“How Iran’s Hard-Liners Prevailed and Sabotaged U.S. Peace Deal,” NYT, 9-13-26. “Opponents derailed the agreement with a clandestine effort to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, regime insiders say. Iran’s president was furious when he found out.” Who are they? “the cleric Hossein Taeb, an influential spymaster” and head of the Basij militia. Why won’t the President insist on seeing if the Leader is alive? He is being prevented. This gives new meaning to “shadow government.” I think we have to assume the Supreme Leader is not alive. The NYT says this: “In May, Mr. Pezeshkian said he met with Ayatollah Khamenei but did not say when or where. Two Iranian officials and a former official said the circumstances of the encounter were bizarre. They said an ambulance with blacked-out windows was used to drive Mr. Pezeshkian around, while a secure video connection was established. A person who said he was an interlocutor for Ayatollah Khamenei appeared on a monitor and purportedly passed messages between the two men. Mr. Pezeshkian confided to a close ally that he was unsure whether he had actually been communicating with the supreme leader, according to the officials with knowledge of the meeting.”
“Widening Mideast Instability Squeezes Global Oil Supplies,” WSJ, 9-13-26. “Houthi offensive in Yemen has put a second vital energy corridor in the region under the sway of Iran and its allies.”
“Iran regime used Claude to expand surveillance of dissidents, Anthropic says,” Iran International, 9-13-26. Creative. And dangerous to others.
“Badly wounded U.S. Air Force officer climbed 7,000 foot Iranian ridgeline to hide after being shot down,” CBS 60 Minutes, 9-13-26.
“Iranian cargo ship is struck, and talks between Tehran and its neighbors are postponed,” AP, 9-13-26.