Parsi: New Iran sanctions may spell death of the JCPOA | Responsible Statecraft

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Analysis | Middle East

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According to the state department on Wednesday, Washington is slapping new sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical producers, along with Hong Kong and Emirati companies accused of selling the oil on East Asia markets in violation of existing embargoes.

In a tweet, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “absent a commitment from Iran to return to the JCPOA, an outcome we continue to pursue, we will keep using our authorities to target Iran's exports of energy products.”
But is this really the best way to get back into a deal that Washington was the first to leave, and for which talks have been on thin ice and time is ticking away? Quincy Institute's Trita Parsi, author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy,” weighs in.

Analysis | Middle East

Iran protests

Top photo credit: A member of the Iranian police attends a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Iran regime is brittle, but don't count out killer instinct to survive

Political and economic protests have long been woven into Iran’s political fabric. From the Tobacco Movement of the 1890s which ultimately created the first democratic constitution in the Middle East, to labor strikes under the Pahlavi monarchy, to student activism and localized economic unrest in the Islamic Republic, street mobilization has repeatedly served as a vehicle for political expression.

What is new, however, is the increase in frequency, geographic spread, and persistence of protests since 2019, an episode which took the lives of more than 300 Iranians. That year marked a turning point, with nationwide anti-government demonstrations erupting across Iran in response to fuel price hikes, followed by repeated waves of unrest over economic hardship, and political repression.

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US trashed Somalia, can we really scold its people for coming here?

Top image credit: A woman walks past the wreckage of a car at the scene of an explosion on a bomb-rigged car that was parked on a road near the National Theatre in Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

US trashed Somalia, can we really scold its people for coming here?

The relatively small Somali community in the U.S., estimated at 260,000, has lately been receiving national attention thanks to a massive fraud scandal in Minnesota and the resulting vitriol directed at them by President Trump.

Trump’s targeting of Somalis long preceded the current allegations of fraud, going back to his first presidential campaign in 2016. A central theme of Trump’s anti-Somali rancor is that they come from a war-torn country without an effective centralized state, which in Trump’s reasoning speaks to their quality as a people, and therefore, their ability to contribute to American society. It is worth reminding ourselves, however, that Somalia’s state collapse and political instability is as much a result of imperial interventions, including from the U.S., as anything else.

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DC Metro ads

Top image credit: prochasson frederic via shutterstock.com

War porn beats out Venezuela peace messages in DC Metro

Military Industrial Complex

Washington DC’s public transit system, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is flooded with advertisements about war. Metro Center station, one of the city’s busiest stops, currently features ads from military contractor Applied Intuition bragging about its software’s ability to execute a “simulated air-to-air combat kill.”

But when an anti-war group sought to place an ad advocating peace, its proposal was denied. Understanding why requires a dive into the ongoing battle over corruption, free speech, and militarism on the buses and trains of our nation’s capital.

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