New Lines Magazine

In this latest New Lines video Kwangu Liwewe Agyei examines how the global fallout from the Epstein files reveals stark differences in how justice is applied... Reflections on the Epstein Files

🎥Who really faces consequences when the powerful break the law? @kayliwewe.bsky.social  shows how the Epstein files expose stark global variations in justice and accountability across Britain, Israel, South Africa and the U.S.

The US-Israel Attack on Iran Is a Wake-Up Call for the Gulf The retaliatory Iranian strikes on the Gulf after the joint U.S.-Israeli bombardment are surreal to behold, though not unprecedented, following the few limited attacks in response to the Israeli campaign against Iran and its leadership last year. The bewilderment of residents of the United Arab Emir...

Editor's Pick:
Washington is breaking the Gulf’s identity as an island of stability. The security architecture America built up in the region was meant to provide protection from Iran, but instead it’s drawing fire.

From the Gulf to East Africa, the Iran War’s Effects on Shipping Go Beyond Oil Prices An impassable Hormuz will squeeze Gulf countries’ ability to weather a prolonged war — and could have knock-on effects in East Africa.

NEW: The Iran war poses threats to global shipping that go beyond the price of oil, from uncertain supply lines to Gulf states to insecurity along the East African coast, writes @kayliwewe.bsky.social in @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/running-note...

Ukrainian Orphans Evacuated to Italy Have Become a Political Football Many of the children thrived, and now that Kyiv wants them back, some foster families are contesting the order

NEW: In 2022, thousands of Ukrainian orphans were sent from state-run institutions to be fostered in Western Europe, where they thrived. Now, Kyiv’s repatriation efforts have sparked a legal tug-of-war, reports Stefania D'Ignoti for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/uk...

How the Damascus Dossier Investigation Failed Families of Syria’s Forcibly Disappeared The landmark international effort has been nominated for a prestigious award, but those living with the effects of Assad’s killing machine called it a media stunt

NEW: The Damascus Dossier was described as "one of the most consequential investigations of 2025." Syrians whose families were forcibly disappeared called it a media stunt. For @newlinesmag.bsky.social , Melvyn Ingleby and Hazar Yazji unravel what went wrong. newlinesmag.com/reportage/ho...

"Not everyone who is happy about the killing of Khamenei is also welcoming the entirety of this foreign intervention." Negar Mortazavi on the mixed feelings of Iranians about the war. With @arashtehran.bsky.social. Full ep @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/podcast/in-t...

Is It the End of Mo Salah’s Reign? The English Premier League is approaching the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with the title race heating up between Arsenal and perennial champions Manchester City. The race is likely to go down to the wire, undecided until the final few match days in May. Missing from the conversation are the reigning champions Liverpool, who sealed […]

"The 34-year-old winger looks sluggish — he can’t outrun his markers anymore, his dribbling is subpar and his finishing is miles below his confident, powerful best from yesteryear." Is it time to ask what's next for Mo Salah?

US-Israeli Strikes Damage UNESCO Heritage Site in Iran On Monday afternoon, Iranian media reported that Golestan Palace, a 15th-century royal complex in Tehran, was substantially damaged in a U.S.-Israeli attack that targeted the city’s Arg Square. A former residence of the monarchs of the Qajar Dynasty, the palace is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the Iranian capital and was added to […]

“Iran’s cultural heritage belongs to a shared global history, and there is a strong case that deliberate targeting of it, if it comes to that, may be prosecutable under … international criminal law.”

Mexico Convulses After the Death of Its Most Wanted Drug Lord On Sunday, Feb. 22, environmental activists from the group A Leap of Life Collective were doing field work in the Mexican state of Jalisco when several armed men stopped their vehicle. “We were forced out of our van, which they set on fire along with our cellphones and equipment,” read a stateme...

After the killing of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico faces violent fallout and uncertainty, highlighting the limits of the government’s anticartel strategy and raising fears of a destabilizing power vacuum.

How America’s Philosopher of Democracy Influenced India’s Leading Caste Reformer Bhimrao Ambedkar’s vision of a more equal society combined John Dewey’s pragmatist ideas with a novel form of Buddhism

From the @newlinesmag.bsky.social  archives:
Bhimrao Ambedkar helped write the Indian Constitution and campaigned against its caste system. Scott R. Stroud explains how his democratic vision combined John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy with a novel approach to Buddhism.

Hezbollah’s Latest Attack on Israel May Have Sealed the Party’s Demise in Lebanon We finally have it, the answer to a question many pundits and analysts (myself included) have been raising for decades: Is Hezbollah Iran’s proxy or junior ally? A proxy is an extension of its patron, their interests one and the same. An ally is a partner, one whose interests intersect with its co...

"Hezbollah fighters launched a volley of rockets at Israel from south Lebanon to avenge the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in what could be the single stupidest thing the Party of God has done since its inception."

Iran Has Always Been More Than the Islamic Republic As Israel and the US go to war against his home country, an Iranian journalist reckons with perceptions of his country, its civilization and its diaspora

"We have rarely questioned if it’s possible that beyond the well-known tropes of nuclear programs, missiles and proxies, there are other snippets of information about Iran to read for." | Kourosh Ziabari 

Investigation Debunks Claims IRGC Bombed Iranian School I woke up on Saturday at 6 a.m. to a text message from a friend that read: “I’m thinking of you. I hope your friends and family in Iran are ok.” That’s how I learned that the United States and Israel had started their military operation. Immediately, I started scanning Telegram channels wher...

"Seeing images after the strike, such as a bloodstained backpack, a small hand in the rubble ... affirms that the most vulnerable are always casualties in war. On Saturday, the opening day of Operation Epic Fury, it was schoolchildren in Minab." | @ntabrizy.bsky.social 

Gaza and the Fall of Western Idealism Acclaimed writer and journalist Omar El Akkad joins Faisal Al Yafai for a frank, difficult and moving discussion about the personal impact and wider implications of the war in Gaza.

🎧 Listen to “Gaza and the Fall of Western Idealism” — acclaimed writer and journalist Omar El Akkad joins @faisalalyafai.bsky.social  for a frank and moving discussion about the implications of the war in Gaza. 

.🎉 We are thrilled to announce that @newlinesmag.bsky.social podcast The Lede has been nominated in the Best Interview category at the NYC Podcast Awards!

The Unresolved Contradictions Ali Khamenei Leaves Behind Iranians are left to reckon with the political order the supreme leader shaped, while the impending succession places the Islamic republic’s future in question

In one of our current top reads, Mehrzad Boroujerdi looks at how Ali Khamenei’s journey took him from literary modernism to revolutionary Islamism, and how the impending succession places the Islamic republic’s future in question.

"Everyone who's happy about the killing of the Supreme Leader is not necessarily welcoming the entirety of this foreign intervention... A lot of us have mixed feelings."
@negarmortazavi.bsky.social & @arashtehran.bsky.social w/ @faisalalyafai.bsky.social on The Lede. newlinesmag.com/podcast/in-t...

Iran Has Always Been More Than the Islamic Republic As Israel and the US go to war against his home country, an Iranian journalist reckons with perceptions of his country, its civilization and its diaspora

NEW: Israel and the U.S. are at war with Iran, a nation long presented through the prism of conflict and resistance. For @newlinesmag.bsky.social, Kourosh Ziabari, an Iranian journalist, asks: Where is the better version of Iran that was supposed to justify all this? newlinesmag.com/first-person...

US-Israeli Strikes Damage UNESCO Heritage Site in Iran On Monday afternoon, Iranian media reported that Golestan Palace, a 15th-century royal complex in Tehran, was substantially damaged in a U.S.-Israeli attack that targeted the city’s Arg Square. A form...

NEW: Golestan Palace, a 15th-century UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tehran (one of 29), has been badly damaged by recent U.S.-Israeli strikes. Trump has previously threatened Iran’s cultural heritage in the event of war, writes Kourosh Ziabari for newlinesmag.com/running-note...

Syrian Government Shakeup Expected To Diffuse Presidential Power and Integrate Minorities In Syria, a significant government reshuffle is anticipated in the coming weeks, primarily aimed at integrating minority groups and distributing the myriad roles currently held by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The reshuffle is poised to be narrow in scope, affecting only a handful of key portfolios, be...

What might Syria’s anticipated government shakeup reveal about the regime’s efforts to diffuse presidential authority and broaden minority inclusion? In this Running Notes piece, @hhassan.bsky.social  parses the political calculus behind the expected reforms.

Mexico Convulses After the Death of Its Most Wanted Drug Lord On Sunday, Feb. 22, environmental activists from the group A Leap of Life Collective were doing field work in the Mexican state of Jalisco when several armed men stopped their vehicle. “We were forced out of our van, which they set on fire along with our cellphones and equipment,” read a stateme...

After the Mexican army killed “El Mencho,” leader of the CJNG cartel, violent roadblocks, attacks on businesses and assaults on journalists erupted across 20 states, leaving citizens fearful and revealing the cartel’s deep control over everyday life.

Is It the End of Mo Salah’s Reign? The English Premier League is approaching the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with the title race heating up between Arsenal and perennial champions Manchester City. The race is likely to go down to the wire, undecided until the final few match days in May. Missing from the conversation are the reigning champions Liverpool, who sealed […]

“As an Egyptian, it’s hard to watch Mo Salah’s poor form.” | @kshaheen.bsky.social  asks if it’s the end of the football star’s reign.

Hezbollah’s Latest Attack on Israel May Have Sealed the Party’s Demise in Lebanon We finally have it, the answer to a question many pundits and analysts (myself included) have been raising for decades: Is Hezbollah Iran’s proxy or junior ally? A proxy is an extension of its patron,...

NEW: Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge Khamenei, and Lebanon woke up to bombs over Beirut. It has now doomed itself militarily and lost the rest of the country, writes Nassim Badani for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/running-note...

"Many ordinary people have a joke view of the world in which Trump comes in, takes out Khamenei - and whatever they want will occur." @arashtehran.bsky.social speaks to me and Negar Mortazavi about the aftermath of the #IranWar | Full ep @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/podcast/in-t...

Running Notes Archive

#ICYMI
We recently added a new way for you to engage with the stories that matter from the Middle East and beyond — a shorter, easier to digest format that’ll let us respond to developments without delay.
Read Running Notes now:

Iran's Supreme Leader Is Dead, but Its People Remain in Peril As questions persist about the fate of the regime, the country braces for what's next, grappling with a reality that has no precedent.

"The murderer of our dreams died." Iran is at a crossroads as it grapples with the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. @ntabrizy.bsky.social  

The Unresolved Contradictions Ali Khamenei Leaves Behind Iranians are left to reckon with the political order the supreme leader shaped, while the impending succession places the Islamic republic’s future in question

"The removal of a “supreme” leader who monopolized ultimate authority inevitably creates a vacuum, and politics abhors such vacuums. The pressing question is not whether someone will attempt to fill it, but who."

Brilliant piece by the Iran scholar Mehrzad Boroujerdi on the unresolved contradictions that Khamenei leaves behind, his intellectual journey and ideological battles—did you know he translated Kahlil Gibran and Sayyid Qutb into Persian?—and what's at stake in the impending succession. A must read! ⤵️

The Unresolved Contradictions Ali Khamenei Leaves Behind Iranians are left to reckon with the political order the supreme leader shaped, while the impending succession places the Islamic republic’s future in question

One of the most interesting profiles I've read on Ali Khamenei, tracing his intellectual/ideological journey while untangling the succession dilemmas he leaves behind.

By scholar of Iranian intellectual history Mehrzad Boroujerdi for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

newlinesmag.com/argument/the...

The Bombing of an Iranian School I woke up on Saturday at 6 a.m. to a text message from a friend that read: “I’m thinking of you. I hope your friends and family in Iran are ok.” That’s how I learned that the United States and Israel ...

Grateful to @ntabrizy.bsky.social for mentioning me in this @newlinesmag.bsky.social piece, which underscores how collaborative open-source investigation is, and why researchers working together matters now more than ever.