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By Shukriya Bradost, Ph.D. Student of Planning, Governance and Globalization, Virginia Tech The 12-day confrontation between Iran and Israel in June 2025 may not have escalated into a full-scale regional war, but it marks a potentially critical turning point in Iran’s internal political landscape. Though the Islamic Republic has entered into direct conflict with a … Continue reading “Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities”
By Simon Theobald, Postdoctoral researcher, Institute for Ethics and Society, University of Notre Dame Australia From 2015 to 2018, I spent 15 months doing research work in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. As an anthropologist, I was interested in everyday life in Iran outside the capital Tehran. I was also interested in understanding whether the ambitions … Continue reading “Do all Iranians hate the regime? Hate America? Life inside the country is more complex than that”
Beaches in Tel Aviv were packed on Saturday while a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding after …
U.S. President Donald Trump was convinced Iran was close to developing a nuclear bomb — but why was he so sure? Anand …
President Donald Trump is scoffing at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s heated warning to the U.S. not to launch future strikes on Iran.
President Donald Trump says he expects Iran to open itself to international inspection to verify it doesn’t restart its nuclear …
America’s defence secretary has reiterated Donald Trump’s claim that US strikes “obliterated” three nuclear facilities in Iran, …
By Joscha Abels, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Institute of Political Science, University of Tübingen It was the briefest of messages, but the potential consequences could have been significant. Elon Musk posted a four-word tweet on June 14: “The beams are on”. The message prefigured a consequential intervention – not only in Iranian domestic affairs but potentially in … Continue reading “In the sky over Iran, Elon Musk and Starlink step into geopolitics – not for the first time”
By Andrea Stanton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies & Faculty Affiliate, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver After 12 days of trading deadly airstrikes, Israel and Iran confirmed on June 24, 2025, that a ceasefire is in effect, one day after President Donald Trump proclaimed the countries reached a deal to end fighting. … Continue reading “Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a relic of the past”
By Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology As the world watches the US–Iran situation with concern, the ripple effect from these events are reaching global oil supply chains – and exposing their fragility.If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz as it is considering, it would restrict the global oil trade … Continue reading “Oil shocks in the 1970s drove rapid changes in transport. It could happen again if Middle East tensions continue”