Jon Fasman

Spot on from the Economist.

What a second week of war will bring
economist.com/middle-east-...

Rabobank on the unfolding worst case scenario:

(Plenty of American fathers are also nervous about this prospect.)

a row of soldiers are lined up in front of a plane ALT: a row of soldiers are lined up in front of a plane

Something to ponder.

Earlier today Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether America's mothers should be nervous about their kids getting drafted.

She replied: "It's not
part of the current plan right now, but the president wisely keeps his options on the table."

Six books to read about Iran A selection of books examines Iran's turbulent history, from American influence and the Islamic revolution to the recent Woman Life Freedom protests.

These six books help explain Iran’s story to date. No doubt many new histories will be forthcoming

Tweet from Daniel Pipes: "The uprising in Iran in early January suggested an even greater insurgency would then follow on the U.S.-Israeli campaign to erode regime power. Yet, the populace now appears cowed into near-silence. This ranks as the most surprising and disappointing development of the past week. Without a new uprising, the regime will likely remain in power, less powerful but more awful than ever. (The picture below is from Jan. 10 in Tehran.)"

Amazing how quickly "We're fighting this war for freedom of the Iranian people" becomes "The Iranian people are at fault for not rising up."

The US Administration has embarked on a large, unprecedented program of excluding lawful, highly-skilled workers and students from the United States.

I talked with the brilliant @gracesegers.bsky.social at @newrepublic.com about the broad economic ripple effects.

newrepublic.com/article/2073...

The Iran war puts Vladimir Putin in a tough spot Higher oil prices are poor compensation for showing Russia’s weakness

And Arkady Ostrovsky's take on Russia's relationship with Iran: a bargaining chip, not worth offending Trump over. ~"For years officials have hailed Iran as a role model: a nation isolated by sanctions and dependent on oil that has survived by repressing dissent." www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

How the latest regional conflict is reshaping the Middle East A fictional account of a third Gulf war between America, Israel and Iran explores how such a conflict might reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics and regional alliances.

It is a struggle for us every week to avoid making the entire paper consist of "How country X reacted to Trump's latest thing." This is a genuine problem that has no easy solution. Anyway, here's our briefing www.economist.com/briefing/202...

The Iran war has entered a new phase Both sides have changed their tactics, our data analysis finds

I analysed data on 788 distinct attacks, 1,860 missile and drone launches, and abnormal “high-temperature events”, such as fires, at 208 strategic sites. It suggested the war has entered a new phase. www.economist.com/interactive/...

🇮🇷🛢️ CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen says black, oil-contaminated rain is falling over Tehran after strikes on oil facilities by U.S. / Israeli airstrikes.

Two people in custody after 'suspicious devices' found outside NYC mayor's official residence The anti-Islam protest was led by right-wing influencer Jake Lang. It's not clear whether New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was in Gracie Mansion at the time.

Happy to know that our Mayor and First Lady are safe, but horrified that there was such a disturbing threat of violence outside their residence.

Vile displays of Islamophobia will never be tolerated in our city.

THREAD: I got laid off from NYMag/Vulture after 14 years. The family lost 75% of income + medical. Now mzs.press bookstore, once a side project. is do-or-die for Judith & I. I feel weird telling you this because others are doing much worse. But if you could like or share this, we'd be so grateful!

America at 250 From the Declaration of Independence to the rise of Donald Trump, we assess America’s complicated relationship with its founding ideals

In the third chapter of our project marking America’s semiquincentennial, we trace the turbulent turn of the 20th century—from the Gilded Age’s robber barons to Theodore Roosevelt’s muscular presidency

I don't think American Jewish institutions like the ADL and the AJC have fully reckoned with how their behavior during the Zohran Mamdani mayoral election is going to prove to be the kind of generational mistake that will place American Jews in greater danger for years to come.

Can Ukraine help defeat Iran’s drone swarms? Thousands of Shaheds are raining down on the Gulf

Ollie Carrol, Anshel Pfeffer & I wrote last night on the challenge of intercepting Iranian Shaheds. More than 2,000 fired, some hitting important targets, including radars. This is a problem that Ukraine understands well. Understandably, it wants something in return www.economist.com/internationa...

The Iran war has entered a new phase Both sides have changed their tactics, our data analysis finds

www.economist.com/interactive/...

Seconded - this is terrific work -

Israeli attacks on UNIFIL peace keepers tonight. Irish service men were not directly hit, but they aided their counterparts from Ghana. This will further deteriorate Irish Israel relations.

“No one knows” if the war will lead to the fall of Iran’s hardline regime, writes Pedro Sánchez. “What we do know is that its costs will be huge, and that they will not be borne by the ayatollahs alone” econ.st/40grw0M

Illustration: Dan Williams

My bet is they don’t actually believe this crap, it’s just something they say for hype purposes because it makes for a clickbaity headline. Still, “maybe we’ve enslaved a conscious mind which is suffering” is a pretty weird flex.

The Most Chilling Detail in the U.S. Attack on an Iranian Naval Ship The Iranian warship was taking part in an international exercise with many other countries—including the United States.

That Iranian Navy ship we torpedoed had no ammunition on board because that was a requirement to participate in the MILAN 2026 exercise (organized by the Indian Navy).

The US Navy knew this because IT ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE EXERCISE. What a national embarrassment.
newrepublic.com/post/207429/...

The Glaring Oversight in the U.S. War Plan The Pentagon failed to adopt Ukraine’s best tools for downing drones.

Why didn't the US consult Ukraine, the one country that knows how to country attacks from thousands of cheap drones?

www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Six books to read about Iran A selection of books examines Iran's turbulent history, from American influence and the Islamic revolution to the recent Woman Life Freedom protests.

Iran is at the centre of a conflict that threatens to engulf an entire region. These books help explain the country’s story to date

"I hope you are impressed," he said to me. "How do you like the performance? I mean, Venezuela is obvious. This might be even better. How do you like the performance?"

"I hope you are impressed," he said to me. "How do you like the performance? I mean, Venezuela is obvious. This might be even better. How do you like the performance?"

"How do you like the performance?"

An illegal war for the sake of spectacle and the amusement of POTUS.

The latest regional conflict is reshaping the Middle East. In the new era of open combat among America, Iran, Israel and the Gulf states, everyone must confront hard questions econ.st/4b2W6zR

Photo: Arash Khamooshi/Polaris/Eyevine

Tweet from Tucker Carlson: "Could this be a religious war designed to rebuild the Third Temple on the ashes of Al Aqsa? Hope not."

Tucker Carlson is focusing on Jews in this monologue, because he knows that is who his audience wants to blame this stupid war on, but if any group in the US is obsessed with a war to build the Third Temple, it is evangelical Christian Zionists, not Jews.

There is no clean solution. But anyone who tells you that the way to fight antisemitism is to stop criticizing Israeli policy, or that the way to enable honest critique of Israel is to simply tolerate the antisemitism that attaches itself to that critique, is offering you a false and ultimately cowardly choice.

This is so good, from @joelhs.bsky.social

The US-Israel relationship is finally facing a reckoning. It doesn’t need to slide into antisemitism

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The US-Israel relationship is finally facing a reckoning. It doesn't need to slide into antisemitism | Joel Swanson Israel’s role in drawing the US into a war on Iran is attracting healthy scrutiny. It’s also creating a permission structure for antisemitism

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... “to say that Americans should not ask questions about the relationship between Israel and the United States because it might raise antisemitic conspiracy theories means handing over the tools of democratic accountability. That is too high a price.”