(2026-05-18). After Trump's China trip, White House plans new attack on Iran. wsws.org Just days after Trump's return from Beijing, American imperialism is making active preparations for a renewed onslaught against Iran.
(2026-05-18). Ghalibaf Named China Envoy: Are Iran-Beijing Ties Deepening? juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — On May 16, Iranian speaker of Parliament Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf "The world stands at the cusp of a new order. | As President Xi said 'The transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the globe,' and I emphasize that the Iranian nation's 70-day resistance has accelerated this transformation. | The future belongs to the Global South." | Ghalibaf was referring to a passage in the
(2026-05-18). Iran War Economic Impact: Gulf States Count the Cost. juancole.com The Conversation) — The US and Israel's war on Iran has cast a long shadow over the Gulf. It has placed many of the economies that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regional grouping — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia — under substantial strain. | Since the war began in February, the World Bank has downgraded its 2026 GDP growth forecast for the reg…
(2026-05-18). UAE ditches oil for AI to build Global South tech 'bridge'. scmp.com No country on Earth has adopted artificial intelligence faster than the United Arab Emirates — and the Middle Eastern cultural crossroad's ambitions to become an AI bridge to the Global South just got another major leg up with the delivery of the latest, cutting-edge US-designed chips. | But those ambitions are taking shape in a hostile environment. Amid the US-Israel war on Iran, Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has repeatedly taken aim at major Emirati data centres, developed in…
(2026-05-17). Iran urges intl response to US demands. ecns.cn Tehran has urged the international community to confront Washington's demands, while the United States warned Iran anew that it will have a "very bad time" if a peace deal is not reached soon.
(2026-05-18). Soccer- Azmoun left out of preliminary Iran World Cup squad. newarab.com 
(2026-05-18). 'Staggering' Iran toll drives up global executions: Amnesty. newarab.com 
Amnesty said it had confirmed the executions of at least 2,707 people globally in 2025. Of these cases, 2,159 were in Iran, a figure more than double that of 2024, Amnesty said. | But the UK-based rights group said that, as in previous years, its total "does not include the thousands of executions" that it believed were carried ou…
(2026-05-18). Iran war hits global companies with $25 billion bill. newarab.com 
A review of corporate statements from companies listed in the United States, Europe and Asia since the start of the conflict offers a sobering look at the fallout. Businesses are grappling with soaring energy prices, fractured supply chains and trade routes severed by Iran's grip on the At l…
(2026-05-17). War in Middle East: latest developments. al-monitor.com Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war: – No US concessions -Iranian media said Washington had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran's proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war. The Mehr news agency said: "The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations." – Drone strike outside UAE nuclear plant -…
(2026-05-17). Drone targets UAE nuclear power plant, straining Iran war ceasefire. scmp.com A drone strike targeted the United Arab Emirates' Barakah nuclear power plant on Sunday, setting an electrical generator ablaze on its perimeter and again straining the shaky ceasefire in the Iran war. | No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which caused no radiological release nor injuries, authorities in the UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi, said.
(2026-05-17). Drone strike sparks fire on edge of UAE nuclear power plant complex. scmp.com A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates' sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an "unprovoked terrorist attack". No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of renewed war as the United States and Iran signalled they were ready to fight again. | There were no reported injuries or radiological release. The UAE, which has hosted air defences and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks. Tensions have…
(2026-05-17). After UAE and Iran scares, Massive fire erupts at IDF base in Negev near Israel's nuclear heartland. hindustantimes.com Reports of escalating regional tensions across the Middle East have raised fresh concerns after alleged drone strikes, explosions, and fires near sensitive military and energy infrastructure. Incidents reportedly include a fire at an Israeli military base in the Negev Desert, alongside unverified claims linking the region to critical strategic facilities. Separately, Iranian authorities have described controlled explosions in parts of Isfahan, while earlier reports suggested a drone strike near the Barakah nuclear plant in the UAE. Officials across affected regions have issued statements downplaying damage, but s…
(2026-05-17). Strait of Hormuz 'open' except for enemies, as new Iran insurance regulatory plan touted. asiapacificreport.nz 
Asia Pacific Report Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is "open to all except its adversaries", and any passage through the trajectory of this significant chokepoint should be coordinated with the Iranian military, reports AL Jazeera. Sources say the number of ships transiting through the strait has slightly increased, but is still very low compared…
(2026-05-17). Iraq exported 10 million barrels of oil through Hormuz in April. newarab.com 
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israeli war on Iran has curtailed oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the
(2026-05-17). Pezeshkian's Diplomacy: Iran Balances Resistance, Regional Outreach and Global Pressure. ummid.com Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has sharpened Tehran's diplomatic messaging amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and mounting pressure from the United States.
(2026-05-17). Alexander Zevin: Trump's Gulf War. newleftreview.org Asymmetries of the US-Israeli assault on Iran, as an uneasy balance holds between Tehran's tourniquet on the Strait of Hormuz—and the world economy—and the enormous firepower of the aggressors, at the end of the first round.
(2026-05-17). Iran chief negotiator Ghalibaf appointed to oversee ties with China: media. geo.tv 
In this handout picture provided by the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, dressed in an IRGC uniform, chairs a session in Tehran, February 1, 2026. — AFPGhalibaf emerges as key figure in Iran's foreign diplomacy.Iran…
(2026-05-17). US says Iran-backed militia commander planned Jewish site attacks. al-monitor.com US authorities on Friday detailed charges against a commander of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia who was allegedly involved in plotting terrorism against Jewish people in Europe, Canada and the United States. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, is said to have directed and urged others to attack US and Israeli interests, and to kill Americans and Jews, in retaliation for the war against Iran.He was identified as a senior figure in Kataeb Hezbollah, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
(2026-05-17). After the Iran War: Seven Dynamics That Will Define the New Middle East. moderndiplomacy.eu Every major war in the Middle East has left the region permanently altered in ways that nobody fully anticipated at the time. The 1948 Arab-Israeli war created a refugee crisis whose consequences are still being negotiated seventy-eight years later. The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran reorganized the entire regional security architecture around a new fault …
(2026-05-17). Explained: Multi-dimensional Implications of US/Israel War on Iran. ummid.com Far from reviving American supremacy, the Iran conflict exposed the limits of coercive power in an age where history is no longer shaped by a single empire, but by competing centres of influence struggling to define a new world order.
(2026-05-17). The Surprising History of Warm Iranian-Jewish Relations. juancole.com Berkshire (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) — After the massive US and Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February 2026, the second attack in the middle of negotiations within a year, with his characteristic modesty, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The war on Iran fulfils my 40-year dream". Netanyahu has not only been dreaming of involving the United States in a war against Iran, but he has also been actively working and plotting to bring this about. US Senator Chris Van Hollen put it this way: 'Netanyahu waited 40 years to find an American president "stupid enough and reckless enough" to s…
(2026-05-17). Israeli officials say 50% chance of renewed war with Iran. newarab.com 
(2026-05-17). As Finland's economy hit by war on Iran, President Stubb pledges support to US military. wsws.org Finland's right-wing government is aligning with US war crimes and using the growing economic crisis to attack social services…
(2026-05-17). Iraqi militia leader in US custody after arrest: What to know. al-monitor.com Authorities said the individual is linked to a mysterious pro-Iran group that has been claiming attacks on Jewish communities in Europe.
(2026-05-17). FIFA says held positive talks with Iran's FA ahead of World Cup. newarab.com 
(2026-05-17). Fertilizer, Energy and Liebig's Law of the Minimum. resourceinsights.blogspot.com The | loss of fertilizer shipments coming from the Persian Gulf as a | result of the Iran war got me thinking about the chemist Justus | von Liebig, a prominent 19th century proponent of the mineral theory | of plant nutrition. Liebig is the popularizer of what is now known as | Liebig's Law of the Minimum. The law states that the least available | essential nutrient limits the growth of plants. This means once a grower | runs out of…
(2026-05-17). UK ramps up Gulf military role amid US-Iran tensions. newarab.com 
The The British government said Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets would be equipped with an advanced precision weapons system…
(2026-05-17). Trump's War on Iran Is a Symptom of Unchecked US Military Power. progressivehub.net GEORGE YANCY | TRUTHOUT…
(2026-05-17). Iran have meeting with FIFA over World Cup preparations. al-monitor.com FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom described as "excellent" and "constructive" the meeting held on Saturday in Istanbul with the Iranian federation to ensure Iran's participation in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.The Iranians are scheduled to be based and play all three of their group matches in the US in spite of the war currently being waged in the Middle East. "We've had an excellent meeting, a constructive meeting together with the Iran FA," said Grafstrom.