Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program @CrisisGroup; Adjunct Prof @Georgetown; Ex @FPI_SAIS @UNDPPA @FAScientists @Harvard
Geneva, Switzerland
Joined September 2011
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Seven months in, Iran & the U.S. each believe they have tools to make the other blink, fortitude to wait the other out, and disinclination to make concessions the other seeks.
My latest for @ForeignAffairs 👇
tinyurl.com/4vudctak
Told @AFP: Having suffered electoral defeat and failed to secure military victory, Trump is unlikely to tolerate the trifecta of diplomatic humiliation. france24.com/en/live-news/20…
When the U.S. conducted Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, it achieved something significant: Stilling Iran's enrichment for the first time in decades.
But set against containing the growth of Iran's nuclear program was increasing its opacity. 1/
The U.S. military's Central Command announced Friday it is offering up to $20 million and possible relocation in exchange for information about Iran's nuclear program, its facilities, equipment or personnel. cbsn.ws/4iD9HSt
Reward of up to $20m for information on Iran's nuclear program really does make the ~$10m annual cost of IAEA inspections look like a heck of a bargain.
If you don’t want endless war, pursue endless war 🙄
'You think the best thing in the American interest right now is to attack again, only harder?'
Piers Morgan asks Blaise Misztal why he doesn't want to see the Iran War end.
Watch more 👇
📺 youtu.be/ToJzCtLjf0s
@piersmorgan | @BlaiseMisztal | @@joekent16jan19
Syria aids Saudi Arabia with military advice and training amid Houthi attacks, sources say - reuters.com/world/middle-eas…
Exactly!
Much as @araghci may be interested in the Cypriot foreign minister's views on "current regional developments", I suspect he may also have found time to discuss the UK military bases in Cyprus and the range of Iran's missiles.
Deportations have thus far ended up being the one area in which the Trump administration and Tehran have managed to engage, negotiate, and implement agreements.
The Trump administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, unsealed court documents show. apnews.com/article/iran-immi…
Iran is Reviewing ‘Concrete Proposals’ on Nuclear Program, Officials Say nytimes.com/2026/11/05/world… via @NYTimes
Rezaei has met with Putin!
That’s interesting…
به گزارش رسانههای روسی، محسن رضائی، دبیر شورای عالی امنیت ملی ایران با سفر به مسکو با ولادیمیر پوتین، رئیس جمهور روسیهدیدار کرده است.
این دو مقام، یازده آبان ماه آخرین وضعیت رابطه جانبه و تحولات منطقه را در رایزنی تلفنی بررسی کرده بودند.
علی باقری کنی، معاون بینالملل دبیرخانه شورای عالی امنیت ملی نیز روز یازده آبان در پکن با وزیرخارجه چین دیدار کرده بود.
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The problem with a turd sandwich is not how well you toasted the buns…
Mr. Vice-President,
Please allow me to present a different perspective.
The problem was not the Iran War. It was the cease fire.
If you start a war, you need to win it and finish it – otherwise don’t start it.
This war should have been over six months ago, with the Strait of Hormuz wide open and oil flowing. The second and third tiers of Iranian leadership should have been destroyed, and we should have supported the pro-western forces who could have taken leadership. We stood on the brink of a new, more peaceful Middle East - and then we blinked. We had a chance not only to deny Iran nuclear weapons, but to get rid of the world’s biggest supporter of terrorism.
Instead, we had a cease fire, which was followed by months of will we or won’t we finish the job. Every day was a different message. There still is. Is the war over? Is it about to begin? No one knows. There is confusion and inconsistency.
In June 2025, America was not involved. This was an Israel vs Iran issue.
No one forced the United States to attack Iran then, or in February of 2026. It was a decision made by President Trump. In my opinion, it was the right decision.
Once the decision was made, we should not have stopped until the regime fell. But instead, you negotiated a cease fire that didn’t last, didn’t work and left us in no man’s land, with higher prices and our troops still deployed.
Our troops could have been home, the Navy returned to its bases, a peaceful regime in place , new alliances forged, and gas prices below $3.00 a gallon.
No, Mr. Vice President. It’s not the war. It’s the so-called cease fire.
Told @CNN: The danger is that a president weakened at the ballot box may seek redemption on the battlefield.
edition.cnn.com/2026/11/04/w…
Told @BarakRavid: Tehran's temptation is likely to mistake Trump's political weakness for military weakness and overplay its hand, when the smarter move is to bank a deal while Washington still wants one. axios.com/2026/11/05/trump-i…
Told @NBCNews: The midterms have clipped Trump’s political wings, but not his military ones. With the Iran war an albatross around his neck, he faces a choice: seek a face-saving exit or escalate to reclaim the initiative. The danger is that a lame duck at home could become a flame duck abroad. nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-…
‘Decency Won’: 9 Writers on the Best and Worst Moments From Trump’s Midterm Rout nytimes.com/2026/11/04/opini…
