Category: Source

Interview: Operation Epstein Fury Part 15. Second Round. How and Why the MoU Died.

Posted on

Wyoming Star, July 28, 2026: Zunes traced the roots of the current impasse back to Trump’s original strategic error: “Unlike the 2015 nuclear deal – which was extremely detailed, enforceable, and left no room for ambiguity – Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding was rather vague, giving both sides motivation to try to strengthen their bargaining position by engaging in provocative actions. The problem is that, with Iran having demonstrated its power through its newfound form of asymmetrical warfare, no realistic negotiated settlement will be better or even as advantageous for the West than what was achieved by the painstaking two-year, seven-nation negotiating process that led to the JCPOA – which Trump tore up because he insisted he could get a better deal. Trump does want to look like a loser by accepting anything more advantageous to the Iranians than what Obama and other world leaders negotiated. In other words, given that virtually no strategic analyst thinks that the resumption of the war will get Iran to compromise further, Trump is allowing his ego to forestall an end to the conflict regardless of its negative impact in terms of human lives, energy access, the global economy, and Republican chances in November… With getting the requisite two-thirds majority in Congress necessary to override a presidential veto and implement the War Powers Act virtually impossible, the only legislative vehicle to stop the war would be to withhold funding. However, through demands to “support our troops” and replenish weapons stocks that have left other areas of US security commitments potentially vulnerable, parliamentary maneuvering, and perhaps declaring some kind of state of emergency, Trump will likely find a way to fund the war despite its growing unpopularity with the American public.”

Interview: US-Iran: What the Blockade Threats Mean for Oil and Freight Markets

Posted on

Channel News Asia/CNA,Singapore, July 22, 2026: Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz and The Houthis have just declared a blockade of Bab al-Mandeb. Two of the world’s most critical shipping chokepoints — squeezed at the same time. Saudi Arabia’s workaround, routing oil through the Red Sea, may now be closing off too. A look at the compounding economic risks and how markets are pricing in rerouted supply chains, soaring freight premiums, and broader inflation risks.

Interview: Iran Releases Exclusive Video of Ballistic Missiles Hitting US Bases in Gulf

Posted on

FirstPost America, July 21, 2026 (Zunes begins at 5 mins.):
The US-Iran war intensifies as the US launches a ninth consecutive night of air strikes on Iran, triggering fresh missile attacks across the Middle East. Iran says it is fighting a ‘full-scale war’ with the US after targeting US assets in Jordan and Kuwait. Tensions are also rising in the Strait of Hormuz, where a commercial ship was set ablaze following an attack, raising fears over global oil supplies and maritime security. With Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Iranian leaders exchanging strong messages while diplomacy continues behind the scenes, the crisis shows no signs of easing.

Interview: Is Israel pushing Lebanon toward civil war? And how can the Lebanese thwart this scenario?

Posted on

Alghad TV, July 9, 2026 (Zunes begins at 9 mins.): Does the Israeli withdrawal represent a tactical move tied to the battlefield, or does it pave the way for a broader political settlement? An analytical discussion with: Ibrahim Haidar, writer and political analyst; Mohammed Zeidan, researcher specializing in Israeli affairs; and Stephen Zunes, on the dimensions of the withdrawal and its implications for the future of the ceasefire and developments in southern Lebanon. (It’s a bit odd, in that Zunes spoke in English, yet this recording has the Arabic translation translated back into English.)

Trump’s Deal with Iran is Good Enough

Posted on

The Progressive, June 23, 2026: [click here for audio and text]
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the United States and Iran is indeed a better deal for the Islamic Republic than the 2015 JCPOA and what could have been agreed to prior to the war, but it is probably the best that is realistically attainable at this point. I note how Democratic politicians and others who denounce it as a “surrender” while unable to suggest a practical alternative are effectively calling for more war. Please consider circulating.

20 Interviews: May-June 2026, Iran related

Posted on

Below are links to various radio, television, and podcast interviews about the U.S., Iran, and related issues during May and June 2026:

    * A 28-minutes with David Swanson’s Talk World Radio
    *  A 20-minutes with Kris Welch on KPFA-FM, starting at 38:40
    * Hour-long interview for the Scholars Circle on the war
on Lebanon with Yeghia Tashjian and Ervand Abrahamian
     *  Two recent segments for an Indian network news show:
     June 18, beginning at 5:20 & June 2, starting at 4:25
     *  On a Singapore television news channel
     *  On a Singapore radio news channel
 * Two short interviews on KPFA-FM News, Pacifica:
June 14, starting at 2 mins. & May 24, starting 2:28    

* For KTVU News (one of the Bay Area network affiliates):
        June 18: https://ktvu.com/video/fmc-sv3bvh10vi4mon19.amp
        June 8:  https://bit.ly/3RVvpr6
        June 7:  https://bit.ly/43n9zze
        June 1:  https://bit.ly/43UizvR
       May 28:  https://bit.ly/4egHjmR
       May 25:  https://bit.ly/3QcXklR
       May 19:  https://youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=J7tH8nNmCJI&ra=m
       May 13: https://bit.ly/43p5U3R
       May 9: https://archive.tveyes.com/18120/531666-150162/dfd53d40-1c93-45d8-9a79-ad2dd615c0c5/KTVU_04-20-2026_16.30.43.mp4

 Also, two much older analyses were depressingly prescient:
     * A 50-minute documentary from 2012 in which I and a dozen other scholars and analysts critique the U.S. threat of War with Iran: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yoITyAobBMI
     * A 2006 interview I did with Foaad Khosmood on U.S. policy towards Iran and the possibility of war: https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-shift-in-iran-policy-by-stephen-zunes/

Quoted: Will US Opposition to UN’s Socio-Economic Goals Play a Decisive Role in the Vote for Next Secretary-General?

Posted on

Inter Press Service [UN] June 18, 2026
Zunes is quoted in this analysis on the influence Trump will have on the choosing of the next UN Secretary General. He told IPS under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the United States has blocked the election of candidates for Secretary General, even when they had the support of the fourteen other members of the Security Council. “Given how Trump has been even more prone to attack the United Nations and bully member states, including ostensible U.S. allies, it is likely that the United States will make it even more difficult this round for the UN to choose its next administrator.”

Quoted in Wyoming Star: Operation Epstein Fury Parts 13 & 14. Iranian Red Lines.

Posted on

June 24, 2026: “It is not going to be smooth sailing, but my sense is that the Trump administration recognizes that there is too much at stake for it to fail. The MOU is being attacked as a bad deal, as being worse than the JCPOA, and worse than what they could have gotten Iran to agree to prior to the launch of the war and Iran recognizing the power it had to disrupt the global economy – all of which are true. It is nevertheless likely the most realistic alternative at this point.
Israel will try to sabotage the deal, but Trump, unlike previous US presidents, does not have an ideological commitment to Israel. His approach to foreign policy is purely transactional…”

 June 10, 2026, “Trump has made it clear to the Israelis that a full-scale resumption of the bombing would be unacceptable, but he is apparently willing to support a low-level war indefinitely. Meanwhile, Israel is expanding its occupation of the Gaza Strip to close to 70% of the territory in violation of the ceasefire agreement and with the apparent support of the Trump administration. Occasional air strikes, with additional civilian casualties, continue as well. And, in the West Bank, settler militias, in ways comparable to the rightwing death squads in Central America during the 1980s, continue to terrorize the Palestinian population with the acquiescence of the Israeli government and, extension, the US government.”
“There was some real hope a few weeks ago with news of a memorandum of understanding between US and Iranian negotiators, with the apparent support of the Arab Gulf states, Turkey, and Egypt. Trump rejected it, however, because it would involve unfreezing illegally withheld Iranian assets and would allow Iran to continue reprocessing limited amounts of uranium, similar to the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump has repeatedly condemned. Even the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would be hard to depict as a victory since it had been fully open prior to the war.”
On Lebanon: “It is hard to imagine Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait without a comprehensive ceasefire and possibly an Israeli withdrawal from occupied parts of the country. Israel’s decision to expand its occupation [was] to increase pressure on the Lebanese government, even though it is essentially powerless to control Hezbollah…. Most political factions in Israel either support Netanyahu’s actions or believe he should escalate.”