Iran
Trump’s Iran Deal Is an Armed Escrow, Not Peace
The US Iran memorandum does not end the conflict. It moves the war into a colder arena of sanctions, shipping, insurance, Lebanon, nuclear sequencing and the Strait of Hormuz.
Category: Iran
Editor's selection
United States
The Strait of Hormuz Has Become the Chokepoint of American Decline
The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz is no longer simply a confrontation between Washington and Tehran. It…
Iran
America Can Strike Iran. It Cannot Shield the Gulf From the Fallout
The Iran war is exposing the fragility beneath the Gulf’s wealth and stability. As the Strait of Hormuz…
Iran
US strikes Iran near Hormuz as Tehran accuses Washington of violating ceasefire
The United States says its latest strikes on southern Iran were defensive operations carried out with restraint. Iranian…
Further reporting
Iran
Iran Claims Missiles Hit US Navy Vessel Near Jask After Warning to Halt
Iran
Trump Says America Will Escort Ships Through Hormuz. That Means Entering Iran’s Kill Zone
Economics
The Iran War Is Exposing the Fragility of Globalisation
Economics
Oil holds above $110 as Hormuz disruption tightens supply, with prices expected to climb
More from the archive
Economics
The Iran War Is Becoming a Global Supply Chain Crisis : And Diplomacy Is Falling Behind
Diplomacy has begun in Islamabad, but without direct US–Iran talks the economic damage continues to compound. The war is no longer just about oil…
Iran
Iran Has Sent No Delegation to Islamabad Officials Confirm Talks Are Not Underway
Iran has sent no delegation to Islamabad, undermining assumptions that talks are underway. As the ceasefire weakens and maritime tensions…
Economics
Oil Is Rising Because Hormuz Cannot Be Trusted, Not Because It Is Shut
Oil prices are rising not because the Strait of Hormuz has been fully closed, but because it has become unreliable.…
In depth
Iran
The US is negotiating with Iran under threat of blockade and infrastructure war
The latest US Iran talks show that the real obstacle is no longer just the nuclear file. It is whether diplomacy can survive when one side is openly threatening blockade and strikes on critical…
Diplomacy
Islamabad Failed Because Iran No Longer Trusts American Diplomacy
The Islamabad talks failed not because diplomacy was impossible, but because Tehran saw the United States as a…
Economics
Oil Costs Hit Record High as Hormuz Stays Broken, Reaching Levels Not Seen Since the 1970s
The ceasefire may have softened the rhetoric, but it did not restore the Strait of Hormuz as a…
Defence
Hormuz Is Open on Paper but Iran Is Still Withholding Full Passage Pending a Definitive Ceasefire
The ceasefire did not restore normal transit through Hormuz. It produced a rationed, militarised passage regime in which…
Background reading
Economics
After the Iran war, the dollar may still dominate, but it will dominate a smaller, less obedient world
The Iran war did not end dollar power. It exposed the cost of overusing it. The United States still sits at the centre of…
Across the section
Defence
Trump’s Iran ceasefire has revealed the real crisis: the old Hormuz order is over
Law
Trump’s Threats Against Iran’s Bridges and Power Plants Raise Serious War Crimes Questions
Diplomacy
Zarif’s warning is the clearest off ramp yet from a war Trump cannot win
Economics
What British media is not telling you about the real oil shock
Defence
The U.S. rescue of a downed F-15E airman was real. The mission may have been larger.
The U.S. rescue of a downed F-15E airman inside Iran appears genuine. But the distance problem, the improvised airstrip, the…
Defence
The F 15E That Brought America’s War Machine Into View
The loss of a US F 15E over Iran did not prove that Washington has lost the war. It proved…
The wider report
Economics
The Iran war is exposing the real energy order: Asia bleeds first, China protects itself, and the market stops pretending to be global
The Iran war is no longer just an oil price story. It is becoming an Asian fuel allocation crisis in which China protects domestic supply, weaker importers absorb the pain, and the myth of…
Also in the paper
Economics
Trump’s 10 day Iran pause is not diplomacy. It is the market forcing Washington to confront the cost of war
Defence
Trump’s Gulf troop build-up risks turning into a killing field for US forces
Defence
Trump’s 48 hour threat to obliterate Iran ended in a five day retreat
Britain
Once British Bases Launch Strikes on Iran, Britain Becomes Part of the War
From the files
Iran
Radar Blindness, Satellite Targeting, and Missile Attrition Are Exposing the Strategic Limits of American Power in the Iran War
The Iran war is revealing a structural weakness in modern military power. Early strikes on radar systems reduced warning times, satellite navigation improved missile…
Defence
Iran strikes on South Pars and Ras Laffan show shift to energy infrastructure warfare and Gulf escalation risk
Strikes on South Pars and repeated attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub show the Iran conflict has…
Iran
Strikes Hit Iran’s South Pars Gas Hub as Tehran Threatens Gulf Energy Retaliation
Strikes on Iran’s South Pars and Asaluyeh gas-processing complex mark a major escalation in the conflict, with Tehran…
China
China Is Not Immune To The Iran War Because Energy Flows, Shipping Access And Global Demand Are All Being Disrupted
China is not insulated from the Iran war. Disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, constrained…
Economics
The Iran Conflict Is Rewriting the Operating Logic of Global Shipping
The disruption in global shipping is no longer a temporary shock. As conflict pressure builds around the Strait of Hormuz,…
Defence
The Iran War Cannot End Because It Lacks the Structure Required to End It
The Iran war is no longer defined by battlefield outcomes but by structural failure. With no clear objectives, no termination…