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Trump Faces Pressure to Escalate or Negotiate as Economist Says Iran Holds the Upper Hand

After a month of war, Iran appears to have gained strategic leverage despite sustained U.S. and Israeli attacks, according to a new Economist leader published on March 26. The article argues that President Donald Trump now faces a narrowing choice: deepen the conflict or move toward serious talks with Tehran. The Economist says the past week captured the volatility of the crisis. Trump first threatened punitive strikes on Iran’s civilian energy infrastructure, then stepped back after referring to possible peace proposals, while the Pentagon later announced the deployment of elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, a signal that escalation may still be on the table. Despite those shifts, the magazine argues that Iran’s leadership has shown little sign of backing down. Although Iran has suffered major military and political losses, including damage to its air defenses, navy and missile-launching capacity, the regime remains intact. The Economist contends that this survival alone amounts t...
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Hormuz on the Brink: Israel Claims Iran Naval Chief Killed as U.S. Forces Surge and Truce Efforts Falter

The Middle East crisis deepened on Thursday as Iran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, Israel claimed it had killed a senior Iranian naval commander, and U.S.-led ceasefire efforts appeared to stall despite intense backchannel diplomacy. Shipping and energy markets were jolted after reports said Tehran was effectively controlling passage through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing some vessels to submit cargo details and, in certain cases, pay fees for transit through one of the world’s most important oil corridors. The strait normally handles a major share of global oil and gas trade, and the disruption has pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel while raising fears of a broader economic shock. At the same time, Washington has moved additional military assets toward the region, including the USS Tripoli strike group and thousands of U.S. troops, in a sign that President Donald Trump is seeking to increase pressure on Tehran even as mediation channels remain open. Pakistan has conf...
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Trump Faces Domestic Blowback as Iran War Exposes Washington’s Strategic Gaps

An expanding political and economic backlash is confronting US President Donald Trump as rising fuel costs and mounting Republican unease sharpen criticism that Washington entered war with Iran without a coherent strategy. According to an opinion article by Douglas Bloomfield published in The Jerusalem Post on March  25, the administration’s biggest failure was not simply military escalation, but the absence of serious planning for what would follow. Bloomfield argued that Trump approached the Iran conflict with the same overconfidence that had shaped earlier foreign policy gambles, assuming that a swift decapitation strike against Iran’s leadership would quickly collapse the regime. Writing in The Jerusalem Post, he said the White House appeared to believe the war had effectively been won in its opening phase, only to find that Iran remained capable of retaliating and prolonging the conflict. A central example of that strategic failure, Bloomfield wrote, was Washington’s apparent ...
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Lebanon Is Collapsing — and the World Has Moved On

As Israel wages war on Hezbollah and a nation collapses, the international community offers little more than concerned statements In just three weeks, Lebanon has been reduced from a fragile state cautiously stitching itself back together to a country in free fall. Since March 2, 2026 — the day after the US-Israeli assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei triggered Hezbollah into action — Lebanon has endured over 1,000 deaths, the displacement of nearly one in five of its citizens, the collapse of its healthcare system, and economic devastation that experts warn could push GDP contraction to 10%. And yet, for most of the world, Lebanon is barely a footnote in a larger story about Iran.  A War That Wasn't Lebanon's to Start The brutal irony at the heart of this crisis is that Lebanon did not choose this war. On February 28, 2026, Washington and Tel Aviv struck Iran, killing Khamenei. Hezbollah — Iran's most powerful regional proxy — retaliated by firing rockets i...
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IMPORTANT: Pakistan Steps Forward as Mediator in US-Iran War, Offering to Host Talks

Islamabad positions itself as a credible diplomatic bridge as conflict escalates As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to reshape the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, Pakistan has emerged as one of the few actors still capable of speaking to all belligerent parties — and has formally offered to host negotiations between Washington and Tehran. According to international media reports, Islamabad is actively seeking to open back-channel and formal dialogue between the warring sides, leveraging its unique position as a state with working ties to both the United States and Iran. The Pakistani daily Daily Times, in an editorial published on 25 March, articulated the strategic logic behind Islamabad's offer with unusual clarity. Far from a symbolic gesture, the newspaper argued, Pakistan's diplomatic initiative reflects hard national interest: the country shares a 900-kilometre border with Iran, depends on energy supply routes running through the ...
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YOU WILL READ IT ONLY IN TLF: Tehran Reads Trump's Retreat as Strategic Paralysis, Not Diplomacy

Iran's state-affiliated Nournews dissects the five-day extension as a psychological warfare manoeuvre rather than a genuine opening As Donald Trump's 48-hour ultimatum threatening strikes on Iran's electricity infrastructure expired without action, Tehran's state-affiliated analytical outlet Nournews offered a pointed reading of Washington's pivot: the US administration, it argued, is not opening a diplomatic lane — it is buying time to escape a strategic trap of its own making. In an extensive political assessment published by Nournews, the outlet contended that Trump's announcement of a five-day extension, paired with claims of "constructive" ongoing negotiations with Iranian officials — a claim flatly denied by Tehran — amounts to a new tactical layer in an increasingly constrained American posture. Rather than signalling a genuine shift toward de-escalation, the outlet described the manoeuvre as a combination of psychological pressure, public opini...
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ALL YOU SHOULD KNOW: War, Words and Mixed Signals. Iran Pounds Gulf and Israel as US Peace Plan Lands in Tehran

Fighting raged across the Middle East on Wednesday as Iran launched fresh waves of missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf states, even as Pakistan delivered a US 15-point ceasefire proposal to Tehran — a diplomatic overture Iran's military swiftly and publicly ridiculed. The day's central diplomatic drama centred on a US-drafted framework for ending the nearly month-long conflict. Pakistan, acting as intermediary, confirmed it had presented Washington's ceasefire proposal to Iran, with senior Pakistani officials telling the Associated Press that the 15-point plan broadly covers sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran's nuclear programme, restrictions on its ballistic missile capabilities, and guarantees for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Turkey also confirmed it has been "passing messages" between Tehran and Washington, with Ankara positioning itself as a potential venue for direct talks alongside Islamabad. President Donald Trump insisted talks were prog...
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Iran Names Hardline Military Veteran as New National Security Council Chief

A veteran of Iran's hardline military and security establishment, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, has been appointed Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the Office of the Iranian President announced on Tuesday, March 24. Presidential deputy for information Mohammad Mahdi Tabatabaei said the appointment was made by presidential decree from President Masoud Pezeshkian and endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei. A former senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Zolqadr brings decades of experience across Iran's security, military, and judicial structures. Over his career, he has served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for Basij affairs, Deputy for Security at the Interior Ministry, advisor to the Judiciary Chief for crime prevention, and Head of the IRGC Joint Staff during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He also led the electoral headquarters of the Popular Front of Islamic Revol...
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Israeli Press: Chances of US-Iran Deal 'Very Small'

Israeli officials have expressed deep skepticism about the prospects of a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran, telling The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that the chances of a deal are "very small." According to The Jerusalem Post, the gap between the two sides stems not only from sweeping American demands — including restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, limits on ballistic missiles, and guarantees of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz — but also from significant Iranian counter-demands. "At the moment, the Iranians are insisting on American compensation, as well as guarantees from the administration that there will be no further action against Iran as part of any agreement," two sources involved in mediation efforts told the outlet. Despite public statements from President Donald Trump suggesting progress in negotiations, a source familiar with the details confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the deployment of American forces i...
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Turkey Steps Into the Breach as US-Iran War Scenarios Shift

As Washington and Tehran edge toward an uncertain pause in hostilities, Turkey has quietly emerged as a key diplomatic player — with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan holding undisclosed talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to analyst Murat Yetkin writing for YetkinReport. President Donald Trump announced on March 23 a five-day delay to planned strikes against Iran — just one day after mocking the Pope's ceasefire appeal and vowing he would not stop "while winning." Trump claimed two days of talks with Iran were underway, implying Tehran was ready to capitulate. Iran denied it. Competing Scenarios Yetkin outlines several competing explanations for Trump's sudden reversal. Gulf Arab states — led by Saudi Arabia — may have pressed Washington to pause, fearing catastrophic regional blowback. Iran had already warned Gulf nations to stockpile water and prepare backup generators, signaling it would target civilian infrastructure including desalination and power p...
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