New Publication!
Excited to announce that my paper, "Exceptionalism and nationalism in contemporary Iranian thought: a study of Javad Tabatabai's scholarship," has been published online in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES)!
Check it out
https://t.co/PQ3ERW8j7j
A reminder that battlefield metrics and strategic outcomes are not always the same thing.
Winning battles does not necessarily mean winning wars. Strategy is ultimately about translating military means into political ends—not confusing one for the other.
The dominant narrative says the Iran campaign is failing. I disagree. The strategy is working.
I’ve been living under the sirens in Doha. The data tells a different story: missile launches down 90%, nuclear infrastructure inaccessible, proxy command networks shattered.
My new piece in @AJEnglish: https://t.co/S3awYBwdv6
My argument in @Grand_Continent: the strategic disarmament of Iran may already be underway, regardless of whether the regime adapts. The security architecture of the Gulf has shifted permanently.
In my latest for @TIME, I argue that #Iran has signed a document that advertises peace while quietly preparing for its breakdown. Which of those two futures the agreement was truly built for is the question the next 60 days will answer.
https://t.co/6vZCH4Nuor
New Cambridge Element, Language Weaponization by Luis Javier Pentón Herrera, out now! Read for free for the next 2 weeks at
https://t.co/OWS4G1MF7p
#cambridgeelements#languageandlinguistics
🎉 Publication news!
Our edited volume "Discursive Constructions of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" edited by I. Chiluwa & M. Tosik, is now available for pre-order. It includes my chapter on contested media narratives of terrorism in the Gaza War.
https://t.co/4ktAw79D2B
Iran International is the most-watched Persian news channel in the world.
It's lost £410mn in five years, just had £650mn of debt quietly erased — and won't say who funds it. We found some answers.
w/ @cynthiao@DanielThomasLDN@EuanHealy
https://t.co/4qGc8ANqSy
Many thanks to @FriederikeBoege for this detailed review of my book The Axis of Resistance: Iran, Israel, and the Struggle for the Middle East. I truly appreciate the time, care, and attention devoted to engaging with the book and its arguments.
https://t.co/zaf87WEbXZ
ایران و برخی دولتهای دیگر مستقیما مستعمره نشدند، اما عمیقا از مناسبات استعماری متاثر بودند. برای توضیح این وضعیت میانی، دیوید معتدل و هوشنگ شهابی در کتاب «دولتهای فتح نشده» چارچوبی ارائه دهند که مواجهه «قدرتهای غیراروپایی در عصر امپراتوری» با استعمار اروپا را توضیح دهد.
And finally… the author copies have arrived!
It’s a great feeling to hold the finished book after such a long process.
The Axis of Resistance: Iran, Israel and the Struggle for the Middle East
UK & EU: May 8 | US & North America: July 14
@politybooks
Interview with @ETVBharatEng “On Iran War, AI Warfare And The Changing Global Order.” Thanks to M L Narasimha Reddy @ETVBharatBR https://t.co/7HtukPV9Sz
Someone recently asked me why I don't post about the internet shutdown in Iran. Here’s what I said:
If I thought there was even a 1% chance that my posting about Iran’s internet would convince the Iranian government to turn it back on, I would post about it 1,000 times.
But we know that Iran doesn't pay attention to social media posts in English, nor does it care what the citizens of the country bombing it say about human rights.
I post based on my theory of change, which is that we should focus our voices and political activism on what we can effect.
As Iranian-Americans writing in English, the United States is where we have the most agency. The fight for freedom and democracy Iran is a battle for Iranians inside the country.
And we’ve seen that US government pressure doesn’t help them:
Decades of US sanctions made them poorer and cut them off from the world. War kills them, destroys their infrastructure, and emboldens their government to crack down more harshly.
So I’m focused on how I, as an American, can help Iranians – and that’s by ending this war, lifting the sanctions, and giving them room to breathe and fight for their own future.
It also means holding accountable those I have pay taxes to – the US government and its ally Israel.
I urge members of the Iranian diaspora who are focusing on the internet or executions inside Iran to consider what effect they are having. When you’re “raising awareness” from inside the country bombing and sanctioning Iran, you might end up actually legitimizing more sanctions and bombs.
And that doesn't help Iranians. It literally kills them.
Focus on changing US government policy. Because if you can’t even do that, then what on Earth makes you think you change Iranian government policy?
What is your theory of change? How does Post A lead to Result Z?
More than ever, we need critical thinking about what we are doing and why. Because part of what got us into his mess is that a bunch of people with big platforms were yelling "Trump, do something!" or “Iranians want to get bombed! It's the only way to free them!”
And they didn’t stop to ask themselves – how exactly is Trump bombing Iran going to free anyone?
Today, 3,300 more Iranians are dead, on top of the thousands killed in January.
And they weren’t killed by Iran’s government. They were killed by us.
Oh yeah, and the internet that was just coming back on in late February, is now shut down again.
My interview on the damage to the cultural heritage of Iran during thr past 40 days
مصاحبه جدید من درباره صدمه به میراث فرهنگی ایران در این جنگ چهل روزه. به احتمال زیاد از دوران حمله مغول چنین خرابی به فرهنگ و تمدن ایران وارد نشده است
https://t.co/nRwKH0lWkt
@derJamesJackson@rosaluxglobal Historically, antisemitism has meant differently in Germany than elsewhere. But the destruction of a synagogue in Tehran should be a wake-up call for Germany to rethink its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life and its antisemitism policy.
https://t.co/kRKua9H1zO
The destruction of a synagogue in Tehran poses a difficult question before Germany:
Is its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life as such — or primarily to the State of Israel?
Silence is not a response, given Merz's previous support for the «Drecksarbeit» in Iran.
Historically, antisemitism has meant differently in Germany than elsewhere. But the destruction of a synagogue in Tehran should be a wake-up call for Germany to rethink its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life and its antisemitism policy.
https://t.co/kRKua9H1zO
@beek38 After the destruction of a synagogue in Tehran Germany should answer:
Is its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life as such, or primarily to the State of Israel?
Also consider Merz's previous support for the «Drecksarbeit» in Iran!
https://t.co/kRKua9H1zO
The destruction of a synagogue in Tehran poses a difficult question before Germany:
Is its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life as such — or primarily to the State of Israel?
Silence is not a response, given Merz's previous support for the «Drecksarbeit» in Iran.
The destruction of a synagogue in Tehran poses a difficult question before Germany:
Is its historical responsibility tied to Jewish life as such — or primarily to the State of Israel?
Silence is not a response, given Merz's previous support for the «Drecksarbeit» in Iran.