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The Long War of Attrition: Iran, Trump, and the Nuclear Deadlock

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  By Struan Stevenson A strange calm has descended across the Gulf. Occasional tankers again edge through the Strait of Hormuz. Diplomats shuttle between capitals. Donald Trump hints at flexibility. Tehran signals openness to Chinese mediation. Yet beneath the surface lies a brutal reality — the Iran war has entered a dangerous stalemate. Neither side can claim outright victory. The clerical regime in Tehran lacks the economic strength, military reach, and public legitimacy required for prolonged confrontation. Meanwhile, the United States and Israel have discovered that air power alone cannot erase decades of nuclear development buried deep beneath mountains and military compounds. Missiles can devastate infrastructure. They cannot destroy scientific knowledge. That leaves the world facing the central question: how does this end? The first truth demanding recognition concerns uranium enrichment. The mullahs will never surrender every aspect of their so-called ‘civilian’ nuclear pr...
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Strait of Hormuz Diplomacy Exposes Iran's Deepening Power Struggle

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  By Struan Stevenson As Iran’s economy buckles under runaway inflation, a collapsing currency, and mounting strikes by workers, pensioners, and teachers, the ruling establishment in Tehran has entered a dangerous new phase – open internal conflict. The slogans of “unity” and “resistance” endlessly repeated by regime officials now ring hollow. Beneath the surface, rival factions are battling over how to preserve a system that increasingly appears incapable of saving itself. The divisions have become impossible to conceal. Even regime-controlled newspapers now openly acknowledge fierce struggles inside the Majlis (parliament) and across the security and diplomatic apparatus. The latest confrontation erupted during the May 25 elections for the third session of Iran’s 12th parliament, where extremist factions mounted a determined effort to weaken Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Ghalibaf. Although Ghalibaf secured another term, the infighting revealed something far more significant than routine...
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When War Becomes an Excuse: How Economic Pressure Is Being Shifted Onto Ordinary People

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  By Reza Hoseani Iran’s economic crisis is no longer just a headline — it has become part of everyday life. Skyrocketing prices, the continuous collapse of the national currency, and shrinking household purchasing power are now affecting nearly every segment of society. But an important question remains: Are these hardships truly the direct result of war and external pressure, or are they rooted in domestic economic policies and political decisions? While state media repeatedly blame regional tensions and foreign conflicts for inflation and market instability, many economists argue that the current crisis is driven far more by internal policymaking than by war itself.   War as a Cover for Internal Economic Failure For years, whenever Iran’s economy entered a deeper phase of crisis, official narratives pointed to external enemies and international tensions. However, economic experts say the immediate impact of war rarely causes inflation on this scale in such a sho...
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International Dignitaries Rally for a New Iran Policy, Support NCRI as Democratic Alternative

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  Written by Shamsi Saadati Paris, France  – On Saturday, May 17, 2025, an influential international conference convened in Paris, uniting parliamentarians and prominent political figures from a wide array of countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The central theme of the gathering was the urgent need for a new, decisive international policy towards Iran, with a strong emphasis on supporting democratic change and recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable alternative to the current regime. The event served as a significant platform for global lawmakers to voice their concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the regime’s escalating domestic repression, its destabilizing regional activities, and its persistent pursuit of a nuclear program. A recurring call throughout the conference was for Western governments to adopt a firmer stance, including the ...
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