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Italy’s Gamble for a ‘Europe of Nations’ Puts Meloni Between Trump and the Papacy

Italy’s recent clash involving Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, U.S. President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV is accelerating a shift toward a conservative vision of a “Europe of Nations,” in which sovereign states reclaim strategic autonomy while remaining inside the Western alliance framework, writes Alessandro Imperiali in The Conservative. At the heart of Rome’s current posture is the idea of a “Europe of Nations,” rooted in the European right’s tradition and inspired by Charles de Gaulle’s conviction that Europe must be an alliance of sovereign states, not a supranational bureaucracy. In this vision, Italy seeks renewed centrality—especially in the Mediterranean—by asserting more room for national decision‑making without formally breaking from its commitments to NATO, the European Union and the transatlantic relationship. The immediate trigger for the latest tensions was Italy’s decision not to renew its defense memorandum with Israel, officially justified by repeated attacks on Ital...
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Iran’s 1979 Revolution: How Clerics Won a Contested Uprising

Nearly half a century after Iran’s 1979 revolution, its outcome is still widely miscast as an almost natural slide from monarchy to theocracy, yet Hossam el-Hamalawy’s analysis in The New Arab shows it was the product of fierce social and political struggle, not cultural destiny. In his piece for the London-based outlet, the Egyptian scholar-activist argues that the Islamic Republic emerged from contingent battles among competing forces within a broad revolutionary coalition, rather than from an allegedly “innately religious” society. Far from a mere religious eruption, the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi capped decades of uneven, top-down capitalist modernisation driven by oil revenues, rapid industrialisation and urban growth, alongside tightly controlled political participation. Rural displacement and widening inequality pushed millions into precarious urban life, fuelling mass unrest that, by 1978, had spilled beyond elite circles into nationwide demonstrations and cripplin...

Iranian MP: Trump’s ‘Controlled War’ in Tatters as Iran Claims Strategic Victory

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Iran has upended U.S. President Donald Trump’s assumption that any confrontation with Tehran could be contained, arguing that Washington now fears a wider regional war it can no longer control, according to comments published by Hamshahri Online citing an interview with Tasnim news agency. Rasoul Bakhshi Dastjerdi, a member of parliament from Isfahan, said Iran’s use of asymmetric warfare has exposed the limits of America’s expensive military hardware and forced Washington and Israel to halt recent offensives without achieving their objectives. He argued that Iran’s “agile” forces have managed to “stop the obese American war machine” and demonstrate that U.S.-style high-tech arsenals no longer guarantee battlefield dominance. Bakhshi Dastjerdi said the United States, backing Israel, joined an assault on Iran in the summer of 2026 but was compelled to accept a ceasefire after 12 days of heavy exchanges because it failed to meet its strategic goals while Is...

Iran Says Serious About Diplomacy but Ready for Defense as Talks with US Continue

Iranian officials have reiterated that Tehran is committed to pursuing diplomacy to end what it describes as the US-Israeli “war of aggression,” while stressing that the country remains fully prepared to defend its security and national interests. According to the Tasnim News Agency, the Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made the remarks on Monday during a meeting in Tehran with Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is visiting Iran for consultations with senior officials. Araqchi said Iran is serious about diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict but warned that Tehran would “spare no effort” to strengthen its defensive preparedness. He described what he called “contradictory and excessive demands” by the United States as a major obstacle to progress in negotiations. Referring to past experiences, Araqchi cited what he characterized as Washington’s breach of commitments and “betrayal of diplomacy,” saying Iran’s decision to enter talks was based on a responsible a...

Persian Media Divide: How Iran's State TV and Independent Outlets Frame Trump's Latest Iran Moves

A comparative analysis of IRIB News, BBC Persian, and Iran International over the past 24 hours Three major Persian-language news outlets are telling starkly different stories about Donald Trump's latest Iran announcements — a two-week ceasefire conditioned on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a continued maritime blockade — revealing a sharp editorial fault line between state-controlled and independent media. State broadcaster IRIB and its affiliated outlets are framing Trump's conditional pause as an American climb-down forced by Iranian military resolve. Quoting official sources, IRIB flatly denies Trump's claims of back-channel contacts, calling them a "lie," and describes his retreat from an earlier strike plan as an "abject retreat" driven by fear of Iran's armed forces. The language is deliberate and combative — terms like "firm and credible threat" and "no negotiations have taken place" dominate the coverage. Crucially, I...

THIS IS NOT PEACE: Trump Delays Iran Strike, Cites "Serious Negotiations" — But War Remains on the Table

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he has called off a planned military strike against Iran, citing what he described as "serious negotiations" underway between the two sides. The announcement, which rattled global markets and drew immediate international attention, stopped short of declaring a breakthrough — and Trump made clear that a "full, large scale assault" remains on the table if diplomacy fails. The White House statement confirmed that a strike had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed at the request of negotiating parties. Trump, speaking to reporters, said there was a "very good chance" of reaching a deal with Tehran, but offered few specifics. Senior officials stressed that U.S. forces remain on high alert and fully prepared to execute military options should talks collapse. Analysts and major news outlets — including Reuters, Al Jazeera, and the BBC — were quick to frame the move as coercive bargaining rather than a genui...

Israel Prepares for Renewed Iran Strikes as Trump Stalls on Decision

Writing in Haaretz, military analyst Amos Harel warns that while U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to signal clear intentions on renewing hostilities with Iran, Israel is behaving as though a new military campaign is all but inevitable. Both the Israeli government and military are hinting through statements and actions that they are actively preparing for a renewed round of U.S.-led strikes against Tehran. Trump's talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing yielded no visible results on the Iran file. Washington had reportedly hoped to trade concessions to Beijing over Taiwan pressure in exchange for Chinese diplomatic intervention in the Persian Gulf crisis — but no progress was made. The diplomatic deadlock leaves Israel in a strategic limbo, caught between an indecisive Washington and a rapidly recovering adversary. Iran's Nuclear and Missile Programs Largely Intact A damning assessment from Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, executive director of Tel Aviv's Institu...

Iran Warns of Military Surprises as Tensions with US Simmer: A Strategy of Preparedness and Diplomatic Leverage

As diplomatic channels with Washington remain active through intermediaries, Iran is signaling a multi-layered strategy should hostilities with the United States resume. In a detailed press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ismail Baqaei outlined a posture of heightened military readiness, legal countermeasures, and reinforced regional diplomacy, emphasizing that Tehran will not be passive in the face of renewed aggression. Baquqaei stated unequivocally that Iran’s armed forces are "prepared for any scenario" and possess "military surprises" should the U.S. or its allies take hostile action. This rhetoric underscores a strategy of deterrence through asymmetric capability, aiming to raise the perceived cost of any military strike. The spokesman framed recent regional tensions—including the January 2024 missile exchanges—as a catalyst for Iran to adopt "measures for its national security" based on international law, a position it maintains is legitimate...

Israel Seizes Gaza Flotilla Off EU Coastline — And Greece and Cyprus Have Questions to Answer

Israeli naval commandos boarded vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters off Cyprus on Monday morning — deep inside the maritime neighbourhood of two European Union member states, neither of which has taken any public action to stop it. The interception, the third in roughly a year and the second carried out hundreds of kilometres from Israel's coast, seized a number of the convoy's lead boats and detained hundreds of activists from 45 countries; the remainder were expected to turn back. The flotilla had departed the Turkish port of Marmaris on Thursday, May 14, bound for Gaza, whose Israeli naval blockade has been in place since 2007. Livestreams from the flotilla showed commandos in tactical gear boarding several of the lead vessels with weapons drawn, while activists wearing life jackets raised their hands and, in some cases, threw mobile phones into the sea before transmissions cut. According to Israeli reporting, the operation was designed to seize roug...

Choked at Hormuz, Crushed at Home: How a Distant War Is Detonating the World's Class Fault Lines

  From Nairobi's burning barricades to Dhaka's silent generators, the same shock — and the same losers. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively shut since late February, when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — triggered Tehran's closure of the world's most important oil chokepoint. Pre-war, roughly 20% of global seaborne oil and LNG passed through it; today only a small fraction of normal traffic moves. The International Energy Agency calls it the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Brent crude has traded above $100 a barrel for months, peaking near $126. But the deepest damage is not on the trading floor. It is in the wage packet, the fuel queue and the factory line — and it is falling, almost without exception, on the people who can least absorb it. Nairobi: A Strike Lit by a Gulf Pipeline On May 18, Kenya's public-transport sector shut the country down. Matatu owners, truckers...