Befooled by Iran’s grand strategy, Trump hits out. But to what end?

File photo of a US air force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft that was brought down by Iran near Isfahan in south-western Iran on April 3, 2026  To borrow from William Congreve’s 1697 play The Mourning Bride, “Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned, / Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned”. This predicament …

There is no military solution to Strait of Hormuz

French and Japanese-owned ships make first Strait of Hormuz crossings after a month’s interlude due to war conditions  Indian media have spread misconceptions over the meeting convened by the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Thursday 2nd April regarding the situation around the Strait of Hormuz. Far-fetched conclusions are drawn that the meeting marked the …

Another ‘Arab Revolt’? History never repeats.

The Arab Revolt (1916-1918). File photo. The Arab sheikhs who instigated the US-Iran standoff have heard the African proverb, ‘When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers’. But they chose to ignore it. The assumption in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi was that President Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ strategy would frighten Tehran and life would be …