The Levant Files

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Defiance, Fatigue, and Distrust: What Persian-Language Media Is Saying About the US-Iran Clash

As the renewed exchange of fire between Washington and Tehran enters its second week following the collapse of the Islamabad memorandum, Persian-language media — spanning hardline outlets inside Iran, reformist and pragmatic-conservative papers, state wire services, and diaspora/exile channels broadcasting from abroad — has produced a dense stream of analysis and opinion over the past 24 to 48 hours. Read together, the coverage reveals a media landscape less united behind a single narrative than fractured along the same fault lines that run through Iranian politics itself: whether to fight on or return to the table, and who is to blame for the return of war. Hardline press: defiance and a demand to escalate Unsurprisingly, the sharpest rhetoric comes from Kayhan, the standard-bearer of Iran's hardline camp. In its "Kayhan and Readers" column, the paper argued that limited retaliatory strikes on US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait carry no real cost for Washington and therefore...

'Guardian angel' or protection racket*

China Daily editorial The US administration has never disguised its instinct to turn geopolitics into a commercial transaction. US President Donald Trump's latest proposal — that the United States should become the "guardian angel" of the Strait of Hormuz and charge other countries for safe passage — takes that logic to a telling degree. The proposal marks a striking departure from decades of US maritime doctrine. From the Barbary Wars onward, successive US administrations argued that strategic waterways should remain open because global commerce depended on them. Transforming one of the world's busiest sea lanes into a toll booth is a reversal of principle. It is also a reversal driven by a crisis Washington has itself created as well as its disregard for the fact that the strait is not US territory. The latest US strikes on Iranian targets, followed by Iranian retaliation, have once again turned the Strait of Hormuz into the world's most dangerous maritime cho...

"A Sign of Vulnerability": The US Launches a New Campaign Against Iran*

RIA Novosti, David Narmania For two months, Washington and Tehran conducted ceasefire negotiations — only for Donald Trump to tear up the effort three weeks after the memorandum was signed. Iran says the agreement has effectively collapsed and that the Americans have resumed the war. What comes next is the subject of this report. Exchange of Strikes Since 8 July, the United States has struck Iran almost daily. The official pretext was Iranian action against commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Overnight into Wednesday, 15 July, air strikes continued for seven hours, and by that afternoon US Central Command had announced a new wave of bombing, beginning at 13:00 Moscow time. According to CENTCOM's statement, the goal is to degrade Tehran's military capacity in the Strait of Hormuz. Most of the strikes have hit cities in the south of the country and along the Persian Gulf coast. According to Hossein Kermanpour, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Health, the num...

US Strikes Widen, Tehran Signals Defiance: Washington's "Blockade-Plus-Bombing" Strategy Enters Its Most Dangerous Phase

The fifth consecutive night of American strikes on Iran has produced a familiar but intensifying rhythm: US Central Command hits targets tied to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran retaliates against American allies and shipping, and both sides insist the other bears responsibility for the collapse of diplomacy. What has changed in the past twelve hours is not the pattern but its trajectory — every indicator suggests Washington is preparing to expand, not wind down, the campaign. What happened overnight CENTCOM confirmed it had completed a second wave of strikes on Wednesday, hitting Iranian command centers, air-defense sites, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance installations around Bandar Abbas, with an earlier 90-minute assault on Greater Tunb Island targeting coastal-defense and cruise-missile systems. Iran's army said at least seven military personnel were killed in a separate overnight strike on a base in the southeast, while Tehran's government spokesperson pu...

Iranian Analyst Warns of US Ground Move with Arab Partner; Hormuz Islands Emerge as Likely Focus

Iranian academic and commentator Seyyed Mohammad Marandi has claimed that the United States is preparing a ground operation with the participation of an unnamed Arab government, warning that the country involved would face devastating consequences. Writing on social media, Marandi said Washington was preparing “a ground attack using the capabilities of an Arab regime,” adding: “If this attack is carried out, that Arab country will end.” He did not name the state, cite intelligence or provide evidence that a final decision had been taken. His warning comes amid a renewed US campaign against Iran. US Central Command has confirmed fresh strikes against Iranian military targets and the resumption of a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports, while stating that passage through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels not bound for Iran remains open. The most plausible interpretation is not a major invasion of mainland Iran, which would require a vast and politically hazardous deployment, bu...

Iran’s State Broadcaster Accused of Putting Politics Before National Unity in Wartime

Iran’s state broadcaster has been accused by a former conservative MP of deepening political divisions at a time of war, highlighting growing criticism of the organisation’s role as both a government communications arm and a powerful actor in domestic political life. Hassan Shojaei, a former member of Iran’s parliament and former head of its Article 90 Commission, said the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) was failing a basic wartime duty by engaging in political and electoral manoeuvring instead of helping to protect national cohesion. “Political activity by the state broadcaster in wartime is a betrayal of the country,” Shojaei said in a video published by Khabaronline. His intervention is notable because it comes from a former conservative lawmaker rather than an opposition figure. Shojaei argued that social cohesion and national unity are vital to Iran’s ability to withstand military pressure and external threats. Yet, he said, the country’s official broadcaster has ...

July 15: The Coup That Divided Cyprus and the Attempt Thwarted in Turkey

July 15 marks the anniversaries of two coup attempts that left deep marks on the modern histories of Cyprus and Turkey. Separated by 42 years, the events had very different immediate outcomes, yet both showed how military intervention can reshape political institutions and societies for decades. The summer of 1974 set the course for Cyprus’s de facto division, which persists today. Tens of thousands of Cypriots were displaced, while missing persons, property claims, displacement and the loss of cultural heritage became enduring consequences of the conflict. The coup also accelerated the collapse of the Greek junta and Greece’s return to civilian rule. In Cyprus, a coup against President Archbishop Makarios was staged on July 15, 1974, by elements of the Cypriot National Guard and EOKA-B, with the backing of Greece’s military junta. Its ultimate objective was enosis — the union of Cyprus with Greece. The Presidential Palace was attacked, but Makarios escaped and made his way to Paphos ...

“An Airport Is an Airport, and a Siege Is a Siege”: Yemeni Forces Warn Airlines Against Crossing Saudi Airspace

Sanaa has activated the “airport for airport and siege for siege” equation, issuing a strong warning to international airlines against flying over Saudi airspace following the targeting of Abha International Airport in response to Saudi strikes on Sanaa Airport, Al Mayadeen reports. On Tuesday, the Yemeni Armed Forces, through its military media, cautioned all airlines to take Yemeni warnings seriously until the blockade on Sana’a International Airport is lifted. The forces emphasized their commitment to breaking the siege and threatened to expand targeting of Saudi airports if the aggression continues, describing the years-long closure of Sanaa Airport as a “humanitarian crime” affecting millions of civilians. The warning came shortly after Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that Abha International Airport deep inside Saudi Arabia had been struck with ballistic missiles and drones. Saree stated that the operation achieved all its objectives as a “fir...

Flashpoint Sanaa: Airstrikes and Retaliation Shatter Yemen’s Fragile Truce Amid Broader Middle East Crisis

The fragile, UN-brokered ceasefire that has largely dictated the pace of the Yemeni conflict since early 2022 has dramatically collapsed over the last 24 hours, pushing the Arabian Peninsula back to the precipice of open war. In a sharp and sudden escalation, the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led military coalition struck the runway at the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport on Monday. The military operation was specifically designed to intercept an Iranian civilian aircraft attempting to land in what the coalition deemed a brazen violation of sovereign airspace. The targeted Iranian flight was reportedly transporting a senior Houthi delegation returning from Tehran, where they had been attending the state funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While the coalition successfully thwarted the Sanaa landing by rendering the main runway inoperable, intelligence sources indicate a secondary Iranian flight carrying officials managed to touch down at the co...