New poetry in @hidden-cities.com, by Mohammed Abu Lebda in Gaza: www.hidden-cities.com/p/the-traged...
Профиль
Frederick Deknatel
Профиль VivelyJournalist, fellow at Century International @tcfdotorg.bsky.social, editor of @Hidden-Cities.com Previously: Founding executive editor, Democracy in Exile @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social; managing editor @wpr.bsky.social; staff editor @foreignaffairs.com
“Trump’s idea of power has led directly to his loss of ability to shape events in the Gulf…The more Trump declares things that are obviously untrue—by repeating, for example, that Iran has agreed to all his terms—the fewer people believe him.” @edwardluce.bsky.social on a world shrugging at Trump:
Trump’s waning sway over the worldThe habitual trolling that serves him at home is sapping his potency on the global stagewww.ft.comFor any other president, this would be an all-consuming scandal, leading to impeachment. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for HimFederal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.www.nytimes.com“The war continuing in the manner that it is playing out right now is their worst-case scenario,” said Dina Esfandiary. “That is because it does not give them the opportunity to rebuild and maintain their image as a haven for stability in an unstable region. It affects their very models.”
Exclusive | Bahrain, Kuwait Warplanes Struck Iran in Rare Gulf RetaliationThe strikes earlier this month reflect Arab reckoning with a lengthy war that threatens to draw them in even more deeply.www.wsj.com"The Houthis constitute a nuclear option for Iran—a nonnaval power that can execute a maritime blockade and hold the global economy hostage. They did this before and are aware they have this leverage. They have a desire to test red lines and see if they can set new ones." @adammbaron.bsky.social
The Houthis Have Opened a New Front in the U.S.-Iran WarThe Yemeni militants have set up a standoff in one of the world’s most vital waterways with its threats against Red Sea oil shipments.www.wsj.com“Three military officials said one reason behind the change was that the Trump admin decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — because their deaths occurred after Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.” 🙃
Number of U.S. Troop Deaths in Iran War Appears Lower on Pentagon WebsiteThree military officials and a Pentagon spokesman gave conflicting explanations for why the number of Americans killed in the Iran war had changed.www.nytimes.comKushner's corruption, at least what is publicly available, amounts to $110 million from the Saudi government in management fees, for the $2 billion investment it made in his private equity fund. Seems relevant!
A nuclear deal for the Saudis. A media blackout for Kushner’s corruption.On Wednesday, the Trump administration signed a 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that paves the way for the kingdom to enrich its own uranium.popular.infoJudd LegumNews outlets that covered the US-Saudi nuclear deal without mentioning that Jared Kushner, Trump’s top foreign policy advisor, is getting paid by the Saudi government: WSJ NYT AP Reuters CNN NBC ABC CBS The Guardian Semafor Washington Post Fox News New York Post BBC Newsweek MS NOW
The US can't force open the Strait of Hormuz militarily — a reality that not just Trump but a large contingent of US political elites can't or won't accept, even though it was Trump's blunder of a war that led to Iran closing it in the first place. www.ft.com/content/1cbe...
A surge of American military troops, what could go wrong.
Frederick DeknatelThe US is massing even more military forces in the Middle East — I wonder if Trump is going to start calling this a surge. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
The US is massing even more military forces in the Middle East — I wonder if Trump is going to start calling this a surge. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
U.S. Surges Forces Toward Middle East, Giving Trump Options to Expand Iran WarThe influx of troops, medics and weaponry follows the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in an Iranian attack at a base in Jordan.www.wsj.com"If the plans currently being elaborated for Gaza go forward, genocide may come to be seen by some nations as the legitimate and lucrative extension of politics by other means." Omer Bartov on Israel's impunity and how Trump's Gaza "vision" perpetuates the genocide: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/o...
Opinion | The Grim Lessons of Israel’s War in GazaIsrael has not been held accountable for its actions in Gaza. The nation and the individuals and countries enabling it to escape punishment may only benefit.www.nytimes.comOne major story of this war is how much the Trump administration is hiding its costs in American lives. Remember how it slow-rolled news of the first deaths of American soldiers in Kuwait in March, lying for days about the severity of that Iranian drone attack? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/u...
“Some of this is geography,” said Alan Eyre, a former senior American diplomat in Jordan. “Some of it is Jordan’s willingness to fully align itself with the U.S. strategic and regional goals due to its economic dependence on Washington.” www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Jordan Becomes New Flashpoint in U.S.-Iran War as Troop Deaths RiseThe close U.S. ally has seen a buildup of American forces in the conflict.www.wsj.comIran’s heightened tolerance for risk is one way of understanding its chokehold on Hormuz. A battered regime believes it has nothing to lose and everything to gain by controlling the strait, as Ben Soodavar writes here in @hidden-cities.com www.hidden-cities.com/p/iran-wont-...
Iran Won't Give Up Its Leverage Over HormuzThreats to close the Strait of Hormuz were a decades-long Iranian bluff. Trump's war changed all that.www.hidden-cities.comFrederick Deknatel“The nuclear issue can be negotiated. Hormuz cannot,” one regime insider said. “The only regret now is that we should have closed the strait years ago, when the US first imposed sanctions.” www.ft.com/content/ecf0...
“The nuclear issue can be negotiated. Hormuz cannot,” one regime insider said. “The only regret now is that we should have closed the strait years ago, when the US first imposed sanctions.” www.ft.com/content/ecf0...
How far will Iran go for the Strait of Hormuz?A years-long stand-off with the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme has been superseded by a battle for the waterwaywww.ft.com“The nuclear issue can be negotiated. Hormuz cannot,” one regime insider said. “The only regret now is that we should have closed the strait years ago, when the US first imposed sanctions.” www.ft.com/content/ecf0...
How far will Iran go for the Strait of Hormuz?A years-long stand-off with the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme has been superseded by a battle for the waterwaywww.ft.com"There will be no return to the situation before the war, said @suzannemaloney.bsky.social of Brookings. As in Iraq, American assumptions and misperceptions changed the balance of power in the region, she said, and now the days of the Strait of Hormuz fully free for transit are probably over."
In Iran war, Trump Risks Another American ‘Forever War’President Trump, who promised to “end wars,” not start them, may have fallen into a familiar presidential trap.www.nytimes.comHow the American auto industry screwed up EVs so badly, in the process probably "sealing its own doom." (My Ioniq 5 is great, EVs are the future). www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/m...
The American E.V. Has Been Crushed. Will It Take the U.S. Auto Industry With It?The largest U.S. automakers have backed away from electric vehicles, even as global sales are booming. The decision may make them obsolete.www.nytimes.comGreat reporting that is unfortunately wrapped up in lots of euphemism to avoid one obvious word: corruption.
Eric Lipton NYTJUST POSTED: Trump Paid $2 Million by South Korean Company Facing Trade Investigation The payment illustrates the minefield Mr. Trump has created by maintaining personal financial ties with foreign businesses while he is in office. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/u...