Bottom Line & Above: Vanity of Vanities

Is there a second Iran out there and we weren’t informed? Some sort of even more evil doppelganger of the Islamic Republic, perhaps called “eye-ran,” that is about to overrun the Middle East? It sure seems like it, judging by some of the stuff we are reading about Iran these days. One recent article in a respected journal darkly intoned that, thanks to the unstinting support of Russia and China, the Nezam is in a “triumphant” mood and “feeling more powerful and more secure than it ever has.” Really? What Iran are you looking at—because the one we see isn’t quite so full of itself and sanguine as such articles portray.

Read all of "Vanity of Vanities" here.

Other articles featured in this week's newsletter:

Coalition of Centrists: Possible Future of Iran’s Domestic Politics

Concerns about India-Middle East-Europe Corridor

Low-Key Approach to Negotiations and IAEA’s Report, Why?

Hardliners on Alert ahead of Anniversary of Protests

The editor's choice:

U.S. Department of State Office of the Director of National Intelligence Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) OSINT Foundation