Amir Taheri

If you are under pressure to do something but know that you can’t do anything, what do you do? Well, you do nothing but to appear to be doing something you invoke grand principles and grand sentiments. This is what French President Emmanuel Macron and his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot have…

He had hardly finished addressing the crowd in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City that Cardinal Robert Provost as the newly minted Pope Leo XIV was transformed into a blank face on which interest groups and lobbies of all kind could draw the image they would like him to become. …

Students of history know that starting a war is always easy; what is difficult is ending it. The current war in Ukraine is no exception. The trouble is that Vladimir Putin, the man who started this war, also believed he knew how to end it. More than three years later it is clear that he is…

For the past two weeks, I have been bombarded by questions from colleagues and “experts” from across the globe wondering how to assess the current round of talks between Tehran and the Trump administration in Washington. The typical question is: what is going on? Judging by comments and leaks…

In 2013 when a little-known cardinal from Argentina was elected the Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the title of Francis, many wondered in which direction he might walk in Saint Peter’s shoes. The election came as a surprise in the wake of the unprecedented decision of Pope Benedict XVI to…

It was barely a month ago when TV watchers across the globe saw a show in which new US president Donald Trump treated visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as one of those voodoo dolls made for pushing needles into thus dodging a curse. After the show TV talking heads speculated that…

Despite the great deal of sound and fury that it has generated, it is perhaps too early to assess the lasting impact of President Donald Trump’s latest fireworks on tariffs. Some things, however, are certain. Contrary to assertions by talking heads on the small screen, we are not heading for a…

After a 3-year break, a serial that started almost 50 years ago is expected to return to world screens with a new season: Uncle Sam wooing the Mullahs of Tehran. The new season started with a letter sent by US President Donald J Trump to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei three weeks ago reportedly…

“Why is Donald Trump doing what he is doing?” This is the question raised by European intelligentsia these days as they try to recover from the shock of the American presidential election which they all believed would be won by the Democrat champion Kamala Harris. France’s currently fashionable TV…

As Elon Musk pursues his “draining the marshland” in Washington D.C., his plan to reduce the size of the US federal government may have a number of unintended consequences. To be sure, few people might disagree with ending monthly payment to sole 20 million former civil servants who continue…