The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

In anticipation of Pakistan-mediated US-Iranian talks In Islamabad on ending the Iran war, James discusses the prospect for a permanent halt to hostilities on Radio Islam.

A fragile halt to Iran war hostilities was always a question of who blinks first. Even so, both the United States and Iran are declaring victory. However, a careful reading of Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's social media postings suggests that the US president blinked the most. Iranian officials point to Mr. Trump's acknowledgment that the Islamic Republic's plan to end...

On this edition of Parallax Views, James M. Dorsey discusses the Iran War's potential consequences for the United States, Europe, the Gulf States, Israel, and Iran itself.

Three months into the new year, 2026 is emerging as a year of potentially serious setbacks for US President Donald Trump. Trapped in an expanding Iran war with no good exit strategy, Mr. Trump risks not only losing this November’s mid-term elections. He’s also at risk losing key pillars of his far-right European support base.

James discusses on TRT World what happens of US President Donald Trump unilaterally ends US involvement in the Iran war.

The Gulf states, rather than Iran, may shape the next phase of the war. With Yemen’s Houthi rebels entering the war and threatening to close Bab al Mandab, the crucial waterway that links the Suez Canal with the Indian Ocean, Saudi Arabia, alongside the United Arab Emirates, may feel that their defensive posture is no longer sustainable. If so, the Gulf states, rather than the United States and Is...

James discusses recent developments in the Iran war on Radio Islam.

The US-Israeli war against Iran has scholars, journalists, and pundits comparing the conflagration to Britain, France, and Israel’s invasion of Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal after President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the strategic waterway 70 years ago. The jury is out on whether Iran is America’s Suez. The answer is probably Yo, yes, and no. History rendered the Suez war a symbol...

For the Gulf states, US President Donald Trump’s potential deal to end the Iran war threatens to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Gulf states would welcome ending a conflict that has jeopardised their economic diversification and development plans, shattered perceptions of the Gulf as a wealthy island of stability that hosts global transportation and finance hubs and data centres, and has...

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran is about to escalate with no exit strategy in sight. Several factors are pushing the combatants toward escalation:  US President Donald Trump cannot credibly declare victory and an end to the war as long as Iran controls passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.  Israel signalled its intent to emasculate Iran militarily and economically for years...

Since returning to the Oval Office in January of last year, US President Donald Trump has changed global diplomacy, placing himself at the centre of international relations. Countries manoeuvred to stay in Mr. Trump’s good books and avoid becoming targets of his ire. However, Mr. Trump’s success may be running out of steam with America’s European and Asian allies refusing to heed the president’s c...

President Donald Trump would be well advised to learn the lessons of the last time the United States sought to protect Gulf shipping by escorting oil tankers in the region’s waters. In 1987, the United States escorted Kuwaiti vessels that the Gulf state had reflagged with the US Stars and Stripes to allow the US Navy to legally protect them during the Tanker War, a facet of the Iran-Iraq war in wh...

The United States bombing of Kharg Island, Iran’s foremost oil export terminal, suggests that President Donald Trump may realise that he has no good options in Iran. Without the bombing, any Trump declaration of victory would likely have rung hollow with critics comparing it to President George W. Bush’s 2003 Mission Accomplished in Iraq speech, after which the war continued for another nine years...

James discusses the Iran war on RTHK.

The question is not if but when US President Donald Trump will unilaterally declare victory in the Iran war. The problem is that it takes three to tango. Both Israel and Iran would have to agree, and both have little interest in ending the war any time soon.

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader after the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a US-Israeli strike — a move that could reshape the country’s political future and its relations with Washington. The appointment comes despite strong opposition from Donald Trump, who had previously said the younger Khamenei would be “unacceptable” as Iran’s next leader and suggested the Un...

Iran may have played into Israel and the United States’ hands by firing drones and missiles at Azerbaijan and Turkey. Beyond risking sucking Turkey and Azerbaijan into the Iran war, the attacks could boost efforts to spark ethnic uprisings in Iran, even though US President Donald Trump, in an apparent 180-degree turn-around, this weekend threw cold water on initial Israeli and US plans to encourag...

James discusses the Iran war, oil, Yemen on Radio Islam.

The Middle East tinderbox was struck ablaze on Saturday when the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran. How might this conflict shape the power dynamics in Tehran as well as the broader region? BFM 89.9 discusses the stakes at play with Middle East expert Dr. James M. Dorsey.

Iran is challenging the might-is-right cornerstone of Donald Trump’s foreign policy by refusing to bow to the US president’s demands and fighting a war that within hours expanded across the Middle East. In doing so, Iran is going where no other country, including Venezuela and NATO ally Denmark has been willing to go when threatened with military force if they did not accept Mr. Trump’s demands. I...

James discusses on Radio Islam the Iranian-US standoff, Iran’s ethnic challenges and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel.

James discusses on BFM 89.9 the prospects for a diplomatic path to prevent US-Iranian tensions from boiling over.

James discusses on Radio Islam the prospects of a US military attack on Iran, the fallout of the dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Africa, and Israeli support for the UAE in its Washington-focused war of words with the kingdom.

James discusses on CNA938 what this week’s Board of Peace meeting in Washington means for Gaza and US President Donald Trump’s ambition to control, if not replace the United Nations as the worlds’ foremost peacemaker.

It’s crunch time when Donald Trump’s Board of Peace meets in Washington this week to finalise the implementation of the second phase of the president’s Gaza ceasefire plan.