Why Are Afghan and Pakistani Fighters Deploying to Syria on Iran’s Behalf?

by Fatemeh Aman After long denying that it had deployed any foreign nationals to Syria, Iran now insists that Afghan and Pakistani Shia fighters have traveled to Syria in a spontaneous, voluntary display of religious and ideological conviction. Tehran claims… Continue Reading →

For Hawks, Every American Captive Returned Home Diplomatically is a Failed Opportunity

by Eli Clifton This month, opponents of the Iran deal have decided to run with the talking point that the delivery of $400 million to Iran in January was a “ransom payment” for the release of three American citizens. The… Continue Reading →

The Strange Bedfellows of U. S.–Iranian Animosity

by Mansour Farhang A semi-irony of the 37-year-old animosity between Iran and the United States is the repeated convergence of short-term interests between hard-liners in the Iranian theocracy and right-wing political forces in America. The latest example is the dispute over… Continue Reading →

The Myth of Trump’s Alternative Worldview

by John Feffer Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has staked out a foreign policy position quite distinct from his opponent, Hillary Clinton. It is not, however, “isolationist” (contra Jeb Bush and many others) or “less aggressively militaristic” (economist Mark Weisbrot in… Continue Reading →

Leaker, Speaker, Soldier, Spy

By Nick Turse I ran into David Petraeus the other night. Or rather, I ran after him. It’s been more than a year since I first tried to connect with the retired four-star general and ex-CIA director — and no… Continue Reading →