CNA938 Rewind, Singapore, April 13, 2026 (15-min. audio):
Analysis: President Trump orders a sweeping naval operation targeting the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks in Pakistan fail. The measure targets vessels transiting all Iranian ports along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman…
Category: Cost of War
Trump’s Disastrous War of Choice
The Progressive April 10, 2026: Whether, or not the ceasefire ends up failing, the erratic President has put the region and world in grave danger… [Audio transcripts; podcast]
Operation Epstein Fury Part 8. Is It Finally Over?
Zunes quoted in Wyoming Star, April 10, 2026, by Joe Yans:
“Despite US and Israeli claims to the contrary, Pakistani mediators and others have confirmed that the agreement for a two-week halt to the fighting and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was contingent on a ceasefire in Lebanon. European leaders and other US allies have underscored the importance of the ceasefire applying to Lebanon as well. Israel’s US-backed air strikes have gone well beyond Hezbollah military targets to include heavy bombing of crowded urban neighborhoods.”
Interview, BBC: Iran, US differ as ceasefire expected
Interview: Trump threatens living hell if strait does not reopen, purges military brass
KTVU Bay Area Fox 2, April 6, 2026 [6 mins.]
Even Israel’s strongest allies can no longer justify what’s happening
UK-based Arab Organization for Human Rights panel, April 4, 2026:
How the Iran War is used as cover for record high Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank.
US Cannot ‘Win’ a War on Iran
The Progressive, April 3, 2026: U.S. and Israeli forces have targeted schools, hospitals, city parks, and cultural sites along with military and governmental facilities. This will likely lead to only greater resistance…
Interview: Iran War, US and popular resistance
Redneck Gone Green/David Cobb, March 16, 2026 [1 hour]:
Iran, current US foreign policy, and criminalization of dissent.
Interview: Trump says US will ‘finish the job’ in Iran
KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco/West Coast Wrap, April 2, 2026 [2:00-6:40]
Iran War and US Constitution
East Bay Wellstone Democratic Club March 23, 2026:
Starts with a 20-minute presentation by Zunes, followed by a similarly-length presentation by Samer Araabi, the Associate Director of Political Education and Research at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Interview: The Latest on Iran
Zunes’s key articles on Iran 2011-2025
Two articles and an interview during the summer 2025 bombing of Iran:
It’s Not About the Bomb
Missed Opportunity on Iran
Updates on the Iran-Israel War: Conversations with Leading Analysts
Debunking Trump’s claim that Iranians were responsible for the deaths of thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq:
No Evidence Iran is Responsible for the Deaths of Hundreds of Americans
For years, Republicans and hawkish Democrats have been pushing for war with Iran. Here are some articles in which I examined these dangerous efforts which have led to the current unfolding tragedy:
2018: Pompeo’s Iran Speech a Prelude to War? The Progressive
2016: Republicans and Democrats Alike Still Level Threats towards Iran Huffington Post
2015: Hardliners on All Sides Undermining Iran’s Nuclear Talks The Progressive
2013: U.S. Threats Weaken Iran’s Pro-Democracy Movement
2012: Congress Pushes for War with IranForeign Policy in Focus
2011: Iran Threat Reduction Act Actually Enhances Threat of War Huffington Post
Interview: Unpopularity of Iran war ‘almost unprecedented’ this early
Agence France Presse, March 3, 2026: Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney, Zunes says, “even in the most controversial wars, like Iraq, when the war initiates, people tend to rally around the flag […] it’s remarkable at the very beginning of the war there’s overwhelming opposition not only from liberals and the left, but much of Trump’s spaces.”
The Real Reason Trump Invaded Venezuela: It’s not drugs, democracy, or even oil. It’s power.
The Progressive, January 6, 2026 and republished by Common Dreams as,
Until Democrats Confront the Lawlessness of Trump’s Venezuela Assault, Expect More War.
The U.S. attack resulted from having an incredibly corrupt and autocratic-minded President using his office to enrich himself and his supporters, deploying the country’s armed forces against his own citizens, abusing the justice system to punish political opponents, and manipulating the electoral process to try to stay in power. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has engaged in similar behavior as well…
Interview: Monroe Doctrine Rises Again
WORT FM, Madison, January 8, 2026 (48-min):
The Monroe Doctrine Rises Again in Venezuela.
Host Allen Ruff and Professor Stephen Zunes discuss his recent article in The Progressive, “The Real Reason Trump Invaded Venezuela: It’s not drugs, democracy, or even oil. It’s power.” Zunes puts the Trump administration’s lies — calling Maduro a narco-terrorist despite that no fentanyl comes from Venezuela, that Maduro stole “our oil” despite Venezuela nationalizing its oil in the 1970s, and more — in the context of international law, the Monroe Doctrine, Venezuelan opposition to Maduro, and the US military’s recent boat-bombing campaign. He says the US will control all Venezuelan oil for the foreseeable, but “Trump plans to take control of the oil personally and stash the cash in offshore accounts.”
Interview: Hunger and war in Gaza
KTVU July 21, 2025, Bay Area network affiliate [begins at 2:00]
As fears of hunger in Gaza grow, countries are calling for an end to the war. In a joint statement on Monday. Twenty-five nations have described recent deaths in the territory as “horrifying.” Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, on how this statement could impact Israel.
Missed Opportunity on Iran
The Progressive June 19, 2025 and June 21 at
PeaceandJustice.org & SmirkingChimp.com as
Trump (and Biden) Could Have Forestalled War With Iran If They Wanted.
How the war on Iran isn’t really about containing Iran’s nuclear program, since staying in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and other diplomatic efforts would have made it physically impossible for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. Please circulate, share by email or any of the icon links below!
The Lingering Effects of Iraq War Lies
The Progressive, March 27, 2023 [source]Twenty years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the country remains unstable, with one of the most corrupt and dysfunctional governments in the world…
The Pentagon Doesn’t Care About Civilian Casualties
The Progressive, Nov. 26, 2021, by Stephen Zunes [source]
In August 2019, thousands of refugees, prisoners, and families of ISIS fighters crowded into an encampment in the border town of Baghuz in eastern Syria, one of the last territories controlled by the so-called Islamic State. The US, supported on the ground by an allied Kurdish and Arab militia, launched a massive air assault on the enclave.
Trump’s Middle East Policy: The Ironies of Hawkishness
Al Jazeera Report March 8, 2024: Despite broken campaign promises, Trump has pursued reckless and militaristic policies, deepening U.S. military involvement, backing the Israeli colonization and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories, deepening ties to Arab autocrats, and threatening war with Iran.