Although a growing number of voices argue that Israel dragged the US into the war against Iran, and that Israeli bombs killed its supreme leader, the Jewish state has not been the primary target of Tehran's attacks. That distinction, by far, belongs to the United Arab Emirates, which has suffered nearly 2,000 attacks since the start of hostilities. Their neighbors in the Persian Gulf have also not been spared from being targeted by Iranian drones and missiles. However, so far, none have responded to these aggressions. Is this situation sustainable?

Until the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader at the start of the war, the atheist Ali KhameneiThe power structure of the Islamic Republic was quite clear. Khamenei had the final say on all relevant matters, such as the nuclear program and negotiations with the West. After his death, a power struggle erupted among the various factions within the regime. Ali Larijani, The director of the Supreme National Security Council, who died Tuesday in an Israeli attack, belonged to the more pragmatic faction, which favored negotiation with Washington. His assassination, along with that of other pragmatic leaders, strengthens the regime's hardliners, centered around the Revolutionary Guard, further delaying the end of the war with the US and Israel. In this context, attacks persist, and on Wednesday the regime's leadership was further weakened after Israel assassinated Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib in an early morning bombing raid on Tehran.

Two weeks later the start of Operation Epic Fury against IranMany questions remain unanswered, but one thing is clear: President Donald Trump has not gotten the war he wanted. His statements in recent days, which have suggested that he had won the warThese measures are intended to calm financial markets and prepare public opinion for a withdrawal. However, it will not be easy. "We will be the ones to determine when the war ends," they retorted defiantly to the Revolutionary Guard, the regime's praetorian guard, a clear indication that the ayatollahs' regime does not feel defeated.

You don't need to be an economist to realize the astronomical losses that the current war with Iran could represent for the Gulf petro-monarchies, especially if it continues for an extended period. Aside from the costs associated with the destruction of some of their infrastructure, the disruption of maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz It is a serious headache for states that derive between 60% and 85% of their revenue from oil and gas sales. However, the long-term cost of this war could be quite high for another reason: it threatens their plans to diversify their economies and end their dependence on oil.

Amid the confusion generated by the White House's erratic communication policy—which offers a different reason each day for launching a war against Iran—there are signs that indicate that President Donald Trump I wanted to repeat the Venezuelan modelThat is, to force a change in the country's leadership, trusting that the new leaders would comply with Washington's demands. Given the defiant reaction of the ayatollahs' regime, and the rumors of the imminent election of a hawk like Mukhta Khamenei—son of the assassinated Supreme Leader—as the country's new leader, Trump may be tempted to move to plan B: pressuring the Iranian regime, which could incite an armed rebellion. In fact, in recent days, several reports indicate that the CIA, probably with the help of Mossad, is planning to arm Iranian Kurdish militias based in northern Iraq to launch a ground offensive against Iran. Trump himself reportedly spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) to urge his militia to join the war against the Islamic Republic. The fact that Israeli and American bombings have particularly targeted Iranian security forces in the border region with Iraq reinforces the perception that Washington is inciting a rebellion in regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, where there is greater opposition to the government.

The current war between Washington and Tehran is the culmination of a hostile relationship of almost half a century A spatter of misunderstandings and missed opportunities for reconciliation. The root of this enmity lies in the clash of ideologies and interests between two countries aspiring to hegemony, one on a global scale and the other on a regional one. However, it is often overlooked that the first major tension between the US and Iran predates the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. In fact, the Ayatollahs' regime is its consequence.

Amid the chaos and uncertainty it has caused in the Iranian regime the assassination of their supreme leader, Ali KhameneiAmong the 40 members of his elite, one figure has emerged as a key player in managing the current crisis: Ali Larijani. The 68-year-old Larijani, currently Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has held several prominent positions within the Iranian political system throughout his long career. It was precisely because of his experience and expertise that Khamenei had entrusted him with the responsibility of managing the crisis in recent weeks. negotiations with the U.S., bypassing President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Shortly after assuming the office of Prime Minister of Israel in 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu commissioned a report from a group of neoconservative experts on the future of the Middle East. The result was a kind of roadmap called Clean Break, which proposed a new regional order based on an Israeli-American hegemony sustained by the use of force. The rise to power of Donald Trump and the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2003, offered Netanyahu a golden opportunity to realize his dream of an Israel with uncontested dominance, what he now calls "the new Middle East." The war that began this Saturday is merely its culmination.

Over the years and decades, the Iranian regime has gradually withered away, as has its last guardian, Ali Khamenei, the eternal Supreme Leader who ruled the Persian giant with an iron fist for four decades. A faithful disciple of Ayatollah Khomeini, the architect of the Iranian theocracy, the veteran Shiite cleric had never been willing to compromise on the ideological and identity-based pillars of the Islamic Republic. Eliminating him had become an obsession for Israel and the American right wing. Iran confirmed early this morning that he was killed in Saturday's joint US-Israeli attack; he was 86 years old.

The main geopolitical consequence of The US invasion of Iraq strengthened Iran as the only regional power capable of challenging US hegemony in the Middle East. As Tehran strengthened ties with and armed a network of militias across the region, the specter of a total war began to loom, pitting Iran and its allies—the self-styled "axis of resistance"—against the US. This war, they said, would set the entire Middle East ablaze. The scenario that sent shockwaves from Beirut to Abu Dhabi is now upon us. In the region's capitals, everyone is now calculating how the conflict will affect them and hoping that Tehran's current weakened state will limit its scope and the damage it will cause.

As soon as the decisive penalty kick by a Moroccan player found the back of the net, pandemonium erupted in downtown Rabat. Morocco had defeated Nigeria in the semifinals and, after a 50-year drought, could once again be crowned champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN). Moreover, this time the title could be won in front of their home crowd, as the final against Senegal is this Sunday in Rabat. Within minutes, thousands of euphoric fans gathered on Mohamed V Avenue in the capital to celebrate the victory. Amidst the honking of car horns and the blaring of trumpets, the noise was deafening. the social protests of the GenZ 212 movement that shook the country last October

In the Socotra archipelago, all the flags of Yemen, the country to which it officially belongs, have disappeared. At the entrances of official buildings, on the uniforms of police officers and soldiers, on car decals, and even at the country's main football stadium, the national flag has been replaced by one featuring a triangular stripe of light blue with a red star in the center. This is the flag of South Yemen, the former socialist republic that existed between 1967 and 1990, during the period between British decolonization and the country's unification. The civil war that erupted in 2015, and which continues at a low intensity, has fragmented Yemen into three governments. With the support or instigation of the United Arab Emirates, the government that controls the south is pursuing a process of independence to return to the pre-1990 borders.

Despite choosing not to send a delegation to the G-20 summit in Johannesburg, the shadow of US President Donald Trump loomed over the annual meeting of the world's twenty most powerful economies. Ultimatum in Ukraine to accept a biased peace plan The US's proposal to Russia, announced a couple of days ago, has shaped the summit's proceedings, particularly for representatives of European countries, who held a parallel meeting to discuss a common response. South Africa, the host country, secured the approval of a joint declaration focused on climate change, a significant blow to Trump, who had demanded that attendees not sign any document without US representation. Hours before the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held telephone conversations with several leaders to discuss Trump's peace proposal. These included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Reuters, these top officials from the three European powerhouses held an initial meeting in Johannesburg to coordinate their positions. Later, the meeting expanded to include the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, and the President of the European Council, António Costa of Portugal, as well as the leaders of Finland, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands.

According to the UN, the Sudanese civil war, along with the war in Gaza, the conflict that has generated the most serious humanitarian crisis recentlySince the start of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, it is estimated that the death toll could exceed 150,000, and the number of refugees and displaced persons is approaching 15 million in a country with approximately 50 million inhabitants. The root of the conflict lies in a power struggle between two powerful generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese army, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. However, the war could not have lasted so long and caused so much suffering without the self-serving intervention of various regional and global powers, and especially the United Arab Emirates, the RSF's main ally.

After 17 months of a fierce siegeOn Monday, Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of Al Fashir, the capital of the Darfur region, and now control much of the south and west of the African country. Their entry into the city has been followed by numerous atrocities against the civilian population, according to the United Nations. Sudan has been the scene of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises since 2023. when a brutal civil war broke out between the national army and the FSR, a militia that was attached to the armed forces.

Of the 20 points of the call Trump plan to end the Gaza war, number 15 establishes that the "United States will work with its Arab and international partners to develop an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to be deployed immediately in Gaza." The idea has been circulating among foreign ministries in the region for some time—the Arab League formally proposed it last May—and it has been leaked to the press that its composition is one of the topics of discussion in the negotiations in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt. Its existence responds to the shared vision between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian National Authority should be responsible for Gaza's security once the Israeli army withdraws from the Strip.

Solidarity with Palestine spilled over into the center of Barcelona this Saturday at noon in the largest demonstration organized so far in the Catalan capital against the genocide in Gaza. A black tide—the organization requested that Palestinians wear that color as a sign of mourning—crowned by a multitude of Palestinian flags, which the Guardia Urbana estimated at 70,000 people, and the organizers have raised to 300,000. Beyond the usual whirlwind of numbers, the success of the demonstration, which more than 600 organizations joined, is a resounding demonstration of support for the demand that institutions boycott and isolate Israel.

The streets of several Moroccan cities witnessed the fifth consecutive day of protests organized through social media by an anonymous youth group called GenZ 212 on Wednesday night. Tensions have escalated over the past two days, with clashes between police and protesters. which resulted in the death of two people, more than 300 injured and 400 arrests, according to the Ministry of the InteriorThe wave of protests comes at an inopportune time for the Moroccan regime, just over two months before the start of the African Cup of Nations football tournament, a sort of rehearsal for the 2030 World Cup, which the North African country is hosting alongside Spain and Portugal.

In 2023, Tunisia became a headache for European politicians, especially for the far-right Italian government of Giorgia Meloni. That year, some 140,000 people set sail from Tunisian beaches for Europe, and 70% were able to reach it. The figures contrasted with those of its neighbor, Algeria. With a population almost four times larger, just over 2,200 people left in 2023. Two years later, the tables have turned on the so-called central Mediterranean route: Tunisia has almost completely sealed its beaches, while in Algeria the departure of small boats has skyrocketed.

Fear can still be felt on the Syrian coast, which is mostly inhabited by members of the Alawite minority. A brutal attack took place here. outbreak of sectarian violence last March. Although the incidents began with coordinated attacks by an opposition militia against loyalist forces in Damascus, most of the victims were civilians killed in the ensuing revenge. They all professed the Alawite faith, which split from Shiism ten centuries ago and to which theformer dictator Bashar al Assad. So, the Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, created a commission of inquiry into the massacres, which presented its findings at the end of July amid great expectation.