Bartle Bull

A very nice review of my new book LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS in the New York Times. "Conceptual originality and laudable ambition... inspired by firsthand experience of the region. A sweeping history." nytimes.com/2024/09/08/boo… Professor van de Mieroop is a giant in his field and I'm honored. @nytimesbooks @groveatlantic @atlanticbooks

"In Baghdad, every corner is like a thousand-year-old story waiting to be told." 🇮🇶 Agatha Christie enjoying tea on the balcony of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Baghdad, 1950s

A forgotten piece of Saddam Hussein's 1988 Anfal Campaign also targeted Christian oppo groups that had taken up arms against his regime & many civilians. Beyond denying Chaldeans, Assyrians, & Syriacs their unique identities, there were village depopulations and disappearances.

The famous F-4 Phantom II • Iran had 223 in Feb 1979, all built by McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis MO • 115 lost in 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War • 23 used airframes acquired 1985-6 via Paraguay in Iran-Contra? • ~4 lost since 6/2025 • Cannibalization/parts shortages: ~25 operational

A surviving Iranian F-4 Phantom II jet escorted the aircraft carrying Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir, who arrived in Tehran today for discussions on the second round of U.S.–Iran negotiations.

It's time: "Close the Caspian loophole and the possibility that Russia might ship weaponry or gasoline to Iran." @mrubin1971 in @19_forty_five 19fortyfive.com/2026/04/trumps…

تصویری از «بچه‌های تهران» هنگامی که با قطار از ایران راهی سرزمین اسرائیل شدند. این گروه از کودکان یتیم یهودی که از دست نازی‌ها نجات یافته بودند، از خاک شوروی وارد ایران شده و در کمپ‌های ویژه از آن‌ها مراقبت شد تا ترتیبات سفرشان به اسرائیل مهیا شود‌. این هزار نفر بچه‌های تهران نام گرفتند.

💡Did you know? ⚛️ In 1975, The Shah signed a major deal with Germany’s Kraftwerk Union (Siemens) to build 2 nuclear reactors in Bushehr. 💧 They were designed to desalinate seawater, turning the Persian Gulf into a source of clean drinking water for Iran’s dry south. Reactor 1: ~75% complete by 1979 Reactor 2: ~60% The Shah of Iran had a vision for Iran’s future and what he was working on was years ahead of everyone else. No weapons, just energy and water. An unprecedented and super modern civilizational leap. Then came 1979. KWU left. The site was abandoned, and Iran’s future was hijacked.

@bb_bull is a great writer, and his choices here are solid. Thank you for putting “democrat” Mossadegh in context! I have an old copy of Tahiri’s book if anyone wants it. | Selected by Bartle Bull, the author of “Land Between the Rivers: A 5,000-Year History of Iraq.” wsj.com/arts-culture/b… via @WSJBooks

"The forest ended. Glad I was To feel the light, and hear the hum Of bees, and smell the drying grass And the sweet mint." Remembering the poet Edward Thomas, who was killed in action on this day in 1917 in The Battle of Arras.

Five Best Books on... Understanding Iran - My contribution to this weekend's WSJ books & arts section #comments_sector" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">wsj.com/arts-culture/b… @WSJBooks @groveatlantic @AtlanticBooks @MerrittBooks @JohnSandoe

In April 1841, twenty-four year old Austen Henry Layard, living with the Bakhtiaris while they rebelled against Iran's Qajar dynasty in Tehran, was sent by their chief on a mission in disguise through the Zagros mountains of southwest Iran. Six years later he discovered Nineveh, across the Tigris from Mosul. Painted at Constantinople in 1843 by Count Amadeo Preziosi.

Tonight, the people of Dehdasht played a crucial role in helping an American pilot. By gathering in large numbers along the roads, they effectively blocked the only possible ground route for regime forces to reach the crash site. I’m incredibly proud of these brave and honorable people ❤️ Unarmed, cut off from the world with no internet for 36 days, they are still risking everything to stand against a terrorist regime. For many, this moment represents the only real chance to break free from a system they cannot overthrow on their own while defenseless. #KingRezaPahlavi‌ForIran #DigitalBlackOutIran‌

@Doranimated Khuzestan. • Home to perhaps 2m+ Arabs • A long history of resistance to Tehran • Primary theater of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War • 80% of Iran's oil production, 20% of gas .... And now, with the F-15 down, another reason why IRGC control of Iraq is not in our interest.

Big news. Iran’s IRGC claims it shot down a U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jet over central Iran using a new air defense system. Iranian state media released photos of the wreckage. However, independent analysis of the debris points to an F-15E Strike Eagle (a two-seat jet). Reports indicate the crew ejected, and a U.S. combat search-and-rescue operation is underway. U.S. officials have not confirmed any loss, but this photo of helicopters refueling, reportedly coming from Iran, seems to confirm a search and rescue operation underway.

(Claude)

I’m just curious what the plan is to deal with all these imported militias which sole purpose is to stop Iranians from taking to streets, and if they do they are ordered to massacre people again. 1. Either defections within the Artesh will finally be activated 2. Arming Iranians & immortal guards of Iran 3. Boots on the ground

Beautiful @spectator Easter cover

@visegrad24 He might be more civilized than we thought.

During a press conference in London, Ahmad al-Sharaa was unable to open a bottle of water and asked the moderator for help.

Good on you, Argentina, for sinking one of China’s criminal fishing vessels.

@Mikeknightsiraq Where are the Warthogs?

Excellent thread

Took a slight detour to Barrow-in-Furness – Britain’s "unhappiest town" where decline & revival sit side by side: empty streets, rising dissatisfaction & booming defence industry. Barrow - surprisingly - is integral to NATO's nuclear capability. buff.ly/lOrKD2k @unherd

@Savakzadeh @UN @Europarl_EN 1980-1988, under Khomeini in the Iran-Iraq War. Perhaps half a million under-18s, as young as 9. 30,000 or more died. This isn't Venezuela. There is no Delcy.

I wonder if @UN and @Europarl_EN are proud of their partner, the Islamic republic. Maybe it’s time to admit they aren’t a legitimate state, but rather a terrorist mafia organization as Iranians have been saying for 47 years!