The Persian Empire – on the site of what is now Iran – set the standard for superpowers of the ancient world and left a cornucopia of treasures and architectural masterpieces.
Given the perils of direct confrontation with the US, the most likely recourse for Iran may be to mobilise its proxy militias to attack American assets in Iraq.
Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
President Trump’s Iran policy took a dramatic turn when the US killed Iran’s top military commander in a drone strike. To avoid war, one foreign policy scholar says Trump has to reverse his stance.
Data show that the US intervenes more in other countries’ affairs than it did in the past. It also currently hires fewer career professionals for ambassadorial or foreign affairs positions.
A former congressional staffer says withholding damning evidence from Congress and using civilians to carry out presidential or intelligence agency agendas links the Ukraine crisis to other scandals.
Energy-wise, the fallout from the attack on Saudi oil facilities has so far been very muted. The surge in oil production in the US over the past decade helps explain why.
Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Deputy Director (International) at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University