Hussein Ibish
@ibishblog.bsky.social
Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute (AGSI), weekly columnist for The National, and writer and speaker at large. Former Bloomberg columnist and New York Times regular contributor, now writing a lot for The Atlantic.
Saudis became skeptical in 2019, when Trump refused to retaliate against Iran for a drone and missile attack on Saudi oil fields. “We start a big fight, then get bored and walk away. It’s like Lucy and the football. They’re feeling like Charlie Brown on the ground.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/u...
How the Iran War Ignited a Clash Between Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince
nytimes.com
Ending the war became a personal and political imperative for Trump, who seemed almost indifferent to the cost or specifics of the arrangement. As easily as he got into it, he wanted to get out of it. @ibishblog.bsky.social agsi.org/analysis/wil...
Will "Hormuz" be the American "Suez"? - AGSI
The Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East.
agsi.org
The Iranian leadership gauged, and used, Trump’s unwillingness to return to all-out warfare and his mounting frustration to strike a hard bargain. @ibishblog.bsky.social agsi.org/analysis/wil...
Will "Hormuz" be the American "Suez"? - AGSI
The Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East.
agsi.org
Internal correspondence between IDF commanders reveal deep frustration over the absence of a coherent strategy, and Israeli security officials expressed concern that the growing friction would soon lead to harm to both Israeli soldiers and Lebanese civilians. us18.campaign-archive.com?e=68188fb490
https://us18.campaign-archive.com/?e=68188fb490
____ / ___M ]__ C{ ( o o )} { •• \___ ––––´ You probably found this page because one of our subscribers used Mailchimp to send you an email campaign and you traced a link in th...
us18.campaign-archive.com
Will “Hormuz” be the American “Suez”? @ibishblog.bsky.social agsi.org/analysis/wil...
Will "Hormuz" be the American "Suez"? - AGSI
The Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East.
agsi.org
One of the most lucid, sharpest, and insightful analyses you’ll come across by @ibishblog.bsky.social. Requisite reading for anyone with a, serious, interest in the region.
Hussein Ibish@ibishblog.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East. I argue this in my latest essay here: agsi.org/analysis/wil...
The Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East. I argue this in my latest essay here: agsi.org/analysis/wil...
Will "Hormuz" be the American "Suez"? - AGSI
The Trump administration has positioned the United States at a crossroads between a new regime of containment against Iran or a historic drawdown of U.S. influence in the Gulf and broader Middle East.
agsi.org
Deceiving the Deceivers: Philby, Maclean, and Burgess by S.J. Hamrick makes a fascinating case that UK intel knew about the Cambridge spies much earlier than admitted and MI6 and the KGB effectively colluded in creating a myth of Kim Philby super spy, who was nothing of the kind.
VIDEO – Inside Iran’s Wartime Leadership: Power, Succession, and Regime Stability with @alfoneh.bsky.social, Ali Ansari, and @ibishblog.bsky.social. agsi.org/events/insid...
Inside Iran’s Wartime Leadership: Power, Succession, and Regime Stability - AGSI
On April 21, AGSI hosted a discussion on the evolution of Iran's leadership during the war.
agsi.org
Israel would be advised to be patient with this delicate situation. But ever since the October 7, 2023, it has taken a hyperaggressive approach toward armed nonstate actors on its borders. My latest for The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Israel Could Have What It Most Wants in Lebanon
It just has to give up territorial ambitions and work with the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.
theatlantic.com
Can Qatar Still Mediate After Becoming a Target? From AGSI and by Faisal Al-Hanzab agsi.org/analysis/can...
Can Qatar Still Mediate After Becoming a Target? - AGSI
With Iran, Qatar is balancing dialogue with deterrence.
agsi.org
The thing about being a normal person cosplaying as a superrich one is that eventually you have to return to earth. I was warned about this painful jolt to the system, akin to taking a single, blissful hit of the best drug and being told you can never have it again. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/t...
No Lines, No ‘Regular’ People: Flying Ultra-Luxury From Paris
nytimes.com
Based on the principle of typical inverse proportionality wherein outrageous rhetoric disproportionately elides desperate circumstances the gobbledygook in Iran’s statement accepting the ceasefire suggests they’re in even worse condition than I thought. www.tasnimnews.ir/en/news/2026...
SNSC Issues Statement about Iran’s Victory over Enemies - Politics news - Tasnim News Agency
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Supreme National Security Council issued a statement regarding the US's acceptance of Iran's conditions to end the war.
tasnimnews.ir
Rubio does NOT mention: 1) enriched uranium or anything about nuclear weapons; 2) Iranian-backed armed gangs in the Arab world; 3) securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormoz into the foreseeable future with real consequences; 4) regime change. 5) REALLY? www.state.gov/releases/off...
Secretary of State Marco Rubio with George Stephanopoulos of ABC Good Morning America - United States Department of State
QUESTION: Let’s talk more about this with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us this morning. Let’s talk about the President’s comments overnight, talking abo...
state.gov
Rubio: “Our clear objectives (write them down): 1) destruction of the air force; 2) destruction of the navy; 3) severe diminishing of missile launching capability; 4) destruction of factories so they can’t make more missiles and more drones.” That’s new. Ok, written! www.state.gov/releases/off...
Secretary of State Marco Rubio with George Stephanopoulos of ABC Good Morning America - United States Department of State
QUESTION: Let’s talk more about this with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us this morning. Let’s talk about the President’s comments overnight, talking abo...
state.gov
What have we been saying all along? The military at a classified Congressional briefing on Wed:“confirmed once again that THERE IS NO PLAN. They don’t know what they’re doing. They cannot connect their military goals with their strategic goals.” x.com/sethmoulton/...
x.com
I tell the Wall Street Journal that attacks on Lebanese Amana gas stations are designed to undercut “Hezbollah by both cutting off its revenue and straining its supporters.“ They’re owned and run by a supporter of the organization and many consider it a front or asset. www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
Why Is Israel Blowing Up Gas Stations in Lebanon?
Israel’s military said it carried out a second wave of strikes targeting gas stations controlled by Hezbollah in Lebanon, escalating attacks on infrastructure it says is used by the Iran-backed milita...
wsj.com
American Stalinism: Somebody from the HHS communications team said, “Well, don’t you do this every four years, changing the priorities and things like that?” I said, “Science doesn’t change based on who is in office.” O’Brien will teach you that 2+2 = 5. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Inside the Turmoil at RFK Jr.’s CDC, as Told by Current and Former Employees
Forty-three current and former C.D.C. employees on the changes they say are replacing science with ideology — and making Americans more vulnerable.
nytimes.com
American Stalinism: Trump issued a flurry of executive orders. No more federal diversity, equity & inclusion, “gender ideology extremism.” identifying pronouns,” “transgender” and “pregnant people.” Hundreds of words flagged and entire pages quickly taken offline. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Inside the Turmoil at RFK Jr.’s CDC, as Told by Current and Former Employees
Forty-three current and former C.D.C. employees on the changes they say are replacing science with ideology — and making Americans more vulnerable.
nytimes.com
Scandalous lack of accountability, typical approach to policing in our benighted country.
Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 5mo ago“The Phoenix Police Department will not discipline any officers for their roles in a massive city scandal where officials invented a fake gang and then falsely charged protesters as members back in 2020”
And you have to burn down the village in order to save it. This man is a genius.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo agoBessent: "Sometimes you have to escalate to deescalate"
Just about everybody attached to this administration is a clear cut racist to one extent or another. Not everybody, but pretty close.
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 5mo agoEXCLUSIVE: DOJ Civil Rights Division hire resigned from Alabama firm over Facebook post following George Floyd's murder. Daniel Flickinger was one of the DOJ lawyers who sued Harvard on Friday. As recently as last June, he was still fighting in court over the fallout from the 2020 Facebook post.
I’m relieved that he was so careful to distinguish between the regime and the people of Iran.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo agoBessent on Trump's threat to commit war crimes by blowing up Iran's power plans: "This is the only language the Iranians understand"
You have to read this RIDICULOUS @WSJ unsigned editorial aloud in a super-thick Israeli accent. www.wsj.com/opinion/iran...
Opinion | Iran Attacks the Gulf Arabs. Will They Fight Back?
These states can do more to help as Tehran blocks and targets their energy.
wsj.com
Trump said, "I can't tell you what we're doing." Because HE doesn’t know what he’s doing. So obvious. The ad hoc, ad lib war. Pathetic. Worse than 2003. I never thought I’d see something that dumb. But here we are. www.haaretz.com/middle-east-...
Report: U.S. and Israel strike Iranian missile tunnels to block launchers
One Expert Told CNN That Sealing the Entrances to the Bases and 'Burying' the Launchers Inside Them Has 'Significantly Affected Iran's Ability to Carry Out Launches at a High Rate.' Iranian Reconstruc...
haaretz.com
Gulf Diplomacy: As bombs continue to drop, many countries are pursuing a peaceful resolution as soon as possible, especially the Gulf Arab states, who will likely play a major role as mediators between the warring parties. @ibishblog.bsky.social covered their efforts: agsi.org/analysis/cau...
Caught in the Crosshairs, Gulf Arab Countries Remain Crucial to Peace - AGSI
Though they were unsuccessful in preventing the current conflict, and, as expected, have been dragged into the U.S.-Israeli confrontation with Iran, Gulf Arab countries remain crucial to hopes for…
agsi.org
Hezbollah: The war has pushed Lebanon to take unprecedented measures against Hezbollah within its own borders. @ibishblog.bsky.social offered a crucial analysis: agsi.org/analysis/ira...
Iran War Provides Decisive Test for Lebanon to Assert Authority Over Hezbollah - AGSI
After decades of tolerating Hezbollah’s warmaking independence, the current crisis has compelled Lebanese leaders to ban its military activities; this project will do much to determine the reach Iran…
agsi.org
