Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Bassam Tawil • February 16, 2026 at 5:00 am
The 162-article draft "constitution," however, shows that, if and when the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would actually not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. Both Palestinian regimes have miserably failed their people, mainly by depriving them of international aid, democracy, opportunity, free elections, and freedom of speech. Notably, the new "constitution" repeats and reaffirms the long-standing and familiar positions and policies of the PA and Hamas, especially towards Israel and Jews. These include the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former, mostly no-longer-existent homes inside Israel; the continuation of stipends paid to Palestinian terrorists -- a program also known as "Pay-for-Slay," and the perpetual denial of the Jews' far-reaching history and religious roots in Jerusalem. The new "constitution" is actually saying that the Palestinians want their own state, but they also want to move millions of their own people to the sovereign territory of the neighboring state. The message is still, "My marbles are mine and your marbles are mine." By omitting Jewish ties to Jerusalem, the Palestinians are saying that there will be no Jews in a future Palestinian state. This slammed door should be no surprise to anyone: hundreds of thousands of Jews who used to live in Arab countries, including Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya, were long ago subjected to ethnic cleansing and expulsion.... It is worth noting that while the Palestinians do not recognize Jewish ties to the land and want a Jew-free state, there are more than two million Muslim Arabs living peacefully and safely inside Israel as full citizens with equal rights. [A]ny Palestinian who murders or wounds a Jew will be protected by the Palestinian constitution, which will guarantee him or her and the family stipends as high as $3,000 a month -- in a region where the average salary is about $1,000 a month. The new Palestinian "constitution" shows why the idea of creating another Islamist country at Israel's doorstep is both dangerous and delusional. This "constitution" demonstrates that the Palestinians still have not come to terms with Israel's right to exist, still have not abandoned their dream of destroying Israel, and are still as committed as ever to encouraging terrorists to murder more Jews.
As part of an attempt to persuade the United States and the rest of the international community that the Palestinians are seeking to create a democratic state "based on the rule of law and human dignity," the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership last week published a draft of the Palestinians' temporary "constitution." This "constitution" demonstrates that the Palestinians still have not come to terms with Israel's right to exist, still have not abandoned their dream of destroying Israel, and are still as committed as ever to encouraging terrorists to murder more Jews. Pictured: PA President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the Fatah youth conference in Ramallah on November 27, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images)
As part of an attempt to persuade the United States and the rest of the international community that the Palestinians are seeking to create a democratic state "based on the rule of law and human dignity," the Palestinian Authority leadership last week published a draft of the Palestinians' temporary "constitution." The 162-article draft "constitution," however, shows that, if and when the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would actually not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. Both Palestinian regimes have miserably failed their people, mainly by depriving them of international aid, democracy, opportunity, free elections, and freedom of speech.
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by Con Coughlin • February 15, 2026 at 5:00 am
As commendable as it may be that US President Donald J. Trump is apparently hoping that he can turn "swords into ploughshares," the inclusion of avowedly pro-Islamist, pro-terrorist countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan in his so-called "Board of Peace" has all the potential thoroughly to undermine the American leader's peace initiative in Gaza. The presence of so many Islamist and terror-supporting countries on Trump's Gaza Board, though, has prompted concerns that they will attempt to stymie the Trump administration's disarmament demand and seek to find a compromise agreement whereby Hamas terrorists are allowed to continue holding weapons to be used later to continue attacking Israel, especially after Trump is a lame duck after the US midterm elections this year or no longer holds office Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan still refuse formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Qatar also has a documented history of funding virtually every Islamist terror group then, when conflicts flare up, offering to serve as the supposedly "impartial" mediator. "Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran." -- former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organisations, YNet, April 18, 2024. Turkey, meanwhile, has taken the perverse decision to intensify its support for Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attacks.... The fact, therefore, that so many Hamas-supporting countries have signed up to participate in Trump's board raises serious questions about their true motives in joining the enterprise. Are they genuinely committed to supporting the Trump administration's ambitious plan to end hostilities in Gaza? Or are they, as all the evidence seems to suggest, simply joining the board so that they can protect the interests of Hamas terrorists and frustrate Trump's ambitions of bringing peace to the war-ravaged area?
The inclusion of avowedly pro-Islamist, pro-terrorist countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan in US President Donald J. Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" has all the potential thoroughly to undermine the American leader's peace initiative in Gaza. Pictured: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on April 14, 2016 in Istanbul. (Photo by Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/AFP via Getty Images)
As commendable as it may be that US President Donald J. Trump is apparently hoping that he can turn "swords into ploughshares," the inclusion of avowedly pro-Islamist, pro-terrorist countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan in his so-called "Board of Peace" has all the potential thoroughly to undermine the American leader's peace initiative in Gaza. With Trump's 20-point peace plan for ending the Gaza conflict entering a new stage, the American president is insisting that the Hamas terrorist organisation surrender all its weapons within the next two months. Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast this month, Trump insisted that, with the war in Gaza ended, Hamas should give up its weapons. "Now they have to disarm," Trump said. "Some people say they won't, but they will, and if they don't, they're gonna not be around any longer."
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by Amir Taheri • February 15, 2026 at 4:00 am
Khamenei's renewed defiance is inspired by four conclusions he has drawn from the latest events.... the "Supreme Guide" seems determined to work with a more compact group of no-questions-asked loyalists on a platform of revolutionary defiance moderated by cosmetic gestures he calls "heroic flexibility". The hope in Tehran is that Trump will agree to limit the talks to levels of uranium enrichment by Iran and the transfer of part of the already enriched uranium stockpiles to Russia for safekeeping. The talks could be prolonged for weeks if not months, and end granting Trump another "diplomatic victory" on the eve of midterm elections in the US. Slowing down uranium enrichment until Trump becomes a lame duck or ends his term will give the "Supreme Guide" enough time to reassert his authority and perhaps work out his succession. Last Wednesday, over 2,000 prisoners were released on Khamenei's orders, partly because space was needed to keep new prisoners arrested during the January uprising. His priority now is to propel one of Iran's tested allies into the premiership of Iraq while supplying enough aid to the Houthis in Yemen to hold their own until better days return.
Pictured: Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei on February 1, 2026.
After weeks of tergiversation caused by military threats from the US and Israel and unprecedented nationwide protests, Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei has returned center stage to reaffirm his resolve to make absolutely no concessions to domestic opponents or foreign foes. The defiant message came last Wednesday as the regime organized marches to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. To be sure, this year's marches lacked the density, let alone the passion, of previous years and in some cities were too obviously contrived to appear genuine. In some cases, the official media had used photos and clips from previous years to heighten the narrative. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Tasnim News site used a single photo to illustrate what it reported as rallies in 21 out of 31 provinces.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • February 14, 2026 at 5:00 am
If Iran can drag negotiations across months and years, it no doubt hopes to reach a moment when U.S. pressure weakens, priorities shift, or its leadership changes. In that sense, diplomacy becomes a defensive weapon, an end in itself. Iran's regime has refined its tactics, learned its opponents' weaknesses, and mastered the art of procedural diplomacy: how to slow talks without collapsing them, how to offer symbolic concessions while protecting core interests, and how to appear reasonable while remaining fundamentally intransigent. For the mullahs, President Barack Obama's 2015 "nuclear deal" was a triumph.... Obama's illegitimate Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), rather than permanently dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities, enshrined them. The deal conveniently contained sunset clauses with expiration dates, so that restrictions on Iran's nuclear program would magically vanish – poof! -- four months ago, on October 18, 2025, in fact. Iran, however, does appear to appreciate that, for the moment at least, it cannot win a direct military confrontation with the United States, especially under a president who has not demonstrated a helpful fear of escalation. Every day that talks continue without decisive pressure is a day the regime can use to strengthen its rule. It can import and build more deadly weapons, refine its ballistic missiles, reinforce its regional proxy militias, and tighten its grip internally. Time overwhelmingly favors the Iranian regime. Even just the act of sitting across the negotiating table, for Iranian officials, signifies recognition and endurance. For ordinary, unarmed Iranians, however, who have suffered the regime's savagery - its mass murder, blindings, rapes, mass arrests, and deadly crackdowns, seeing their rulers treated as legitimate diplomatic interlocutors has to be unbearably demoralizing. It sends the message that the countries of the West are willing to engage with those who oppress them, and -- as long as the comfort of foreigners is at stake -- actually leave their tormentors in place. Beyond immediate tactics, Iran's approach must be understood as part of a much larger messianic project. This is a regime that sees itself as engaged in a major religious-historical mission. Its leaders believe they are guardians of a revolutionary system with religious and ideological foundations that transcend generations, uprisings and even the visage of Trump. The regime is willing to absorb blows, retreat temporarily, and compromise tactically if, in doing so, it believes its long-term survival is secured. The central danger is that the longer negotiation process drags on... the greater the risk of consolidating the very system that the process claims to moderate. Every additional day Iran buys through talks is another day the regime survives, adapts, prepares for war. If the Trump administration's goal is to prevent the Iranian regime from emerging more brutal and more entrenched, the greatest mistake would be to give it what it really wants: time to wait out Trump.
If Iran can drag negotiations across months and years, it no doubt hopes to reach a moment when U.S. pressure weakens, priorities shift, or its leadership changes. In that sense, diplomacy becomes a defensive weapon, an end in itself. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian leaders have emerged from their latest contacts with the Trump administration sounding upbeat, even enthusiastic. Senior officials have described the talks as a "good start," constructive engagement, and delight at the prospect of continuing negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's tone has been deliberately reassuring, projecting calm confidence and a sense that diplomacy is moving in the perfect direction. From the Iranian regime's perspective, any talks are preferable to sanctions, sustained military pressure, the threat of escalation, and the prospect that US President Donald J. Trump might choose confrontation over an agreement. Trump, for his part, has repeatedly emphasized that he prefers a deal, but that "all options" remain on the table.
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by J.B. Shurk • February 13, 2026 at 5:00 am
What those critics miss is Trump's rather unique set of problem-solving skills that allow him to tackle complex problems in unorthodox ways. Peace in Gaza. Peace in Ukraine. U.S. energy independence. U.S. trade parity with the rest of the world. Enhanced partnerships with Japan. Economic collaboration with Russia. Economic decoupling from China. Border walls. Immigration enforcement. Military supremacy. Technological superiority. Free speech. Nationalism. Panama. Venezuela. Cuba. Iran. Greenland. The list goes on and on.... Rather than treating them as distinct problems that must be navigated one at a time, Trump looks at them as valuable pieces of property on one big game board. While the president makes nice with China's Xi Jinping and talks publicly about how China and the United States are economically tied together for the foreseeable future, he simultaneously destroys China's investments in Panama and energy partnerships in Venezuela and Iran. While the president sends emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his representatives, he secures a strategic trade deal with Indian President Narendra Modi that could end India's importation of Russian oil.
What his critics miss is President Donald Trump's rather unique set of problem-solving skills that allow him to tackle complex problems in unorthodox ways. Pictured: Trump speaks during an event in the White House on February 12, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower made an important observation about finding answers to difficult questions. "Whenever I run into a problem I can't solve," the five-star general reportedly remarked, "I always make it bigger. I can never solve it by trying to make it smaller, but if I make it big enough, I can begin to see the outlines of a solution." As an example, as Europe's first Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower suggested that a problem resupplying troops in Italy might be about much more than simple logistics. A problem-solver must consider the wider map and examine how convoy movements in northern Europe affect supply distribution in the South, whether resources for the whole continent are being allocated efficiently, and whether leadership decisions a thousand miles away might be a more pressing problem than finding enough mechanics to fix run-down trucks stuck in the mud.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 12, 2026 at 5:00 am
That such a large number of Muslims are able to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem every week shows that Hamas's claim that the Jews are desecrating the mosque and plotting to control it is another big lie produced by the terror group and its supporters. It is worth noting that Jews do have a right to visit the Temple Mount, primarily because it is also the holiest site in Judaism, where the First and Second Temples once stood. [T]he arrangement set up in 1967 allowed non-Muslims to visit the Temple Mount but restricted praying there to Muslims. Ten days after the Six Day War, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, out of respect for Muslim concerns, forbade Jews to pray on the Temple Mount and proclaimed the Kingdom of Jordan the protector of the holy site. Non-Muslims, including Jews and Christians, regularly tour outdoors on the grounds of the Temple Mount but, since 2000, have not been allowed to enter inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Palestinian officials and media outlets regularly and falsely portray the visits as "violent incursions by extremist Jewish settlers." It is worth recalling that to many Palestinians, all Jews in Israel are "settlers" and that, in their eyes, all of Israel is just one big settlement. It is abhorrent to see the Palestinians and many Muslims use a mosque -- especially falsely -- to justify terrorism and the murder of Jews. It is even more abhorrent to see Hamas and other Palestinians proudly name their dishonorable crimes after a mosque. The long-familiar Palestinian campaign to destroy Israel continues to this day. Palestinian officials continue to repeat all the same fraudulent accusations. Unless this anti-Israel and anti-Jewish campaign stops, the next October 7-style massacre by Palestinians -- presumably what they would like, distracting from and derailing US President Donald J. Trump's attempts to rebuild Gaza without Palestinian leadership -- is just around the corner.
"The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are ours. They are all ours, and they [Jews] have no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We salute every drop of blood spilled for the sake of Jerusalem. This blood is clean, pure blood, shed for the sake of Allah. Every martyr will be placed in Paradise, and all the wounded will be rewarded by Allah." — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. (Image source: MEMRI)
Hamas has repeatedly justified its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel by arguing that it was seeking to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest shrine in Islam, against attempts by Jews to take it over. Hamas -- officially designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Paraguay, and the Organization of American States -- even named the attack, during which more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered and thousands injured and tortured, after the mosque: "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood." In 2024, Hamas published a statement in which it claimed that the attack was primarily the result of "the Israeli Judaization plans to the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, its temporal and spatial division attempts, as well as the intensification of the Israeli settlers' incursions into the holy mosque."
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by Robert Williams • February 11, 2026 at 5:00 am
So, if you are an unpopular regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do? In supposed democracies, this latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent "democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to crush freedom of speech. "⚠️Danger: Governments will dictate what you see, burying opposing views and creating echo chambers controlled by the state. Free exploration of ideas? Gone—replaced by curated propaganda." — Pavel Durov, Founder and CEO of Telegram, X, February 4, 2026. "⚠️Danger: Vague definitions of 'hate' could label criticism of the government as divisive, leading to shutdowns or fines. This can be a tool for suppressing opposition. These aren't safeguards; they're steps toward total control. We've seen this playbook before—governments weaponizing 'safety' to censor critics." — Pavel Durov, X, February 4, 2026. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." — First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The problem, of course, is that usually "hate" is never defined -- meaning that anything and everything can be labeled "hate" and often is. Judgments about what constitutes "hate" become entirely subjective and run the danger of existing exclusively "in the eye of the beholder." France is planning a similar move, "to ban minors from Instagram and TikTok," and Germany is also seriously considering introducing such a ban as well. Denmark, Greece and Britain are also in various stages of either introducing or seriously considering banning X, and European authorities are simultaneously seeking to come up with other ways to close down X. All this is in addition to a €120 million fine that the European Commission has imposed on X under its "Delete. Silence. Abolish" Digital Services Act. To the European governments that refuse to acknowledge that many of their citizens are sick and tired of their repressive policies, when the ayatollahs slaughter their citizens in Iran, it is not a pressing problem, but banning X is of the highest priority.
In supposed democracies, this latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent "democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to crush freedom of speech. (Images source: iStock)
Governing elites in Europe, in what increasingly appears to be the EUSSR (European Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) race to the bottom, have been growing ever more unpopular. Disapproval ratings are skyrocketing. In France, 77% of the public disapprove of President Emmanuel Macron. In Britain, 68% disapprove of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In Germany, 64% disapprove of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and in Spain, 61% have had it up to here with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. In other parts of Europe, such as Germany and France, all sorts of pseudo-legal acrobatics are being generated to prevent political opponents from running for high office (such as here and here). So, if you are an unpopular regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do? It's easy! Iran's ayatollahs, China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and Vladimir Putin could tell you. You simply crack down -- more than ever -- on free speech and dissent!
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by Lawrence Kadish • February 10, 2026 at 4:00 am
With "Project Vault," President Donald Trump is looking to break China's stranglehold on the supply of critical rare earth elements. Pictured: A front-loader shifts soil containing rare earth elements, to be loaded on ships at a port in Lianyungang, China, on September 5, 2010. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump is taking an important page from World War II's Manhattan Project, when the United States raced to secure supplies of the rare element uranium needed to create the war-winning atomic bomb. When strategic amounts of the element were found in Africa, deep in mines in the Belgian Congo, a "cover" entity called the Combined Development Trust was created by the U.S. to purchase all supplies and thereby deny Nazi Germany access to the coveted uranium. The 21st Century has changed the concept of the types and amounts of strategic minerals that will be required to protect the nation's future --and few recognize that need more acutely than Trump. Today the strategic minerals needed are "rare earths," and Trump is about to launch a strategic stockpile campaign to ensure our national economy is not held hostage by China, which has significant deposits of these vital resources.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 9, 2026 at 5:00 am
"[T]he document outlines an operational framework in which the technocratic government appears to function, while the actual management of systems, the flow of information, and control over the civil administration remain in Hamas's hands." – Elior Levy, Channel 11 Kan News, February 2, 2026. Hamas wants Trump's Board of Peace and the technocratic committee to focus on reconstruction, economic projects, and paying salaries to Palestinian civil servants while it continues, through a shadow government, to effectively rule the Gaza Strip, manufacture stockpile weaponry and prepare for a new attack on Israel, similar to its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel's southern communities. There can be no peace, security or stability in the Gaza Strip if the same terrorists who murdered, tortured, and mutilated thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals on October 7 are given new uniforms, rearmed and allowed to serve as a paramilitary force. There also can be no peace, security, or stability in the Gaza Strip so long as Hamas is permitted to function as a shadow government in the Gaza Strip. The talk about allowing Hamas to "freeze" or "store" its weapons is misguided and falls short of the full disarmament (decommissioning weapons) required by the Trump plan. With countries such as Qatar, Turkey and Pakistan sitting on Trump's Board of Peace, it is hard to see how Hamas could ever be forced to lay down its weapons and give up control of the Gaza Strip. These countries -- longtime sponsors and funders of Hamas -- will never take part in any effort to disarm Hamas or remove it from power. What we are witnessing is a clear attempt by Hamas and its Arab and Muslim sponsors to hoodwink the Trump administration and the rest of the international community. Will Trump choose to fall for it and join the Legacy of Losers -- like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain? Chamberlain will forever be recalled waving a fraudulent piece of paper and idiotically claiming that he had achieved "peace for our time." Is that how Trump would like to be remembered throughout history?
Hamas wants Trump's Board of Peace and the technocratic committee to focus on reconstruction, economic projects, and paying salaries to Palestinian civil servants while it continues, through a shadow government, to effectively rule the Gaza Strip, manufacture stockpile weaponry and prepare for a new attack on Israel, similar to its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel's southern communities. Pictured: Hamas terrorists in Jabalia refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, on December 1, 2025. (Photo by Omar Al-Qataa/AFP via Getty Images)
More than four months after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip went into effect, Hamas has still not laid down its weapons despite repeated warnings by US President Donald J. Trump. Hamas, in fact, not only continues to rule large parts of the Gaza Strip that are still under its control but also seems to be working hard to rearm, regroup and reassert its control over areas of the Gaza Strip from which the Israel Defense Forces have withdrawn. According to Israeli security sources: "Hamas recently strengthened its control over the Gaza Strip by stealing humanitarian aid and selling it to local residents, recruiting young men in mosques, collecting taxes, and kidnapping and torturing anyone who dares to speak out against the terror group."
A secret document obtained by Israel's Channel 11 Kan News reveals how Hamas is planning to control and run the Gaza Strip under the nose of the newly established Palestinian technocratic committee:
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by Pierre Rehov • February 8, 2026 at 5:00 am
[F]or several of these regimes, the real danger is not Iran's collapse, but an ideological exposure that could follow decisive American action, as well as concern about Israel becoming more prominent in the region. "Death to America," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced in 2023, "is not just a slogan, it is a policy." For decades, Iran has also been encircling Israel in a "ring of fire" the better to destroy it. Hezbollah in Lebanon; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza; Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen are not independent actors pursuing local grievances. They are integral components of a coherent Iranian strategy, backed by Russia and China, aimed at expanding Islamist Iran's influence in the region by force; destabilizing sovereign states, and eroding the regional order from within. This strategy is not reactive; it is doctrinal. What many have largely avoided addressing is the extent to which some governments, such as Qatar's and Turkey's -- which host American military bases -- benefit from U.S. security guarantees. While publicly Qatar and Turkey affirm their commitment to "stability", at the same time they zealously set about destabilizing half the planet by funding, promoting, and even training Islamist terror networks that presumably serve their own strategic interests. To Western audiences, they speak the language of moderation, while churning up grievance narratives and ideological victimhood at home. Qatar, for instance, presents itself as a neutral mediator, a champion of dialogue, and a facilitator of regional diplomacy, while in practice, for years, Qatar has provided safe haven, financial channels, and political legitimacy to just about every Islamic terrorist group. "Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran... Qatar transferred funds through various channels, primarily via their largest foundation, Charai, which is one of the largest funding sources for terrorist organizations in the world." — Udi Levy, a former senior official of Israel's Mossad spy agency who dealt with economic warfare against terrorist organizations, YNet, April 18, 2024. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman once prioritized domestic reform, economic diversification, and social transformation – while, in recent weeks, viciously turning against Israel "even more than al-Jazeera." The United Arab Emirates, under the exceptional, trailblazing leadership of its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has offered a striking example of unwavering loyalty to the West, to the Abraham Accords, and he demonstrates leadership in showing that extremist Islam need not be a requirement. For the UAE, opposing Iran does not demand embracing Islamism, anti-Western rhetoric, or hostility toward Israel. Through normalization with Israel, economic openness, technological cooperation, and a degree of religious tolerance rare in the region, the UAE has presented an awe-inspiring example of stability rooted in cooperation rather than ideological warfare. Bin Zayed's strategic clarity stands in perfect contrast to the duplicity other Gulf states and illustrates that alignment with Israel and the United States need not come at the expense of any legitimacy. Israel has no imperial ambitions, no desire to dominate Arab capitals, and no ideology of regional subversion. Its military actions are defensive responses to existential threats posed by Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, their proxies, propaganda, and terrorist organizations. Israel does not fight Islamic terrorism because it wants to. It fights Islamic terrorism because it has to.... To portray Israel as the destabilizing force while downplaying the role of the countries subscribing to extremist versions of Islam is not analysis; it is narrative distortion and journalistic malpractice. Trump's Middle East policy threatens not only Iran's nuclear ambitions; it threatens an entire system built on moral relativism, selective outrage, and strategic double-talk. Exposure, not war, is what these countries fear – and what they should get.
Iran, since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is not merely a rival or destabilizing neighbor. It is the ideological and operational core of modern Islamist warfare in the Middle East. Since 1979, Tehran has armed, funded, trained, and coordinated proxy organizations with the explicit aim of undermining Western influence. Pictured: Khamenei gives a speech on November 1, 2023, televised on Iran's Channel 1. (Image source: MEMRI)
US President Donald J. Trump's Gulf Arab allies, according to the New York Times, oppose an American strike on Iran primarily out of fear of regional instability and the possible damage to economies, tourism, and domestic security. While this explanation may sound credible on the surface, a deeper and far more uncomfortable reality is that for several of these regimes, the real danger is not Iran's collapse, but an ideological exposure that could follow decisive American action, as well as concern about Israel becoming more prominent in the region. A serious confrontation with Iran would not only reshape the regional balance of power; it would also force a number of Arab states to clarify positions that for decades they have fought to keep ambiguous.
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by Amir Taheri • February 8, 2026 at 4:00 am
Trump has always been keen on securing at least part of what he wants in exchange for not doing what might hurt an adversary. "Give me what I want, and I won't send the boys with baseball bats to break your bones," is the message. The Muscat talks may end up as one of the dozen or so building sites started by Trump from Gaza to Greenland, with the final shape still uncertain. We shall have to wait and see.
Iran and the United States resumed their interrupted talks in Muscat on Friday, amid contradicting speculations about a possible outcome. Pictured: A combination of photos showing US special envoy Steve Witkoff (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. (Photos by Evelyn Hockstein and Amer Hilabi/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran and the United States resumed their interrupted talks in Muscat on Friday, amid contradicting speculations about a possible outcome. Both Tehran and Washington pretend that the long weeks during which the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat and Rome were interrupted amounted to nothing more than an intermission. US President Donald Trump talks of an "excellent outcome," while Iranian media express unprecedented optimism about the outcome of the talks. However, the intermission of which both sides mention witnessed quite a few events that could put the talks on a different trajectory.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • February 7, 2026 at 5:00 am
The plea from Iran's regime is clearly a last-ditch effort to hold on to power so the mullahs can keep on torturing, slaughtering and putting out the eyes of their citizens. Whenever Iran's regime feels weak, it discovers "negotiations." In Shia Islam, you are told that if "Islam" is being threatened, you are to practice dissimulation (taqiyya). For Iran's mullahs, "talks" have always been a tactic to buy time, reduce pressure, and strengthen their hand. When President Barack Obama came to power, Tehran quickly pivoted toward negotiations. The result was a fake deal that rescued the mullahs when they were at their most vulnerable. The deal offered not only "breathing room," but more than $150 billion, and, after a few years – which would already have ended on October 18, 2025 – as many nuclear weapons legitimately as the regime could have built. This "breathing room" not only led to the Iranian regime's re-empowerment, but helped to finance its entire war industry, including the nuclear weapons. Years of repression, corruption, economic mismanagement, and brutality have created a population that has risen up against the ruling elite again and again, while the US and other ostensible protectors of freedom, such as the UN, looked chastely the other way. The social contract between the Iranian state and its citizens is now sustained only through brutality, terror and fear. The principle of "responsibility to protect " exists precisely to address situations where a regime brutalizes its own population, yet time and again, the United Nations ignores this principle when it comes to Iran. The double standard is beyond obvious: accountability is demanded elsewhere -- often wrongly, with a breathtaking lack of justice -- but postponed forever where Iran is concerned. It is probably high time for the Trump administration, out of respect for US taxpayers, to slash funding to this corrupt collection of narcissists more than it already has. Trump's sustained economic and military pressure on Iran has, for the first time, put the Iranian regime on the defensive. To throw away such an opportunity would be a mistake of historic magnitude. Any deal offered at this stage — no matter how well-intentioned — would serve only the interest of Iran's regime -- not that of America or the world. Even partial legitimacy would strengthen a system built on savagery and terror. If the US administration imagines that Iran would abide by anything it signs on paper – with infidels! – it may no longer deserve to lead the free world. If President Donald Trump's loud military threats are seen by its adversaries as just a bluff, America's national security is at stake.... Deterrence works only if it is believed. There is also a moral dimension. Negotiating with this regime at this time would signal to the Iranian people that their suffering, their protests, their imprisonment, and their tens of thousands of deaths can be brushed aside in the name of diplomatic expediency. Iran's regime has survived for nearly 50 years by lying and deceiving, as advised by taqiyya, to extract concessions. The regime has so far succeeded in conning eight US administrations and the international community, and will no doubt attempt to do so again. Every accommodation handed to this regime will be converted into repression, instability and terror. To discard this opportunity now would be a strategic and moral devastation. The path forward is not "negotiation," it is refusing to empower evil at its worst.
Iran's rulers, now that they are on their knees, apparently want to "talk." However, any deal offered at this stage — no matter how well-intentioned — would serve only the interest of Iran's regime -- not that of America or the world. Pictured: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives a statement on January 30, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Iran's rulers, now that they are on their knees, apparently want to "talk." Iranian officials, including the foreign minister, have signaled openness to negotiating a new nuclear deal -- not from "moderation" or a genuine change in behavior. The plea from Iran's regime is clearly a last-ditch effort to hold on to power so the mullahs can keep on torturing, slaughtering and putting out the eyes of their citizens. The regime is searching for a way out. This moment, therefore, is not one for misplaced diplomatic optimism that the mullahs are now prepared to stop building nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that can reach the United States, or to stop brutalizing innocent Iranians. The regime, which rules by terror, is evidently still hoping to rule the rest of the world by terror, too.
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by Uzay Bulut • February 6, 2026 at 5:00 am
It is hard to tell which, so far, is the greatest scam of the century: "Climate Change" while watching North America enjoying its global warming; Putin's protestations of wanting peace while demolishing Ukraine, or the trap being lubricatively laid for US President Donald J. Trump throughout much of the Middle East. The "success" being brought to Syria -- slaughtering non-Muslims -- appears to be the same kind of "success" being brought into Gaza, after Trump leaves office, of course. Some of Trump's "friends" and devoted donors, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan, appointed to his "Board of Peace," do not even recognize Israel. Trump's vision seems to be that economic prosperity will supersede jihadist ideology and deradicalize "all ships" -- but what if it does not? As can be seen in Qatar, one can be rich and radical – and able to buy even bigger weapons, whether nuclear, broadcastable or financial. Qatar, which runs its state-owned Al-Jazeera television network at an estimated cost of billions of dollars, has, according to reports, donated more than $1 billion to Washington, DC's Georgetown University alone. Georgetown happens to specialize in training future diplomats. Just what information will these future diplomats be exporting In Syria, the recent assaults on its Christians, Kurds and Yazidis are the third ethnic cleansing campaign that the army and affiliated militias under al-Sharaa have conducted since he took over Syria in December 2024. The others targeted the Alawites, Yazidis and Druze. Al-Sharaa's regime, after taking almost full control of the country, has been largely dismantling the Kurdish autonomous region that controlled Syria's northeast for over a decade, while the US administration has abandoned its allies – the Kurds and the SDF – who had courageously fought ISIS and helped liberate Syria from ISIS occupation. Videos on social media show al-Sharaa-affiliated forces abducting Kurdish women, mocking them as "gifts" (sex slaves) and massacring Kurds. The city of Kobani, still controlled by Kurds, is currently encircled on three sides by al-Sharaa's army and affiliated militias, while the border with Turkey remains closed. Al-Sharaa's armed forces, according to the Kurdish media, also targeted the region's sole source of power, the Tishrin Dam, thereby cutting off the city's electricity and water supply since January 15. "[Al-Sharaa's] ultimate goal is an Islamist dictatorship in Syria. It was made clear after it leaked from the meeting between him and the Kurds when he asked Mazloum Abdi [SDF leader]: 'why did you let the Christians form their own police force?'" — Rafael Issa, a Christian born in Syria and the founder of the Levantine Greek Association, to Gatestone, January 2026. "The US should investigate what is really going on in Syria, and not use Tom Barrack's [U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria] point of view. Tom Barrack is obviously working for his own interests." — Rafael Issa to Gatestone, January 2026.
In Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa's regime, after taking almost full control of the country, has been largely dismantling the Kurdish autonomous region that controlled the northeast for over a decade, while the US administration has abandoned its allies – the Kurds and the SDF – who had courageously fought ISIS and helped liberate Syria from ISIS occupation. Pictured: Syrian regime forces block a road as they take over Al-Aqtan prison near Raqqa, on January 23, 2026. (Photo by Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images)
It is hard to tell which, so far, is the greatest scam of the century: "Climate Change" while watching North America enjoying its global warming; Putin's protestations of wanting peace while demolishing Ukraine, or the trap being lubricatively laid for US President Donald J. Trump throughout much of the Middle East. Start at Syria. It was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who reportedly groomed al- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa for Western consumption, and it was Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who persuaded Trump, during his visit to Riyadh May 2025, to give Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda operative, "a chance at greatness" – presumably meaning to bring peace to Syria:
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by Bassam Tawil • February 5, 2026 at 5:00 am
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is still pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian terror state next to Israel. There are only three ways to read Guterres's position: he is completely clueless; he wants to see Israel eradicated; or he is happy to oblige his constituents at the UN who would apparently like to see Israel eradicated. At the UN, 26 member states -- including Qatar, US President Donald J. Trump's "neutral" peace negotiator and member of his "Board of Peace," as well as other "Board of Peace" affiliates such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia -- do not even "formally" recognize Israel. When Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel took place, there was no "occupation" in the Gaza Strip. The "occupation," in fact, ended in the summer of 2005.... For most Palestinians, all Jews there are "illegal settlers," and Israel just "one big settlement" that has no place in the Middle East. Many Palestinians viewed the 2005 Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as a retreat in the face of terrorism. In their eyes, if Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip as a result of terrorism, all that is needed for the rest of Israel to leave is more terrorism. As the great historian Bernard Lewis noted nearly 50 years ago, the UN does not resolve war, it conserves war. Trump, who managed to contain several wars in six months, has shown the world as much. If Palestinians could be taught -- and learn -- coexistence, their lives could be so magnificent. This change, however, can never take place while the UN and its scores of Arab and European camp-followers enable impossible fantasies. Finally, Guterres might listen to what the majority of the Palestinians are unmistakably saying: NO to a two-state solution. Palestinians polled two years ago by AWRAD, a Palestinian research group, unequivocally said that they did not want a "two-state solution" -- 75% rejected any solution other than a Palestinian state "from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea" – meaning over all of Israel. As Guterres must know full well, the establishment of a Palestinian state will not lead the Palestinians to abandon their determination to eliminate Israel. Quite the opposite. A Palestinian state will make them more determined than ever to continue their efforts to obliterate Israel. October 7 did not happen because Palestinians were denied a state. It happened because they were given one.
It is hard to believe that, more than two years after Palestinians invaded Israel, murdering, torturing, wounding, and kidnapping thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is still pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian terror state next to Israel. Pictured: Guterres gives a speech calling for a Palestinian state at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
It is hard to believe that, more than two years after Palestinians invaded Israel, murdering, torturing, wounding, and kidnapping thousands of Israelis and foreign nationals, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is still pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian terror state next to Israel. There are only three ways to read Guterres's position: he is completely clueless; he wants to see Israel eradicated; or he is happy to oblige his constituents at the UN who would apparently like to see Israel eradicated.
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by Uzay Bulut • February 4, 2026 at 5:00 am
The Army of Mohammed (Jaish-e-Mohammed — JeM), one of Pakistan's too-many-to-count jihadist terrorist groups, recently launched its first-ever women's wing. JeM chief Azhar claims that since its launch, the women's wing [which runs indoctrination courses that include specialized training for combat and suicide missions] has recruited 5,000 members. According to journalists who analyzed his audio message, Azhar explains how these women are now recruited, trained, and integrated into his long-term "global jihad" mission, mirroring the structure of JeM's long-running male training program. Azhar promised that any woman who joins the group "will go straight to paradise from her grave after death." The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, since its founding in 1947, is home to numerous Islamic terror organizations. JeM is also a member of the United Jihad Council (UJC), sponsored by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Pakistan apparently intends to continue using terrorism to advance its agenda of exporting Islam to the rest of the world. The launch of JeM's women's wing is a further attempt to recruit more women terrorists. Given that the goal of these jihadist groups is global jihad and domination, they pose a serious security threat not just to South Asia, but also beyond. Pakistan has been invited by the Trump administration to join his "Board of Peace" for the purported stabilization of Gaza, and Pakistan accepted the offer.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), one of Pakistan's too-many-to-count jihadist terrorist groups, recently launched its first-ever women's wing, which has held meetings, launched in-person and online radicalization events, recruitment fairs, and indoctrination courses for women and girls that include specialized training for combat and suicide missions. JeM claims the women's wing has recruited 5,000 members. Pictured: Indian security forces in Kashmir inspect the site of a terrorist attack carried out by JeM, in which 40 Indian troops were killed, on February 14, 2019. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
The Army of Mohammed (Jaish-e-Mohammed — JeM), one of Pakistan's too-many-to-count jihadist terrorist groups, recently launched its first-ever women's wing. The "Congregation of the Believing Women" (Jamaat-ul-Mominaat) was launched on October 9, 2025, and hosted by JeM's training facility, "Center of Usman and Ali," (Markaz Usman-o-Ali) in Bahawalpur, a city in the southeast of Pakistan's Punjab Province. The JeM's women's wing has since held meetings, launched in-person and online radicalization events, recruitment fairs, and indoctrination courses for women and girls that include specialized training for combat and suicide missions On October 19, JeM organized another event for the "Daughters of Islam" ("Dukhtaran-e-Islam") to attract women into the terror group. "Daughters of Islam," a radical Islamist women's organization, emerged in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the late 1980s.
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