And what is especially important, particularly as an outside observer of the Middle East, is to move beyond binaries of "good" and "bad" and instead ask: what conditions brought an individual, movement, or society to this point?
Finished Sina Azodi’s Iran and the Bomb. Leaving this excerpt here because, whether we agree with it or not, understanding this logic is essential to seriously analyzing Iran’s strategic thinking and approach to nuclear capability.
The solution to this is very straightforward and could be an option for Vance to put his money where his mouth is: a full arms embargo and suspension of U.S. aid.
If you don't, your work is not only stripped of the realities people live through, it also becomes politically weak.
To be clear, I'm using istisal in the Iranian context: a feeling of being trapped, powerless, and unable to move forward. Not in the Arabic usage, where the term carries a different meaning.
It appears that Israeli hubris has led to a complete failure not only in Iran, but also in Lebanon, where it has revived Hezbollah’s “resistance narrative.”
There were other options, yet Israel has handed the group a political gift that it does not even seem aware it has given.
It is surely funny to watch Israeli hubris result in a complete meltdown. But while we're at it, I suggest the international community finally force Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese land. "Thank you for paying attention to this matter."
No matter what the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran might consist of, the reality is that the Iranian people will remain stuck in a state of istisal. If you're unfamiliar with the term, think of helplessness, desperation, and being at a standstill.
It appears that Tehran is looking to re-establish its forward defense doctrine, which is to the detriment of the Lebanese state and, quite frankly, also has the opposite effect from an Israeli perspective of what its military campaign sought to achieve.
I'm a firm believer that you have to familiarize yourself with a country's history, culture, people, lived experiences, traumas, and grievances in order to properly analyze it. Without it, you're often analyzing events without understanding the context that shaped them.