War in Context

Doubting the evidence against Iran
By Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner, Time, May 5, 2008
American circles in Baghdad and Washington are probably not pleased with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan for a special panel to investigate allegations of Iranian interference in Iraq. Many U.S. officials are already convinced of the worst and, for years, U.S. […]

Hezbollah trains Iraqis in Iran, Pentagon’s New York Times spokesman says
By Michael R Gordon, New York Times, May 5, 2008
Militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran, according to American interrogation reports that the United States has supplied to the Iraqi government.
An American official said the […]

It’s too late, baby
By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 14, 2008
Yesterday, in an address to government and business leaders in Abu Dhabi, President Bush said, “Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf — and rallying friends around […]

Saudi cannot be launchpad for Iran attack: report
AFP, January 12, 2008
A leading Saudi newspaper on Saturday ruled out any attempt by the United States to use the oil-rich Gulf kingdom as a launchpad for a possible war on Iran over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
Two days before a visit to Saudi Arabia by US President George […]

Dire straits
By William M. Arkin, New York Times, January 8, 2008
Just what were the Iranians up to Sunday, when five small Iranian gunboats reportedly came within a couple hundred yards of three U.S. Navy vessels, dropping “box-like objects” (naval mines?) in their path, while threatening messages were transmitted over the radio?
Was it a rogue operation? […]

U.S. describes confrontation with Iranian boats
By Thom Shanker and Brian Knowlton, New York Times, January 8, 2008
One Defense Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe early reports from the Navy’s regional headquarters in Bahrain, said that the Iranian boats made a radio threat that the American ships would explode.
“The five Iranian […]

Rice: Iran resolution doesn’t OK war
AP, November 11, 2007
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she does not believe a Senate resolution authorizes President Bush to take military action against Iran.
“There is nothing in this particular resolution that would suggest that from our point of view. And, clearly, the president has also made very clear […]

Washington tells EU firms: quit Iran now
By David Gow and Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, November 9, 2007
Multinational companies are coming under increasing pressure from the US to stop doing business with Iran because of its nuclear programme. European operators are facing threats from Washington that they could jeopardise their US interests by continuing to deal […]

Attack Iran and you attack Russia
By Pepe Escobar, Asia Times, October 26, 2007
The apparent internal controversy on how exactly Putin and the Supreme Leader are on the same wavelength belies a serious rift in the higher spheres of the Islamic Republic. The replacement of Larijani, a realist hawk, by Jalili, an unknown quantity with an […]

SAS raiders enter Iran to kill gunrunners
By Michael Smith, The Sunday Times, October 21, 2007
British special forces have crossed into Iran several times in recent months as part of a secret border war against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Al-Quds special forces, defence sources have disclosed.
There have been at least half a dozen intense firefights between […]

U.S. calls Iranian official part of elite force
By Paul von Zeilbauer, New York Times, October 8 , 2007
On several occasions American military commanders have said the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran was responsible for supplying anti-American militia forces here with particularly lethal bombs that have been used to kill American troops. […]

Iran terror label bites deep
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi, Asia Times, October 4, 2007
In the aftermath of the US House of Representatives’ recent resolution branding the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as terrorist, the White House is reportedly poised to formally place it on the terrorist list of the US State Department, with ramifications to follow, […]

Shifting targets
By Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker, October 8, 2007
In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran. “Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to […]

Bush setting America up for war with Iran
By Philip Sherwell and Tim Shipman, The Sunday Telegraph, September 16, 2007
Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Pentagon planners have developed […]

Iran isn’t scared
By Paul Woodward, War in Context, August 20, 2007
The latest move in the U.S.’s escalating rhetoric aimed at Iran is Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch’s claim — no evidence provided — that 50 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are training Shiite militias, south of Baghdad, the area under Lynch’s command. He hasn’t […]