Amir Taheri

While President Donald Trump prepares for G-7 and NATO summits later this month political circles and media in Europe are busy trying to cut him down to size before the two events. “Trump will come empty-handed,” says one commentator. “None of the things he announced with fanfare has been achieved…

Will they, won’t they? This is the question that those interested in current talks between Tehran and Washington on Iran’s nuclear program are darting around in the hope of getting a straight answer. Public statements from both sides offer no clear answer. President Donald Trump seems…

In one of his memorable comments on the current state of Europe, the late Pope Francis expressed the wish that in a world gripped by turmoil and war the old continent becomes a field hospital for victims from the four corners of the globe. The comment implies that real or imagined victimhood…

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…