“Hezbollah leader refuses to disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon,” Politico, 7-6-25.

The NYT almost makes Evin Prison out to be a Holiday Inn, with its written description and selection of photos.  Instead, this is Iran’s most notorious prison.  Why did Israel select where to drop bombs?  The NYT doesn’t really answer that, nor does it explore the issue of who could have escaped.  They do recount it took extra security three hours to arrive, and that Evin is now closed with the prisoners transferred.  This blog has several times mentioned Evin over the years, and it is good physically and symbolically to now be shuttered.  See “Israel’s Deadly Assault on Iran Prison Incites Fury, Even Among Dissidents,” NYT, 7-6-25.

“China and Russia Keep Their Distance From Iran During Crisis,” NYT, 7-6-25.  This author has it wrong that there is no axis.  Instead, “Yun Sun, a scholar of China’s foreign policy at the Stimson Center, a research institute in Washington, argued that the “axis” formulation for China, Russia, Iran and North Korea was still valid. Although the four countries do not have a mutual defense agreement binding all of them, she said, they share an “anti-U.S., anti-West and anti-liberal democracy” outlook.”