It truly is! Thank you Howard. What a disastrous, utterly idiotic war. With no end in sight.

It's a war crimes fiesta.

In the meantime, I hope that you and yours stay safe.

American unis in the Gulf evacuated weeks ago bc of similar concerns. There was no way to do emergency planning w/o considering Iran targeting American soft targets—of which these unis are some of the largest.

Even a 1% risk of it was too high to gamble with students’ safety ❤️‍🩹

3/3

Iran says US, Israeli universities ‘legitimate targets’ amid military escalation IRGC vows retaliation for US-Israeli attacks on Iranian educational facilities - Anadolu Ajansı

Link to source: www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-ea...

Note that Iran announced that it will target its enemies in parks, recreation centers & other civilian sites worldwide. And it has been bombing civilian infrastructure right & left.

None of this justifies 🇺🇸🇮🇱 war crimes or this war ofc!

Iran’s defenders won’t explain why targeting my campus & students at NYU in the UAE—or my colleagues & their students in Qatar, Israel, or anywhere—would be morally or legally justifiable IRGC “retaliation” for despicable, criminal 🇺🇸🇮🇱 attacks on Iran’s unis.

Multiple wrongs do not make right.

1/3

Iran’s gaslighting about its attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Gulf throws maddening salt in the wound for ppl living there.

Giving civilians’ all too real trauma the Pallywood treatment likewise fuels hate, going even farther in its maddening denialism. This is Israel’s Persian account ⬇️

Dear Leader gets a curated feel-good video montage, fiddling while Rome burns.

This, in a nutshell, is why authoritarian personalities who struggle with self-criticism should be kept as far as possible from the reins of power.

Wishing everyone as good an Eid/Bayram as possible in these difficult days.

This was not the Ramadan that almost anyone in the MENA region wanted.

Hoping with everything I’ve got that not another drone, missile, or bomb punctures anyone’s peace.

May next year be brighter.

Huge honor to know, learn & grow from your work & friendship dear Hussein

This is horrifically unpopular with Americans—even Republicans, who overwhelmingly approve only limited special ops strikes, not thousands of troops deployed on the ground in Iran, as we appear to be gearing up for now.

What a nightmare for these young troops & their families.

There’s no hope of finding a Delcy Rodriguez in Iran w/ Israel empowered to guide this file.

That’s one of my takeaways from Raz’s excellent explanation of the Israeli government’s point of view.

Trump hoped for a Venezuela ending. But Israel is copying its Hezbollah playbook.

Dubai Turns to Glossy Marketing and Social-Media Crackdown to Protect Its Image As missiles and drones strike the city, police are issuing warnings about posting rumors or anything that contradicts authorities.

www.wsj.com/world/dubai-...

Accurate. And likely to erode more credibility than it restores.

PR needs to feel authentic & believable. If people feel like the truth is being hidden, they’ll feel manipulated & tune out.

Hence why this approach is driving more critical journalism as the PR becomes the story.

People who want the info need to be on X, I’m afraid. It’s simply impossible to post & spend much time here on it bc the whole ecosystem for info is over there w/ videos. Arabic & Farsi sources, government accounts, a lot of local media that’s not here yet, etc. Ppl are back there for that reason

@ksadjadpour.bsky.social

I think that’s everyone here whom I’d mentioned on X two posts above!

If I forgot anyone, didn’t find anyone, or you’d like to chip in with your own recommendations for excellent Gulf & Iran analysis, please chip in here!

You can find more limited commentary from some of them here. @glcarlstrom.bsky.social @ibishblog.bsky.social @kdiwan.bsky.social @arashtehran.bsky.social @valinasr.bsky.social @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social @drhahellyer.bsky.social @andreaskrieg.bsky.social @giorgiocafiero.bsky.social etc

And here’s my non-exhaustive & in-no-particular-order list of top scholars, analysts, journalists & establishments running great Gulf &/or Iran analysis.

Like them, I post overwhelmingly on X—not bc I don’t share its boycotters critiques of the platform, but bc it has more Arabic & primary sources.

Reposting this 🧵 from X, which—despite its enshitification by Elon—is still the best social media hub for quality Iran War analysis.

Some of the scholars & analysts whom I’ve recommended here (see the final post here for those recommendations) are on this platform. But most aren’t/post there more.

Last week a former diplomat in DC confided his fears for NE Asian security since 🇺🇸 redeployed THAAD air defense from South Korea to the Gulf theatre.

South Koreans objected that they’re too essential to be moved. Kim Jong Un just proved them right.

Another window into how poorly we planned this.

You cannot make this stuff up.

DC finally fulfilled John Bolton’s wet dream by launching a neocon regime change war in Iran. A dream that launched decades worth of op-eds by him.

But less than 3 weeks in, Bolton’s got cold feet.

If you don’t realise that this war is a disaster yet, you should.

Pandora’s box has been opened now, though, and we’ve unleashed forces we cannot control. The generals will be trying to do what’s in America’s best interests, but will be confused now because they’re choosing between terrible options & likely don’t understand Iranian political drivers fully.

Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz | CNN Politics The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, accord...

Our elected government in DC didn’t plan for, and likely even dismissed Pentagon military experts who vociferously warned them about, what would very obviously become Iran’s strategy: closing Strait of Hormuz.

Remember the upset Pentagon leaks before we launched this debacle.

This war is a strategic disaster for 🇺🇸 & will likely worsen any way you slice it.

Americans should consider protesting this in greater numbers than they did Iraq at this point. They’ll be economically punished faster for a war that was planned with a fraction of the thought.

Iran’s insurance policy: Why the Houthis have stayed out of the fight - Middle East Institute

Brilliant piece by Nadwa Dawsari on a question we’ve all been wondering: Why are the Houthis, so far, sitting this out?

She argues the Houthis are Iran’s pinch hitter, strategically positioned to rescue the Islamic Regime in a bind.

Expect their deployment if & when Tehran truly gets desperate.

Iran hit Oman again.

It has no US base & exhausted itself trying to negotiate a way to avoid this war.

All Iran’s Oman hits targeted civilian infrastructure. On March 1 & 3 its drones targeted oil storage & workers’ housing.

Reuters reports it just hit oil storage at Salalah.

Dubai’s cortisol-fuelled rat race overrides concern at Iran attacks Residents have taken to social media to scorn news reports of the UAE as a war-torn country and to scoff at those quick to abandon the city

This is right. The conversations I’m having with lower waged workers in Dubai, in particular, strongly echo the early COVID lockdown period when many were terrified—and rightly so, given the widespread layoffs—that reduced footfall & business closures would make them return home.

I wonder if the new “strategy” is going to be mowing an expanded regional lawn now, with more frequent Iran wars resembling more frequent Hezbollah wars.

This puts the entire Gulf in an absolutely terrible bind.