Ruth Michaelson

Observer Middle East correspondent based in Turkey.
Bylines also in @guardian, sometimes others too.
[email protected] | [email protected]

[Ruth Michaelson @msrmichaelson]

Hundreds of identical empty castles are crumbling near a village in the Turkish countryside.

.@berileski & I followed their strange tale of how they came to be– and whether they'll ever be finished. For @guardian, with @bradleysecker +editing by @Rfearn

https://t.co/rYlL0Rjnxk

[Karim Sadjadpour @ksadjadpour]

In an excerpt from their terrific new book, @yjtorbati and @bozorgmehr detail how the Islamic Republic systematically crushed Iran's burgeoning tech sector.

After the 2015 nuclear deal, Ayatollah Khamenei feared opening the country's economy would be a Trojan horse for political subversion. The IRGC moved in to block a successful, independent private sector—and to co-opt the data and technology of these young entrepreneurs for state control.

https://t.co/PI9GAaAo4o

[Doug Madory (also on Bluesky) @DougMadory]

🚨Update on the partial restoration of internet in Iran.

It has been 24hrs+ since service started coming back in Iran. In that time, traffic levels peaked at 41% of what we saw prior to Jan 8th, which is also below the Jan 27-Feb 28 partial restoration.

#DigitalBlackOutIran‌

[Reuters @Reuters]

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition party's headquarters to evict its ousted leadership, deepening a crisis at the heart of Turkey's democracy https://t.co/Riv9nLhYiG

[Peter S. Goodman @petersgoodman]

I've been doing this work a long time but nothing prepared me for what I saw on a recent reporting trip in Somalia. I was there to look into rising food and fuel prices from the war in the Middle East landing atop dramatic cuts to the international humanitarian relief system.

[Robbie Gramer @RobbieGramer]

Huge congratulations to @jmalsin and the incredible WSJ team on this now Pulitzer Prize finalist project documenting the long shadow of Assad’s atrocities in Syria

It is an amazing feat of reporting and haunting read

https://t.co/ZGGjZ6LBOe

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

Here are the photos that won the @nytimesphoto Gaza photographer Saher Alghorra a 2026 @PulitzerPrizes -- taken under impossible, dangerous conditions even as he lacked supplies and even food. The world is in his debt for chronicling conditions in Gaza. https://t.co/TDp2x3vkOE

[Jared Malsin @jmalsin]

Grateful to the many people who helped helped produce our series on the atrocities of the Assad regime. Thankful above all to the many Syrians who shared their traumas with us, and who deserve justice. https://t.co/YyVs2kxIeK

[Thomas Juneau @thomasjuneau]

My comments to @msrmichaelson from The Observer: past patterns strongly suggest that the Islamic Republic will intensify in 2026 its already high levels of transnational repression, targetting anti-regime dissidents abroad (in Canada and elsewhere).

https://t.co/9QEE4iTYPp

[The Observer @ObserverUK]

Trump’s social media sabre-rattling won’t get Iranians to the negotiating table

Tehran continues to play a waiting game while time is not on the US president’s side, writes @msrmichaelson
https://t.co/MIRme8IGXl

[CPJ MENA @CPJMENA]

#Lebanon: CPJ calls on Israeli forces to immediately ensure the safety of Lebanese journalists Amal Khalil and Zeinab Faraj, reportedly trapped in Al Tayri following an Israeli strike. Reports that the military is blocking Red Cross access is unacceptable and may constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian obligations. CPJ demands immediate humanitarian access, guarantees for their protection, and their safe, unhindered evacuation without delay.

[The Observer @ObserverUK]

Stranded sailors fear for their lives in the Strait of Hormuz

The ceasefire raised hopes of escape but thousands of seamen, some hungry and unpaid, remain stuck in floating ‘prisons’. @msrmichaelson reports
https://t.co/cQTcC3qqkP

[Max Tani @maxwelltani]

NPR today announced a $113 million philanthropic investment, including what it says is the largest gift by a living donor in its history

[Brody Miller @BrodyAMiller]

In the past 24 hours, the Saudi Public Investment Fund has sold its star-studded Al-Hilal soccer team and left LIV Golf's funding in question, while another Saudi group pulled out of Tom Brady's flag football league.

A clear shift in global strategy.
https://t.co/T3tdtEf2jp

[Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein]

Responding to changing times, @propublica has updated our code of ethics to say, "no employee should wager on the outcome of news events on the prediction markets — regardless of whether or not they are involved in coverage of said event." https://t.co/ho5pjN5WDm

[Simon Owens @simonowens]

Nieman Lab analyzed the tweets of major news organizations that link back to their websites and compared them to a handful of “breaking news” accounts that almost never include links. It found that tweets with links almost definitely are being suppressed

https://t.co/nLDE43huGY

[Abby Sewell @sewella]

@qabdulzahra Shelly Kittleson often worked without formal assignments from editors and on a shoestring budget, taking shared taxis to lawless corners of Iraq where militia rule outweighs government control:

@samya_kullab profiles the journalist kidnapped in Iraq

https://t.co/Sel7DbJEU6

[Ahmad Baydoun @weatherwar]

After the series of strikes on bridges over the Litani, Israeli strikes are now targeting electricity infrastructure. This substation supplied power to more than 60 villages across Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, and parts of Tyre.
Geolocated: 33.205576, 35.409794 @GeoConfirmed

[Ali Vaez @AliVaez]

At this point Mojtaba is anything between the apocryphal tale about Jeremy Bentham's preserved body being noted as "present but not voting" at UCL council meetings and someone running the show from behind the scenes like an IRGC Keyser Söze.

[The Observer @ObserverUK]

“You have two choices: either believe that we have the capabilities, and after you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you. Or end this with money in your pocket, and also earn back the life you had until now,”

@IsabelColes on the gamblers trying to rewrite the record of the Iran war
https://t.co/qtbuGRqvtH

[Tom Sasse @tom_sasse]

Our assessment of who is most vulnerable to the Iran energy shock: