Middle East

The US-Israel war on Iran, the Gaza war, ceasefire diplomacy and the region's interlocking conflicts. Coverage tracks the gap between what governments say and what they do — in Washington, Jerusalem, Tehran and the capitals that watch from a careful distance.

A Table in Islamabad

The delegations arrived. The table was set. Nobody agreed what was on it. Iran’s ten-point proposal exists in two versions — one in Farsi, one in English — and they say different things. Exhaustion sometimes achieves what reason cannot. But exhaustion without clarity is not diplomacy.

By Sunny Peter

/ 10 Apr 2026

The Ceasefire That Wasn't

The ceasefire was three days old and both sides were already in breach of each other’s version of it. Iran alleged violations before a handshake. Israel said Lebanon was excluded. Pakistan said it was not. A ceasefire disputed before the parties meet is not a ceasefire.

By Sunny Peter

/ 9 Apr 2026

Not Iran. Netanyahu.

The real obstacle to the ceasefire was never in Tehran. It was in Jerusalem. While Washington and Tehran were negotiating, Israel launched a hundred strikes on Lebanon on the ceasefire’s first day. The question is not whether Trump can reach a deal with Iran. It is whether he can with Netanyahu.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Apr 2026

The Price of Impunity

Washington launched the US-Israel war on Iran without consulting a single ally and is now surprised the world will not follow. A superpower without allies is an island with a large military budget. The willingness to look away — once extended — does not return on request.

By Sunny Peter

/ 3 Apr 2026

Weaponising the Law: When Discrimination Becomes Statute

Itamar Ben-Gvir walked into the Knesset wearing a noose — a symbol with one precedent in Israeli legal history. The death penalty bill he championed targets Palestinians with discriminatory criteria. Democracy is not only elections. It is also equality before the law.

By Sunny Peter

/ 1 Apr 2026

Weaponising the Law: When Discrimination Becomes Statute

The Indispensable Bad Actor

Pakistan seeded the nuclear crisis it is now asked to resolve. Abdul Qadeer Khan transferred centrifuge designs to Iran. Washington pardoned Islamabad without consequence. Now the same Washington routes its Iran diplomacy through Pakistan. The bad actor designation expires when you become useful.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Mar 2026

The Shield Is Cracking

For decades, the United States shielded Israel from binding accountability at the ICJ and the ICC. That shield is cracking — not because Washington has changed its position, but because an increasing number of states are willing to act without it.

By Sunny Peter

/ 23 Mar 2026

When the Numbers Don't Lie: Gaza, Lebanon, and the Legal Case Israel Cannot Close

Casualty figures are not just statistics. They are evidence. The scale of civilian death in Gaza and Lebanon, documented by UN agencies and independent monitors, constitutes a legal record that accumulates regardless of how the political argument around it is managed.

By Sunny Peter

/ 12 Mar 2026

When the Numbers Don't Lie: Gaza, Lebanon, and the Legal Case Israel Cannot Close

The Bargain That Broke: How the Iran War Shattered the Abraham Accords' Founding Logic

The Abraham Accords were built on a premise: Arab states could normalise with Israel in exchange for security guarantees and American backing. The US-Israel war on Iran shattered that premise. The Accords still exist on paper. The logic that held them together does not.

By Sunny Peter

/ 9 Mar 2026

The Bargain That Broke: How the Iran War Shattered the Abraham Accords' Founding Logic

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria

Assad is gone. The scramble has begun. Turkey wants buffer zones. Iran wants its corridor. Russia wants its bases. The Gulf states want influence without commitment. Every outside power has a stake and an agenda. The Syrians are, once again, the last consideration.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Nov 2025

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria

Syria's New Era: Ahmed Al-Sharaa's Historic Washington Visit Marks Potential Shift in US-Middle East Relations

Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington was the most consequential meeting between a Syrian leader and an American president in decades. It signals a potential reset — but the conditions attached, and the history behind them, counsel caution before calling it a breakthrough.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Nov 2025

Syria's New Era: Ahmed Al-Sharaa's Historic Washington Visit Marks Potential Shift in US-Middle East Relations

Gaza Ceasefire Violations: Why October 2025 Agreement Remains Dangerously Fragile

The October ceasefire was signed in good faith by nobody. Both sides entered it with reservations, competing interpretations and no agreed enforcement mechanism. Violations began almost immediately. What was called a ceasefire was, from the start, a temporary reduction in killing.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Oct 2025

Gaza Ceasefire Violations: Why October 2025 Agreement Remains Dangerously Fragile