Elham Fakhro

Oman warns Iran is "not the only target" in a plan to "reshape the region" Iran has threatened to set oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East “on fire” if its energy sites are attacked.

"The real goal of the war with Iran is to weaken it, reshape the region, and advance normalization with Israel," Oman’s foreign minister has warned, adding that Iran is “not the only target."
edition.cnn.com/world/live-n...

To be fair the negotiations were never meant to go anywhere, they were just a smokescreen to buy time for the military buildup. But still.

Why the fuck is this still happening

The Gulf’s Security Comes Apart On Sunday night, the sky above Sitra turned orange. A suspected Iranian drone had struck BAPCO, Bahrain’s main oil processing facility, on an island southeast of Manama. The projectile set the refiner...

"The legal frameworks governing base use are complex, and the terms of these agreements are not publicly known. For Iran, keeping that ambiguity alive serves a strategic purpose that long predates the current conflict..." writes @elhamfakhro.bsky.social

The Gulf’s Security Comes Apart On Sunday night, the sky above Sitra turned orange. A suspected Iranian drone had struck BAPCO, Bahrain’s main oil processing facility, on an island southeast of Manama. The projectile set the refiner...

"Today, each of the three actors at the center of this strategy, Washington, Tehran, and Tel Aviv, have, in different ways, deepened the insecurity they were meant to manage."

I wrote about the current crisis @jadaliyya.bsky.social

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/47233

The Trauma of Conflict in Iran Will Reshape the Gulf After the missiles, Arab states will rethink everything from defense and regional alliances to overseas investment and their role in global markets.

"No Gulf leader is likely to emerge from this conflict unchanged. They’ll face questions: how to defend borders and cities; how much to trust Washington; how to engage with the global economy and markets; and how to cooperate with each other. The longer the war burns, the deeper the transformation."

Ms Rachel talking to Deiver Henao, a 9yo in an immigration detention center

www.instagram.com/reel/DVzUzoz...

What a world

See Where U.S. Sites Have Been Damaged in War With Iran A New York Times analysis of satellite imagery and verified videos shows damage to more than a dozen American military sites and installations from Iran’s retaliatory strikes.

The New York Times has identified at least 17 damaged U.S. sites and other installations, several of which have been struck more than once since the war began
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Dozens Wounded in Bahrain as Arab States Condemn Iranian Strikes

Over 30 people were injured after an Iranian drone struck Bahrain’s oil facility last night. In response, Bapco declared force majeure, joining Kuwait and Qatar

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/w...

Smearing an entire group of people "even the educated ones" as irredeemably racist, chauvinist (presumably also lazy, ignorant, and any other trope) is in itself a vile and racist statement. Hope that clear up any confusion!

לראשונה: איחוד האמירויות תקפה באיראן פרסום ראשון: האמירתים תקפו מתקן התפלה איראני בתגובה לירי המתמשך לעברם. בישראל מעריכים כי מדובר באיתות בלבד - והצטרפות של האמירויות למערכה תתרחש רק אם התקיפות האיראניות יסלימו

Israeli media is framing the UAE as the perpetrator of the attack against the desalination plant in Iran. I don't think the UAE is suicidal. This is an attempt to draw the UAE into war.

Iran struck a desalination plant in Bahrain. If the attack had come from the UAE, they'd have been the target.

How many expats with Western passport come to the Gulf, land opportunities they never would back home (or at least kick-start their careers with massive salaries), benefit from all the hierarchies of course, then suddenly act holier than thou once they've moved on.

This is what ecocide looks like.

Tête à tête - There's been a 'seismic' shift in US public opinion on Palestine: Historian Rashid Khalidi In an interview with FRANCE 24, renowned historian Rashid Khalidi described a "seismic, fundamental shift" in American public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also argued that Israel re...

There's been a 'seismic' shift in US public opinion on Palestine: Historian Rashid Khalidi flip.it/dnnV8p

Scientists Teach Lab-Grown Brain Cells to Play Video Games Lab-grown mini-brains learned to play video games using electrical signals, improving from 4.5% to 46% success in AI balance tests.

😩😩
www.gadgetreview.com/scientists-t...

Not to worry I've been repeatedly assured that the former volunteer army guard for an IDF torture prison in the First Intifada is actually very liberal and also that the magazine he runs is very liberal

Fresh and unprecedented levels of terrible

Iranian drone damages desalination plant in Bahrain Bahrain says an Iranian drone attack has caused “material damage” to a desalination plant. It's the first time an Arab country has reported Iran targeting a desalination plant during the nine-day war.

Source apnews.com/article/iran...

Fire flows through gutters meant to carry water to trees in Tehran.

Death flows where life once did.

May God forgive us.

(Video has been geoconfirmed.)

An Iranian drone attack has damaged a water desalination plant in Bahrain. This is after the US attacked a water desalination plant in Qeshm Island (Iran) yesterday, which Iran's foreign minister says set a “precedent”. Gulf states and Iran both rely heavily on desalinated water.

I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.

Color me shocked

Very dystopian timing. I’ve been working on this since November.

Thanks @thedialmag.bsky.social

Saudi Arabia said to intensify talks with Iran to defuse Mideast war Reported outreach comes as Islamic Republicn continues to attack its neighbors; officials from several Gulf states complain they weren't given earlier notice about initial US-Israeli strikes

There's much doom and gloom about the future of Gulf-Iranian relations. I think the opposite may be true. Never has there been a clearer imperative for the Gulf states to strengthen relations with Iran, if only out of their own vulnerability. For example:

www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia...

The United States Could Lose the Gulf Iran’s attacks on its neighbors are a reminder that the United States cannot protect them.

Arab regimes that fear Israel...will not be reassured watching its destruction of Iran.They will worry that they could be next, understanding that the US cant be relied on to protect them. That could be the harbinger of the rapid unraveling of America's Middle East
foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/05/i...

That was quick! 😄

It takes real galaxy brains to mass cancel solar and wind projects and then start a pointless unpopular war that sends oil prices soaring.

Americans can't have cool stuff like free education, decent wages or basic healthcare because their leaders prefer to spend the money bombing the Middle East and sometimes Latin America and of course Asia... The sooner the mutiny against this, the better for the entire world

It's fine, he can always say the opposite thing tomorrow and change his mind the day after

RUSSIA GETS:
-Higher oil prices
-Reduced US economic pressure
-Bogged down US military
-Air defense assets not sent to Ukraine

US GETS:
-Indefinite war in pursuit of undefined outcome
-Weaker economy
-Frayed international partnerships
-Combat deaths