Trump's appeal to Iranians to seize their freedom once American and Israeli strikes are finished fundamentally misreads a people whose history has taught them key lessons
The US and Israel carried out strikes across Iran, and Tehran has retaliated by striking US/Israeli assets across the region. Could this turn into the regional war analysts have been warning about?
Military strategists have long warned that war should be waged only if those waging it know what they want to achieve. Herein lies a problem: Washington's war aims in Iran are incoherent.
The regional rivals aren't just fighting over freshwater supplies. Cairo sees Addis Ababa's bid for Red Sea access as part of a wider fragmentation strategy.
Quick, in-and-out precision operations that inflict maximum damage with minimum US casualties have long been a favoured tool of US presidents. Is Trump planning one for Iran?
Tehran isn't likely to easily fold if/when Trump attacks. This means that the longer a military confrontation drags out, the more untenable Washington's position becomes.
Some point to his possible links to Mossad through his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose father was a known Israeli spy, and assert that he blackmailed powerful figures to exert influence
While all the effects of this conflict may take time to fully realise, short and medium-term signs expose the limits of US power and see America's rivals benefiting
Closing the Strait of Hormuz has shown how the Gulf should shift from an oil-export model to a digital and distribution hub. Will this trigger the long-delayed free trade agreement with China?
Building on the ten-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump, time will tell if these talks are a one-off or the beginning of a different path for Lebanon.
Egyptian heritage researcher Haytham Abu Zayd sheds light on how the art form grew, excelled, and then declined over the years and ends by offering a path to revival