Awol Allo

Senior Lecturer in Law at Sheffield Uni. Interested in the relationship between power and knowledge, and the politics of the Horn of Africa. RT ≠ endorsement

[Robert Malley @Rob_Malley]

An implacable, clinical takedown of the Board of Peace’s record in Gaza:

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

What a opening paragraph from Marc Lynch!

“The American Middle East is finished. The regional order that has prevailed since 1991 has been one of the many casualties of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The American and Israeli failure to dislodge the regime in Tehran has proved the bankruptcy of decades of sanctions and violence.”

https://t.co/yoJtexMEG2

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

ABSOLUTE MUST-WATCH:

@mehdirhasan's interview with Ian Lustick and @EliClifton on their new book: "Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power"

https://t.co/rMdyvbDQz1

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

The most important book of 2026 is officially published today!

"Israel’s Lobby" is neither a sequel to John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s groundbreaking 2007 book, nor simply an update of it. It does something different.

@EliClifton and Lustick provide a systematic history of the moments when, in their telling, Israel and its American supporters have worked against U.S. interests. But they also add a dimension that Mearsheimer and Walt did not explore at length: money—and, specifically, the financial machinery behind efforts to put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s.

The reason this will become the most important book of 2026 lies in the collision between its findings and its timing. Never before have Americans been so willing to openly debate the once-taboo question of Israel’s influence in American politics.

The revelations are stunning.

Read the full post here: https://t.co/fJBbXX1K3s

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

An incredible expose by Ronen Bergman shows how Israel invents quotes from Iranian officials in order to manufacture "evidence" that Iran is building nuclear weapons. This event took place on August 5th, when it was reported globally that Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the IRGC had admitted that Iran was developing nuclear weapons. The only problem? It wasn't true:

1) Netanyahu's pet network in Israel, Channel 14 spent months building Vahedi up as "the strongest man in Iran," priming audiences to treat any dramatic quote from him as coming from Iran itself. In reality, he is one power player among several.

2) An Indian Hindu nationalist account posts an earlier fabricated quote from Vahedi that says that nuclear weapons are a "necessity" for Iran. It does not get much traction.

3) The same account publishes a quote saying that Vahedi stated that Vahedi said that Iran will keep developing nuclear weapons as long as the US and Israel have them. There was no source.

4) The Mossad Commentary account, a large account with no affiliation to the actual Mossad posted the quote in English.

5) Channel 14, a mere 33 minutes later, covers this and claims that this is "the first time" an Iranian official directly admitted to building a nuclear bomb.

6) Three minutes later Yair Netanyahu, son of the Prime Minister, retweets Mossad Commentary, then three minutes later retweets Channel 14 English, followed later by Israel War Room.

7) Two hours later, Netanyahu senior cites the fabricated quote in an official speech at Mount Herzl, now the made up Tweet had become state policy.

8) The Tweet makes it to the US, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz shares it saying that Iran is "finally admitting what was clear for years," then deletes it without explanation.

9) Mark Levine shares it and then Fox News reports it as fact, including an on-screen headline.

10) Channel 14 now reports this again with FOX and Netanyahu as the source. Mossad Commentary, the original source of the English version, now cites Channel 14 as its source, completing a circular citation loop.

11) Israel's Foreign Ministry spreads Netanyahu's remarks to Persian-speaking audiences.

12) Indian news agency ANI reports the story back in India, attributing it to "Israeli media," completing the round trip.

This is a well oiled machine of disinformation emanating from Netanyahu and his circle designed to create a false narrative which will destroy negotiations with Iran and renew the war. Similar frauds have been perpetrated in the past like the Jewish Chronicle/Bild affair, when a made up journalist planted stories in the press to justify blowing up a hostage deal with Hamas. But this time he is dragging the entire world into endless war and not just Israel.

[Brian Armstrong @brian_armstrong]

Technology is the great equalizer.

Most people now have access to the same internet, the same phones, the same AI models.

And they are very quickly getting access to the same financial services, from anywhere in the world. Geography and your wealth shouldn’t determine this - and soon, they won’t.

[Kjetil Tronvoll @KjetilTronvoll]

Giving my interpretations to @dwnews on the recent skirmishes between #Ethiopian ENDF and #Tigray forces, the failure of the Pretoria agreement and the need for international diplomacy to de-escalate tensions in northern #Ethiopia :

https://t.co/Vr5v5DEBDo

[Awol Allo @awolallo]

@TigraiTsier @AbiyAhmedAli And you are willing to accept the consequences of this traitorous, morally contemptible alliance? I was among the most outspoken critics of Abiy’s decision to invite Ethiopia but Tigray is not in the same position as the federal govt in terms of “right” to invite.

[Awol Allo @awolallo]

If true, this would amount not only to a betrayal of the Tigrayan people, who were subjected to brutal atrocities at the hands of Eritrean forces, but also to a declaration of war against Ethiopia. I hope this report is somewhat incorrect / misleading

[Bashir Hashi Yussuf @BashirHashiysf]

Correction,--- not in Mekelle,

Senior Eritrean military commanders arrived at a small Town in Tigray in #Ethiopia-Eritrea border, today. They were warmly welcomed by senior TPLF/TDF commanders

[Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz]

The Necessary Evil

If this is ultimately the agreement that emerges, it may be the least bad option available to the Trump administration under current circumstances, especially given its clear desire to avoid another round of military escalation.

The administration has gradually narrowed its own choices, leaving itself with few attractive options and now to end the confrontation the administration will be forced to lift the maritime blockade and restoring the sanctions waiver that allowed Iranian oil exports. That reality has shaped the negotiations from the beginning.

With the necessary caution, the current trajectory appears to point more toward de-escalation than further escalation, a result that will likely frustrate many in Israel while reassuring most Gulf states, whose top priority remains regional stability.

From day one, it was clear that restoring the Strait of Hormuz to its pre-crisis status would have required either regime change in Iran or a sustained military effort to impose control over the waterway. Neither option was politically or strategically acceptable to Washington, given the enormous costs and long-term commitments they would require.

Sometimes, the least desirable option is the only realistic one.

[Awol Allo @awolallo]

👇🏾

[Erin Banco @ErinBanco]

EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. has used “virtually all” of its precision strike missiles during the war in Iran. Stockpiles on ATACMs and Precision Strike Missiles are almost depleted. And we have used about half of our Tomahawks, per new data circulating inside the admin.

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

It's actually shocking to hear one of the nation's most bloodthirsty neocons -- Robert Kagan, the husband of Victoria Nuland and partner of Bill Kristol in pushing the Iraq War long before 9/11 -- admit not only that the US is often attacked as "blowback" from its own aggression, but that both Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are examples of it.

This has long been one of the most taboo truths when it comes to US war propaganda, and still is:👇

[Reuters Africa @ReutersAfrica]

A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online. https://t.co/2E4jrezneR

[Omer Bartov عومر بَرتوف עמר ברטוב @bartov_omer]

I’m a Scholar of Genocide. We’re Entering a Terrifying New Era. https://t.co/ONZTIWu8Ox via @NYTOpinion

[UK in Jerusalem🇬🇧 @UKinJerusalem]

1/4 Joint local statement of diplomatic missions 🇧🇪🇨🇦🇩🇰🇪🇺🇫🇮🇫🇷🇮🇪🇳🇱🇳🇴🇪🇸🇸🇪🇬🇧on the extensive use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities without formal charge. Over 9,000 Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, including thousands held without charge or trial.

[Gavin Jacobson @GavJacobson]

A landmark essay in @Equatormag by one of the foremost Palestinian intellectuals today on why the western mind represses the reality of the Palestinian catastrophe in order to salvage the rotting fiction of its own moral innocence. Essential: https://t.co/G1MAdqwKDL

[Yousra Elbagir @YousraElbagir]

A must-read:

[Novara Media @novaramedia]

Despite being a former human rights lawyer, Starmer has supported the genocide in Gaza and the illegal war on Iran.

https://t.co/2VEAXRAX89

[mohammed hussein~Gaza 🇵🇸 @mohammedIhysse]

Today, I took my children, Imad and Adam, along with my sister’s children—Elaine, Maher, and Ahmed—to the sea in Gaza. 🌊❤️

For a few hours, we forgot the heat inside the tent. We forgot the sounds of war and let the children laugh the way every child deserves to laugh.

I swam with them, looked at their smiling faces, and prayed that one day they would have a normal childhood—without fear, displacement, or war.

We may not be able to change our reality today, but we are trying to create beautiful memories for our children in the midst of all this pain.

These small moments are what give us the strength to keep going. 💙🍉

[Kindeya Gebrehiwot, PhD, Prof @ProfKindeya]

What wonderful news! Congratulations to Melat Kiros, who was born in Ethiopia in 1997, and the hardworking team around her on winning the Democratic primary for Colorado's deep-blue 1st Congressional District, centered on Denver.

Denver deserves such a bright and dynamic young woman. This victory marks an important milestone and opens the door to seeing Melat serve as a member of the U.S. Congress.

Wishing her every success in the general election!

Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats 15-term incumbent in Colorado House primary https://t.co/sUrp8n8ERa