50 international relations and Middle East experts have signed onto a letter urging President-elect Joe Biden to swiftly return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. President Donald Trump had broken with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, replacing it with an economic and military pressure campaign aimed at the Iranian government. -Matthew Petti, Responsible Statecraft 1/8/21

President Trump's incitement of criminal mob violence and occupation of the Capitol makes clear there is no limitation whatever on the abuse of power he may commit in the next two weeks he remains in office. Outrageous as his incendiary performance was on Wednesday, I fear he may incite something far more dangerous in the next few days: his long-desired war with Iran. -Daniel Ellsberg, Guardian 1/8/21

We need a decisive break from the previous century of US policy toward Iran, which has been based on domination. One year after the United States government assassinated Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani and nearly plunged the two countries into war, will the new administration lead a shift in relations? -Azadeh Shahshahani and Khury Petersen-Smith, Nation 1/5/21

Foreign policy experts are sounding the alarm that U.S. President Donald Trump could launch an assault on Iran in the final weeks of his administration, potentially provoking a full-blown war just days before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. -Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams 1/5/21

The U.S. mainstream media's biggest failure is not that it distorts coverage, but that most of it doesn't cover the danger of a Mideast conflict at all. -James North, Common Dreams 1/5/21

There is a lot of buzz inside the Beltway, most of it generated inside the Beltway, about possible hostilities between Iran and the Trump administration in the Mad President's last 17 days in office. Some of this buzz is around today's January 3rd, 2020, anniversary of Trump's assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Gen. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, by rocket at Baghdad International Airport. -Juan Cole, Common Dreams 1/4/21

No one thought President Donald Trump would leave quietly. But would he go so far as to start a military confrontation with Iran on his way out? Recent military movements by the Pentagon in the Middle East, combined with Israeli media reports that Saudi Arabi and Israel are pressing Trump to bomb Iran before he leaves office, has fueled speculation that Trump may be planning his biggest - and likely most disastrous - stunt yet. -Trita Parsi, Responsible Statecraft 1/2/21

Hours after the U.S. flew two nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Persian Gulf for the second time this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed Thursday that he is aware of intelligence suggesting that President Donald Trump's administration is engaged in a "plot to fabricate a pretext for war"during its final days in power. -Jake Johnson, Common Dreams 1/2/21