The Levant Files

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Catch Up with Our Timely Podcast: Red Star Over Persia: The Forgotten History of Iran's Tudeh Party

A Journey Through Iran's Complex Communist Legacy Media historians and political scholars, take note: The Levant Files launches a new podcast exploring the tumultuous history of Iran's communist movement. "Red Star Over Persia: The Forgotten History of Iran's Tudeh Party" offers listeners an unprecedented deep dive into one of the Middle East's most influential yet often overlooked political movements of the 20th century. Listen now on Spotify The Communist Legacy in Iranian Politics The Tudeh Party of Iran, formed in 1941 with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, emerged as a significant political force that had considerable influence in its early years. The podcast meticulously tracks the party's evolution since its formation, following the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Persia and the abdication of Reza Shah in September 1941 . Our new Gemini AI-powered podcast aims to shed light on how the Tudeh Party played a pivotal role during Mohammad Mosaddegh'...

Iranian Communists Condemn U.S.-Israeli War, Call for Ceasefire and National Unity

Iran's Tudeh Party has issued a sweeping condemnation of what it describes as imperialist military aggression against Iran, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a broad national front to oppose both foreign intervention and the country's ruling theocracy. In a resolution adopted at an expanded meeting of the party's Central Committee on 17 March 2026, the Tudeh Party characterised the ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran as a war launched "under the false pretext of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons" at a time when diplomatic negotiations mediated by Oman were still underway. The document accuses most European Union governments of offering tacit approval through their silence. According to the resolution, the military campaign has so far resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries, nearly three million internally displaced persons, and the widespread destruction of residential areas and critical infrastructure. The party singled out a U.S. Toma...

Iran's State Media Frames Meloni's Gulf Tour as Submission to New Regional Order

Tehran-aligned outlet uses Italian PM's energy diplomacy to advance narrative of US-Israeli "aggression" and Iranian Hormuz dominance As Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni concluded a tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates aimed at securing energy supplies for Rome, Iranian state-affiliated media seized on the visit to advance Tehran's strategic messaging about the shifting balance of power in the Persian Gulf. Noornews, an outlet with direct ties to Iran's intelligence establishment and widely regarded as a mouthpiece for hardline factions within the Islamic Republic's security apparatus, published an extensive analysis framing Meloni's trip not as routine energy diplomacy but as evidence of what it called Europe's forced "adaptation to the new regional order" — one in which Iran holds decisive leverage over global energy flows. The outlet, which operates under the umbrella of Iranian state media and consistently reflec...

Zarif's Foreign Affairs Gambit From Tehran’s Perspective

A commentary published by Iran's state-linked Nournews offers a rare, layered critique of the former foreign minister's op-ed — raising questions about timing, narrative control, and the limits of diplomatic signalling during wartime. The publication of a signed op-ed by Mohammad Javad Zarif — Iran's former foreign minister and, until recently, Strategic Vice President to President Pezeshkian — in the prestigious pages of Foreign Affairs magazine has ignited an intense domestic controversy in Tehran. The piece, in which Zarif argues that Iran's military successes against the United States and Israel have created a propitious moment for negotiated de-escalation and mutual concessions, was never going to pass without comment. But the breadth and vehemence of the reaction, including from voices within the Islamic Republic's own media ecosystem, reveals as much about Iran's internal political fault lines as it does about the merits of his argument. Among the most s...

War With Iran Has Empowered Hard-Liners, Blocked Hormuz and Boosted Russia, Analyst Says

Writing in Foreign Policy, CNN host and geopolitical commentator Fareed Zakaria argues that two months into the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, the strategic balance sheet is deeply unfavourable to Washington. Writing in Foreign Policy on 3 April, Fareed Zakaria — host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS — opens with a stark assessment of what Iran actually looked like before the conflict began in late February. He notes that Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities had already been, in President Donald Trump's own words, 'completely and totally obliterated' during a twelve-day US-Israeli bombing campaign in June of last year, using stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. Israel's Defence Forces chief had declared that Iran's nuclear project and missile programme had been set back by years. The Islamic Republic had also been substantially weakened by earlier Israeli air campaigns in 2024, which killed key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)...

Botched Rescue: US Destroys Its Own Aircraft Deep Inside Iran After F-15 Crew Extraction Goes Wrong

Two American military transport aircraft became disabled and had to be destroyed inside Iranian territory on Sunday after a special forces mission to extract a downed F-15 crew member ran into serious difficulty, exposing the limits of US operational reach even as President Donald Trump hailed the outcome as one of the most daring rescues in American history. The 37th day of the American-Israeli war on Iran brought simultaneous escalation across the region, with Iranian drone and missile strikes hitting energy infrastructure in Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain. According to the New York Times, the two transport aircraft — dispatched to carry commandos and the rescued officer to safety — became stranded at a remote location deep inside Iran. American commanders ordered both aircraft destroyed on the spot to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands, and three additional planes were scrambled to complete the evacuation. The IRGC claimed to have struck two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-13...

DON'T MISS OUR NEW EPISODE: Historic Shift in the Mechanics of Global Power

Welcome, everyone. Today, we are analyzing a historic shift in the mechanics of global power. Based on the latest intelligence from the Levant Files, we are witnessing a moment where the multi-trillion-dollar Western military machine has hit a brick wall—not against a peer superpower, but against cheap, off-the-shelf technology. Military analysts describe the current US-Israel campaign against Iran as a "Zuszwang"—a chess term where every available move only worsens your position. The West is dominant in what we call "Second League" warfare: stealth jets, aircraft carriers, and $15 million interceptors. However, this conflict is being fought in the "Third League." The financial asymmetry is staggering. We are currently "shooting dollar bills at pennies." When a $4 million Patriot missile is used to down a $20,000 Shahed drone, the defender loses the war of attrition even if they hit the target. Furthermore, advanced electronic jamming is proving ...

Russian Political Scientist Argues Trump Is Permanently Dismantling NATO — Not Just Disrupting It

A commentary published in a Russian outlet frames Washington's alliance retreat as a structural shift, not a personality quirk A prominent Russian political scientist has argued that Donald Trump's hostility toward NATO represents not a temporary aberration but a permanent restructuring of American foreign policy — one that will outlast his presidency and fundamentally alter the transatlantic relationship. Writing in the Russian-language outlet Kommersant on 29 March, political scientist Igor Zevelev contended that Trump's approach reflects a broader social and ideological shift in the United States rather than mere personal idiosyncrasy. "Trump is not an exception, but an expression of a broader social shift," Zevelev wrote, arguing that Americans have grown weary of subsidising the security of others in the wake of costly and inconclusive Middle Eastern wars, ballooning national debt, and mounting domestic pressures. Zevelev drew particular attention to Trump...

Iran Holds Strong Cards, Stresses the Israeli Haaretz

As the guns continue to roar over Iran, a paradox is emerging at the heart of the US-Iran confrontation: Tehran appears to be holding a stronger hand than at any point since the war began, yet finds itself with no credible interlocutor willing — or able — to meet its terms. Writing in Haaretz, veteran Middle East analyst Zvi Bar'el cuts through the fog of competing narratives to expose what may be the defining contradiction of this conflict. Despite declaring that the war's military objectives are nearing completion, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made clear that the real goal now is to "compel Iran to realize that this new regime is in a better place if they make a deal" — an acknowledgment that Washington has shifted from military conquest to coercive diplomacy. But diplomacy requires a willing partner on both ends. And that, Bar'el argues, is precisely what is missing. Goals Abandoned, Leverage Surrendered In the weeks since strikes began, President Dona...