S Sebag Montefiore

Amidst the whirlwind of horrible scandals and atrocious wars that is our world today, here is a v small but troubling manifestation of our crazy times. A day ago, my attention was drawn to a photograph posted on X that showed a local bookstore in Oslo, Norway where the staff had organized a display entitled ‘Epstein Island Guest List.’ I was horrified to see that one of my books was included. I have never been to Jeffrey Epstein’s island, never flown on his planes, never visited any of his properties, and—most crucially—never even met him or communicated with him. When alerted, the Norli Bokhandel immediately removed my book before any action was required and apologized in person and online for the libel and defamatory display. I would have never known about this if it had not been posted on social media but because we live in a lawless arena, a wild and irresponsible digital vortex, the picture has been seen by many people. As the great Mark Twain supposedly wrote: ‘a lie travels round the world before the truth can even get its boots on’ and these days, it seems that a lie can circumnavigate the planet if not the galaxy many times before we even realize it. For a terrifying moment, I was lightly touched by the poisonous tentacles of Epstein, for a second I sensed the passing of that sinister shadow. The origin of the libel was that I was listed in Ghislaine Maxwell’s address-book she supposedly shared with Epstein because I knew her from England decades ago - though I never met or communicated with him. Over the last few years, the fact that I was listed in this address-book has been used maliciously against me by Stalinists and other political extremists, the former being infuriated for arcane reasons by my Stalin biographies. Of course I don’t for a minute compare my storm in a teacup to the suffering of the victims and survivors. But it is still a frightening Kafka-esque experience because a certain amount of damage is done even when things are taken down. It just shows how easy it is for innocent people to have their names traduced. Even though the bookshop has asked many people to take down the libel, very few bother to correct online lies and falsehoods. There is little practical remedy - except of course one can sue for a clear and very defamatory libel. No one is immune to this: I know many of the people who retweeted this defamation were not malicious and it makes me realize that I myself and all of us need to be careful: it is a real danger for individuals and our societies and as AI delivers better, and more uncanny and diabolical deepfakery, the peril is only going to get worse. A lesson I have drawn from the last two days is that I myself spend too much time on social media and now I should just get back to writing books – which I hope one day will appear on the shelves of a certain Oslo bookshop…. And if you are interested, here is the apology from the bookshop and its display - before and after

New laws in Afghanistan, introduced by the Taliban, mean that men can now marry girls at any age – there is no limit. Male relatives can arrange this with other men, and it’s only once the girls reach puberty that, in extremely limited circumstances, they can ask a court to dissolve the marriage. What’s happening in that country is horrific, and it begs the question why Amnesty are not putting all of their resources into tackling this latest child abuse atrocity.

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I'm tired of being told that, to be a progressive, I now must swear allegiance to crazy ideas. I'm a strong Democrat, with a winning bipartisan track record. I'm rooted in progressive ideals and policies: criminal justice reform, Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free education, clean air and water. These are ideas I have fought for my entire adult life. But some people in groups like the DSA are pushing an agenda FAR outside those ideals. Supporting Hamas is not progressive. "No police, no prisons, no borders" is not progressive. Celebrating the murder of Israeli civilians is not progressive. These ideas are REGRESSIVE. If there were no police or prisons, if anyone in your neighborhood could do whatever they wanted, while politicians cheered on terror groups — would that represent PROGRESS to you? No, that would be a step back. Those are REGRESSIVE ideas. On the other hand, if everybody could see a doctor when they got sick, get a good, free education and breathe clean air — would that represent progress? Yes. Those are PROGRESSIVE ideas. They are NOT the same thing. And the difference matters. Some defend the far left by claiming they only want Nordic-style social democracy. If that were true, I might applaud them. I want those policies, too! But what does universal healthcare have to do with Hamas? With abolishing all law enforcement? With erasing all borders? With treating every wealthy person as a villain? Ideas matter. And these are terrible ideas. Right now, extremists are trying to sneak backwards proposals into our party, hoping mainstream Democrats are too frustrated with MAGA and the Democratic Party establishment to notice. But we see you. Yes, we want our Democratic Party to be a big tent. But we don’t need "party poopers. So STOP pooping in the punch bowl — and telling us the turds are ice cubes. They aren't. And we are smart enough to know the difference. 💩

We recently published a remarkable piece from @rosehorowitch on The End of Reading. It's about what's happened to literacy in this country and where we're heading—and includes some bonkers studies. Obviously, you should read the whole thing! But here are a few anecdotes that stand out. 1/ theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/…

Professor @vali_nasr latest @FT article on the military flare-up in the Gulf is a classic example of the poverty of analysis among some Western-based experts on Iran. There is no mention of the possibility that the mullahs in Tehran may be simply miscalculating in escalating their confrontation with the US or that they could be misreading the US’s determination to prevail in the Hormuz Strait. There are no hints of Iran’s own economic, military and strategic vulnerabilities; these remain unmentioned, as they have been throughout Professor Nasr’s recent coverage of the Gulf war. Instead, most of his article is devoted to allegations of how the US supposedly ignored the obligations it undertook in the MoU with Iran, by not releasing any frozen Iranian assets or by refusing to accede to Iran’s view on how Hezbollah should be treated in Lebanon. The fact that, in turn, Iran singularly failed even to begin clearing mines from the strait – as it was obliged to do under the MoU – remains unmentioned. And Iran’s determination to fire at shipping which ignored the mullah-imposed navigation routes is explicitly justified by Professor Nasr’s article. Indeed, he implies that US protection for ships that opted to ignore Iranian orders and navigate instead near the Oman coastline provides a key explanation for Iranian belligerence. Throughout, Professor Nasr portrays Iran’s leaders – whom he invariably equates with the country – as thoughtful and well-informed and as enjoying broad popular support. He claims, for instance, that “Last week’s mammoth turnout for the funeral of the slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei was also important in convincing Iran’s leaders that the population would support a hard stance on the strait,” without pondering for a second whether this turnout was manufactured rather than spontaneous. Support for the Iranian regime among Western academics comes in various shapes and forms. But probably the most insidious form is the provision of analysis that deliberately ignores key elements in the debate, that implicitly justifies the mullahs’ actions as reasonable and measured, conflates Iran’s rulers with the public at large and implies that Iranian leaders are both omnipotent, well-informed and visionary. Sadly, Professor Nasr’s analysis ticks some of these boxes. To clarify: all these remarks are my personal views, conveyed in my personal professional capacity, and most certainly do not represent either my Institute or the opinions of any of my colleagues. Why Iran is returning to war ft.com/content/22fdb2… via @ft

Au 15 rue Louis Braille, dans le 12e arrondissement de Paris, une plaque commémorative rendant hommage à un couple de Justes et à leur fille, qui sauvèrent un enfant lors de la rafle du Vél’ d’Hiv’ a été dégradée.   À l’heure où l’antisémitisme progresse chaque jour dans la société, et à la veille d'un week-end de commémoration de la rafle, je tiens à réaffirmer mon soutien indéfectible à la communauté juive.   Paris est et restera une terre de résistance face à toutes les formes de haine et la lutte contre l’antisémitisme sera toujours une priorité absolue de mon engagement politique.

🚨Exclusive: I acquired hundreds of EDI training documents from police forces around the country in the wake of Henry Nowack murder. Both the cost and quality of the materials we uncovered were genuinely shocking. Read my investigation for more details telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/1…

It was amazing to be there at Tom Stoppard’s memorial and hear this remarkable tribute by Mick Jagger — do read it. Its rather special Memories of my dazzling friend Tom Stoppard thetimes.com/article/970918…

@readswithravi “A Virgem na jaula” por Ayaan Hirsi Ali @Ayaan (relido pela terceira vez!); “O mundo - uma história através das famílias”, Simon Sebag Montefiore

Israel: Iran's Heir Apparent Has Left the Country An Israeli security source claims Mojtaba Khamenei is no longer in Iran and that his statements are being written by former interior minister Ahmad Vahidi and Revolutionary Guards commanders—while internal tensions threaten the regime's stability. c14news.com/article/147983…

According to Saudi channel Al-Hadath, citing an Israeli security source: “Mojtaba Khamenei is not in Iran.”

‘The documents also reveal that officers at Northamptonshire Police are being taught that Brexit is to blame for a rise in far-Right hate, while officers at City of London Police have agreed to host a “listening circle” about Gaza.’

Teenage cowboys in love. . . is this Cormac McCarthy’s cheeriest novel? thetimes.com/article/f35589…

Earlier today a @Guardian journalist sent me this query: Dear Toby Young, I'm Aisha Down, a journalist at the Guardian. I'm getting in touch because we're planning to report that the US state department is considering a grant of $5m to Free Speech Union, your organisation, as part of a new grant-making scheme, and wanted to give you the chance to comment. We would appreciate receiving your comment by 14:30. We are considering reporting the following: - The grant to the FSU is part of a package to Maga aligned groups that former US officials have condemned as a misuse of public money to seek influence over foreign politics and interfere with democracy. - It is rare for the US government to fund partisan political organisations in western countries. - These grants are likely to pose a challenge to Andy Burnham, who has said he will be "very upfront" with Trump about any disagreements. - These grants - including to your organisation - are "sole source" grants, meaning they are to be awarded without any competitive process. This is unusual for a highly regulated process which usually requires grantees to show they have a track record for handling funds and clear plans for the money. - This lack of process has been criticised as "outrageous and absurd" by former US officials, and as "gross incompetence" and "horrible stewardship" of US taxpayer money. - Your organisation does not appear to have a track record of handling grants of this amount. - We describe your organisation as "a rallying point for “anti-woke” grievance" which "frequently allies itself with rightwing causes" and say that you, Toby Young, appeared on Rees-Mogg's GB news show earlier this month to warn about 'Soviet-style' censorship in the UK. - The state department says that its grant to FSU will “support campaigns promoting free speech and countering digital overregulation across the UK, Europe and Australia”. The sole-source award is justified “due to FSU’s global network of free speech activists”. We would like to fully and fairly reflect your point of view and look forward to your statement. Thank you, -- Aisha Kehoe Down Senior Tarbell Fellow, Guardian News and Media I replied as follows: It sounds like a pretty garbled story. Free Speech Union International, which is the umbrella group that FSU UK, FSU Australia, FSU New Zealand, FSU Canada, FSU South Africa and FSU Brazil sit within, has expressed interest in applying for grant funding from the US State Department. This would be to promote the right to freedom of expression in those countries, which, far from being a partisan cause, is a universal human right. But it hasn't submitted a formal application and, consequently, has been awarded no grant from the State Department or any other branch of the US Government. You've mischaracterised the FSUs, all of which are non-partisan organisations that defend people who get into trouble for exercising their right to feee speech regardless of their political views. The FSU UK, for instance, is currently paying for the legal defence of a protestor who's being prosecuted for holding up a sign saying "I support Palestine Action", as well as a protestor for wearing a t-shirt at a Unite the Kingdom rally for saying "Fuck Islam Christ is King". Yes, we helped Lucy Connolly appeal her sentence -- we thought a prison sentence of over two-and-a-half years for a single tweet was excessive -- but we also tweeted yesterday, condemning the arrest of Heather Herbert and offering our support. Yes, we came to the defence of Nigel Farage when he was debanked, but we've also offered to help the Canary in its recent debanking case. So to describe the FSU UK as a "rallying point for anti-woke grievance" is misleading. We are a rallying point for those who want to defend the right to freedom of expression. Best, Toby The @Guardian then ran this story: theguardian.com/us-news/2026/j… You be the judge of whether you think this is good journalism.

🇮🇱🇺🇸🛬ממשל טראמפ הודיע לישראל כי בכוונתו לשלוח בימים הקרובים לישראל עשרות מטוסי תדלוק נוספים, לקראת אפשרות של הרחבת הלחימה נגד איראן, כך אמרו לי שלושה בכירים אמריקנים וישראלים

@GrayConnolly Simon Sebag-Montefiore's account of the murder of the Tsar and his family in his book, The Romanovs, is one of the most disturbing things I've ever read. Absolute barbarism heralding a reign of blood.

Watching the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea...

Absolutely. This was no slip. It was more of the same ideologically distorted work, passed off as rigorous research. And it's not confined to "anti-rights" work: frameworks like settler colonialism & decolonial theory have infected much "rights" work, esp. on the Middle East. I saw it over 14 yrs years at @hrw.

NEW -- #Israel President @Isaac_Herzog told @AlArabiya_Eng that "the next objective" should be peace agreements with #Syria & #Lebanon.

Is dismissal of dynamic dronemaster a clash between Soviet and Drone age ways to fight war?or just oldfashioned rivalry between civilians and generals? Protests in Ukraine after Zelensky sacks defence minister six months into job thetimes.com/article/c5d2ad…