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Mohamad Bazzi

@mbazzi.bsky.social
3.6K followers 282 following 345 posts

NYU journalism professor | Director, NYU Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies | Guardian US columnist | Former Middle East bureau chief, Newsday. journalism.nyu.edu/about-us/profile…

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Reposted by Mohamad Bazzi
Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Israel’s Likud party has been whipping up an election frenzy against Mamdani since the summer, when it plastered his photo on a campaign billboard in central Tel Aviv. The poster features Mamdani alongside the leaders of Iran, Turkey and Hezbollah” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Netanyahu is using Mamdani as a foil in his re-election campaign | Mohamad Bazzi
The Israeli prime minister’s remarks at the UN weren’t just motivated by personal animosity
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is so important. They’ve broken the economic models that fund journalism is because they recognize the *purpose* of journalism threatens their bullshit-based valuations, ie, the sources of their wealth and power. Yet actual-existing journalists were instead crucial for creating their myths.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“Show This to Anyone Denying Genocide” — front page of @scotnational.bsky.social
“Show This to Anyone Denying Genocide” — front page headline of The National, Scotland
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Netanyahu is using Mamdani as a foil in his re-election campaign... Netanyahu, who is often described as ‘the great survivor’ of Israeli politics, has decades of experience demonizing his opponents and focusing Israelis on external enemies” — my latest for @us.theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Netanyahu is using Mamdani as a foil in his re-election campaign | Mohamad Bazzi
The Israeli prime minister’s remarks at the UN weren’t just motivated by personal animosity
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“Israel’s Likud party has been whipping up an election frenzy against Mamdani since the summer, when it plastered his photo on a campaign billboard in central Tel Aviv. The poster features Mamdani alongside the leaders of Iran, Turkey and Hezbollah” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Netanyahu is using Mamdani as a foil in his re-election campaign | Mohamad Bazzi
The Israeli prime minister’s remarks at the UN weren’t just motivated by personal animosity
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is what happens when you bomb the country you're negotiating with twice — in the middle of negotiations. They demand concessions up front.
theguardian.com
UN ambassador Waltz says Iran was not negotiating ‘in good faith’ to end war
Waltz says Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to end war because they ‘were asking for everything up front’
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Alon Pinkas @alonpinkas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This appallingly means that over a third of Americans think favorably of his presidency. That’s no reason to celebrate.
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@ghoshworld @ghoshworld.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Americans should pay attention to the systematic manipulation of voter rolls in India — in the name of purging ineligible voters — and be afraid. Be very afraid.
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 24/09/2026
If you appreciate my work I would greatly support! Not mandatory and all of it goes towards my fund to move out of Texas and also prepare for grad school.
buymeacoffee.com
Emissary of Night is writing about US foreign affairs
I analyze and write about US Palestinian relations, among other things
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RN Mahli @rafiamahli.com · 24/09/2026
It’s over. When they get this desperate, it’s over. When the slurs are so over the top, they slide right off, it’s finished. You might as well finale by mooning the crowd, because you’ve shown the entirety of your arse right here.
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DAWN @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
1/ The commanders of the Israeli army unit implementing Israel's campaign of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 should be sanctioned, said DAWN in sanctions referrals with governments of US, UK, Canada, Norway and Australia today.
dawnmena.org
US, UK & Other States: Sanction Israeli Army Commanders Overseeing Starvation of Palestinians in Gaza - DAWN
(Washington, D.C., September 24, 2026) - The former and current commanders of the Israeli army unit administering and implementing Israel’s campaign of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza since Oc...
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
With Trump threatening to “annihilate” Iran in his UN speech today, here's my recent @us.theguardian.com column on how Gaza paved the way for Trump’s repeated threats to wipe out Iran and its civilization
theguardian.com
Trump’s repeated threats to ‘wipe out’ Iran are normalizing mass violence | Mohamad Bazzi
The president’s latest warning barely registered, written off as typical behavior. But the threats have real-world consequences
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“For now, Trump has ruled out direct US attacks against the Houthis, despite appeals from his ally and benefactor Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia and MBS became a crucial source of new real estate and other deals for the Trump Organization while Trump was out of power” — my latest @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
The Houthis’ offensive is the latest spillover from Trump’s Iran disaster | Mohamad Bazzi
Trump’s mess has rekindled Yemen’s civil war and a years-long conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia
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sammiejoe @sammiejoe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
After watching Israel get away with this for 2 years, it’s no wonder Russia thinks they can too.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
On 16 September 1982, Lebanese Phalange militiamen allied with Israel stormed into the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut and massacred over 3,000 civilians. Israeli troops surrounded the camps, and allowed the militias to kill for days. 44 years later, no one has been held accountable.
Photo of an alleyway in the Sabra refugee camp with wall featuring a memorial for the Sabra and Shatila massacre perpetuated on September 16, 1982. The graffiti on the memorial says (in Arabic): "Lest We Forget."
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Daniel Larison @daniellarison.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"The Secretary of Defense is a war criminal and a murderer, and he should be made to answer for his crimes." daniellarison.substack.com/p/impeach-he...
daniellarison.substack.com
Impeach Hegseth
The Secretary of Defense is a war criminal and a murderer, and he should be made to answer for his crimes.
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Marianne Dhenin @mariannedhe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is a harrowing write-up. I'll add that I wouldn't be able to pay my rent as a journalist without @truthout.org. Please pop over and make a donation to help the site, the team, and its many freelancers keep our lights on.
truthout.org
We’re Already Living Through Journalism’s Dystopian Future
AI is devouring our industry and undermining access to factual information. We all have a duty to fight back.
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DAWN @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Today, "there are no consequences for threatening – or carrying out – a genocide." Trump has made his threats to wipe out Iran seem mundane. "At the very least, Americans and the rest of the world should call him out on it," writes @mbazzi.bsky.social. See more: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“As we act, let us not become the evil that we deplore” — 25 years ago today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee cast the sole vote against giving George W. Bush a blank check for war. Three days after 9/11, Lee warned Congress that it could “spiral out of control.” History has certainly proved her right.
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RN Mahli @rafiamahli.com · 11/09/2026
A reminder that today is the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of President Salvador Allende, Chile’s democratically elected Socialist leader, by the CIA.
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Juan Cole @jricole.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The September 11 Memorial Needs a Counter-Monument: Victims of Our Post-9/11 Wars Deserve Remembrance, Too www.juancole.com/2026/09/sept...
juancole.com
The September 11 Memorial Needs a Counter-Monument: Victims of Our Post-9/11 Wars Deserve Remembrance, Too
Palo Alto (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) - Few who pay their respects today in the hallowed plaza where the Twin Towers once stood will be aware that the September 11 memorial echoes a...
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I've spent my entire career reporting on the War on Terror. Many this week have asked me for my extended thoughts on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Here they are.
forever-wars.com
Today We Must Finally Remember What The 9/11 Commemorations Ignore
Righteous victimhood fueled the War on Terror. 25 years later, we also have to remember all of those slain under its banner
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I wrote for @theguardian.com on how the Gaza genocide paved the way for Trump’s repeated threats to “wipe out” Iran | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Text extract from Guardian article: “Trump's threat to obliterate Iran is partly a manifestation of a new international order that emerged over the past three years, as the US supplied billions of dollars in weapons and protected Israel as it carried out a genocidal war in Gaza.
In his second term, Trump has behaved more erratically and like an autocrat drunk with power. But he has also taken advantage of a nascent global order, in which western leaders destroyed decades of international norms and the facade of rule of law - all to enable Israel to continue its bloodshed in Gaza, and more recently, in Lebanon.

As they did with Gaza, most western powers and leaders have become numb to the loss and suffering of Palestinians, Iranians, Lebanese and others in the Middle East. And as long as this numbness and impunity continue, it will become normal for the US president to threaten wholesale destruction of societies and civilizations, as Trump has done in Iran.”
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“In today’s world, Trump understands there are no consequences for threatening – or carrying out – a genocide” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Trump’s repeated threats to ‘wipe out’ Iran are normalizing mass violence | Mohamad Bazzi
The president’s latest warning barely registered, written off as typical behavior. But the threats have real-world consequences
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NYU's Kevorkian Center @nyukevo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Join us for a timely and important conversation on Cultural Co-Resistance in Palestine/Israel! 📆 Sept. 24, 2026 | 5:30PM – 7:30PM 🎤 Ammiel Alcalay and Hana Morgenstern 📍 Kevorkian Center: 255 Sullivan St 🖇️ RSVP: buff.ly/tdWutHT
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Nick Brumfield @nickjbrumfield.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
*Surely* Saudi Arabia's overwhelming air and naval superiority would mean it would be able to prevent the Houthis from seizing control of islands far off Yemen's coast, right? RIGHT?!?
jpost.com
Houthis reach strategic Hanish Islands in Red Sea | The Jerusalem Post
The Iranian-backed Houthi terror group took control of Mocha, a Yemeni port city on the Red Sea and less than 50 miles from the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Yemeni officials told Reuters on Thursday.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Thanks to @markruffalo.bsky.social for sharing my Guardian piece from December about the role of Jared Kushner and three Arab petrostates / Trump family business partners (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE) in Paramount's takeover bid for Warner Bros
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 04/09/2026
Always interesting what word doesn't get used when it's Arabs being kidnapped and held without trial by
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
“In the villages near the areas Israel controls, many of the homes and local infrastructure lie destroyed. Piles of concrete rubble and dust line many of the roads... Israeli demolitions continue day and night” — excellent reporting from southern Lebanon by @justinsalhani.bsky.social
aljazeera.com
In southern Lebanon, Israeli demolitions continue ‘day and night’
Explosions shake the ground in Froun as Israeli operations persist, disrupting daily life in southern Lebanon.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
World affairs editor of @the-independent.com rightfully demands sanctions against Israel over the killing of his journalist colleague. Meanwhile, Reuters and the Associated Press mark Israel's same massacre against their journalists a year ago with hollow expressions of grief.
independent.co.uk
Israel must face sanctions over the killing of journalists like Mariam Abu Dagga
Now is the time to impose real and immediate economic costs on Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley
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RN Mahli @rafiamahli.com · 17/08/2026
New post. All about my ridiculous father who is mercifully still with us.
rafiamahli.com
Another year...
I stared at his helpless face as it stared into mine. The doctor had asked my father to name everyone in the room, and while his eyes registered that he knew who I was, the distress in them equally r...
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 18/08/2026
Sooner or later the fundamental irrationalism of placing Israel's insatiable desire for total military primacy in the region at the center of our raison d'être in MENA has to face the music that we have other, more substantial and logical interests.
🚨🇮🇱🇹🇷🇸🇾An Israeli official claimed the strike on the Syrian airbase near Idlib was aimed at preventing Turkish military build up
🚨🇹🇷🇮🇱🇸🇾A Turkish official told me: “There was no Turkish presence at the airbase. Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region.”
11:28 AM · Aug 18, 2026
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“That Trump took refuge in a catering truck encapsulates the failure of his war on Iran: a president who constantly boasts about US military prowess and tries to project personal strength instead appears weak as he hides from the consequences of his own actions” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Trump’s tough-guy image has been undone by his own actions | Mohamad Bazzi
The president was forced to hide in a catering truck amid the Iran war, in an encapsulation of the conflict’s failures
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Abu Aardvark @abuaardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
While Washington keeps flogging a long dead horse in Gaza “it is ignoring an explosive crisis brewing in the West Bank that is within its power to rein in.” Not so sure Washington wants to rein it in tbh or that it has the power since Israel will just ignore it foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/11/t...
foreignpolicy.com
The West Bank, Not Gaza, Should Be Trump’s Priority
With his Gaza plan dead in the water, he should refocus on preventing the next conflagration.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Trump hid in a catering container to switch planes secretly because he was afraid of an Iranian assassination attempt. Iran’s leaders, meanwhile, continue heading to negotiations knowing they’re targeted for assassination by Israel and the US.
Screenshot of Guardian article with a photo of Air Force One on an airport runway with the headline: 

“Trump reportedly hid in catering container to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat. Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One in July”
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
“In Gaza, genocide extending to miscarriages” — front page of @humanite.fr
Front page headline of French newspaper L’Humanite: “In Gaza, genocide extending to miscarriages.” Backdrop photo of a woman looking over a large collection of tents in Gaza
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Ayman Makarem @aymanmak.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Not a single Israel defender has ever been able to defend this. They just pretend it doesn't exist, even though it defies any of their supposed 'arguments'.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
25 years after the tired American cliche of “why do they hate us,” helped instigate two forever wars (Afghanistan + Iraq), this is how @nytimes.com chooses to explain Iran’s political system:
Screenshot of text extract from NY Times article: “But in a political system premised on hatred of the United States, none show interest in a larger reconciliation with the United States.”
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DAWN @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
"The US war against Iran is spiraling out of control ... Instead of a quick war ... Donald Trump has started a regional conflict that risks severely disrupting energy supplies and prices – and triggering a global recession," writes @mbazzi.bsky.social. Read more: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Mat Nashed @matnashed.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
It's been nearly 2 years since I posted on Blue Sky. But I wanted to share my latest story that explores the notion of home in a region that has endured decades of Israeli aggression? I try to illustrate that through the eyes of three women from south #Lebanon. inkstickmedia.com/fear-loss-an...
inkstickmedia.com
Fear, Loss, and Hope Amid Israel's War on South Lebanon
Despite the fear of a sustained occupation, residents of southern Lebanon remain steadfast in their hope for an end to the onslaught.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Lebanon signed away its right to pursue legal action against Israel for its war crimes in southern Lebanon. Lebanon's deputy prime minister now says individual Lebanese citizens still have the right to bring cases against Israel before European courts. What a pathetic and weak government.
newarab.com
Lebanon outlines legal path to prosecute Israeli war crimes
As Israeli strikes and home demolitions continue in southern Lebanon, a government official outlined the country’s options for legally pursuing Israel.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
“Today, Saudi Arabia’s tenuous ceasefire with the Houthis is in danger of collapsing – yet another casualty of Trump’s disastrous war against Iran” — my latest for @theguardian.com | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Screenshot of text from Guardian article: 

“While Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, has tried to steer clear of a direct confrontation with Iran, his latest conflict with the Houthis risks reopening a painful chapter in recent Saudi history. In 2015, Saudi Arabia, with US weapons and political support, led a coalition of Sunni Arab states to intervene in Yemen's long-running civil war. The Saudis tried to dislodge the Houthis from Yemen's capital, Sana'a, and restore the country's internationally recognized government to power. By the end of 2021, the United Nations estimated that the conflict had killed 377,000 people in Yemen, nearly 60% of whom did not die from direct warfare. Rather, they died from food shortages, cholera outbreaks and destruction of Yemen's healthcare system.

Despite thousands of airstrikes over seven years, the Houthis remained in control of the capital and the two sides agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in
2022. But negotiations over a permanent peace deal, which would recognize Houthi control over parts of Yemen and provide some form of Saudi reparations, stalled after the militia started attacking ships in the Red Sea in 2023.

Today, Saudi Arabia's tenuous ceasefire with the Houthis is in danger of collapsing - yet another casualty of Trump's disastrous war against Iran.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
“Instead of a quick war that sought to topple Iran’s regime, Donald Trump has started a regional conflict that risks severely disrupting energy supplies and prices – and triggering a global recession” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
The US war on Iran is spinning out of control | Mohamad Bazzi
Trump’s conflict keeps escalating, with Saudi Arabia joining airstrikes in Iraq and reportedly planning an attack on the Houthis. A recession could follow
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Laleh Khalili @lalehkhalili.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
The cost of the US war on Iran (not counting the cost to Iran nor of human lives) nor of long-term damage to the environment.
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sammiejoe @sammiejoe.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
“Iraq remains heavily reliant on Iranian natural gas and electricity, while bilateral trade exceeds $12bn… A deep religious bond also exists between the two countries, as millions of Iranian Shia pilgrims cross the border to visit Iraq’s holy sites every year.“ www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/202...
aljazeera.com
Iraqi PM makes first official visit to Iran in bid to deepen ties
Ali al-Zaidi will hold talks with senior Iranian officials on cooperation, shared interests and security.
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
“Trump’s grandiose promises turned out to be the latest chapter in a long history of American imperial hubris” — my latest for @theguardian.com | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Screenshot of text from Guardian article:

As Donald Trump launched a war of a
aggression against Iran nearly five months ago, he insisted Washington would achieve a decisive victory within weeks.
Trump and his advisers scoffed at any suggestion that they were breaking repeated campaign promises not to start new conflicts, and to end America's legacy of forever wars, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In early March, a week into the war, Trump declared he would only agree to "unconditional surrender" by Iran's theocratic government. He vowed to destroy much of Tehran's military, called for a popular uprising and touted the overthrow of the regime that rose to power after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Of course, Trump's grandiose promises turned out to be the latest chapter in a long history of American imperial hubris.
Not to mention that Trump contradicted multiple pledges he had made to a weary US public that he wouldn't start new wars during his second presidency. In November 2024, in his election night victory speech from Florida, Trump confidently told Americans: "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
“Trump contradicted multiple pledges he had made to a weary US public that he wouldn’t start new wars during his second presidency. Now, the ceasefire he negotiated with Tehran has collapsed and Trump risks dragging the US into yet another forever war” — my latest for @theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Has Trump dragged the US into a forever war in Iran? | Mohamad Bazzi
He decried endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now he may be stuck in one of his own making
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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 22/07/2026
In a funny little twist, the Haaretz summary of the New Yorker's longform exposé on the Biden administration is more accurate than the New Yorker's piece itself. Biden knew that Israel was committing systematic war crimes as early as late October 2023, and purposefully slow-walked any consequences.
haaretz.com
Report: Biden suspected Israeli war crimes in Gaza early but dragged out probes
A report by The New Yorker details the Biden administration's internal struggle between supporting Israel, preventing regional escalation and addressing concerns over civilian harm and violations of i...
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met with Trump at the White House today. His big accomplishment? Trump promised to restore direct flights between the US and Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel has been systemically razing entire villages in south Lebanon, with the Lebanese government helpless to stop it
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shakes hands with Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House today
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