But first, I begin with the the U.S./Israel vs Iran War. Israel has attacked Lebanon recently. Despite ongoing ceasefire talks and fragile truces mediated by the United States , Israeli drone and air strikes have continued to target multiple areas across southern Lebanon, including Nabatieh, Tyre, and the Bint Jbeil district. Israel continues to occupy between 220 and 234 square miles of Lebanon. The Strait of Hormuz is not totally closed . A trickle of marine traffic continues. Many ships take the extreme southern route away from Iran. Insurance costs are very high. A container ship was struck by an Iranian drone yesterday , Technical talks in Switzerland about that MOU are occurring daily, but there has been no announcement when any high level discussion will next be held. The U.S. House this month passed a resolution directing the President to end hostilities, while the U.S. Senate also passed the same measure on a 50-48 vote.  But a concurrent resolution is only a symbolic re...

The War with Iran is expanding. According to  Time  magazine : Early public messaging has underlined this shift. The man who addressed Iran and the world on television after the death of the Ayatollah was   Ali Larijani , the head of the national security council. A former IRGC commander and an experienced politician with a reputation for pragmatism, Larijani has been   overseeing   nuclear negotiations, regional relations, and suppression of recent protests.  In his  televised address,  Larijani   struck a tone   that was at once defiant and carefully calibrated. He spoke of national unity, warned against those who would seek to “fragment the country,” and framed the confrontation not as a crisis of leadership but as an existential struggle for Iran itself. The message projected resolve and defiance toward the U.S. and Israel, while directing an unmistakable warning inward, toward any faction tempted to exploit the moment. From  NB...