Mohamed ElBaradei

القمع لم ولن يكون الحل. كما أقول دوماً: الأوطان تبنى بالحرية لا بالبطش، وبالعلم لا بالجهل،وبالشفافية لا بالتدليس،وبالشراكة لا بالإقصاء،وبالأمل لا بالخوف،وبالمؤسسات لا بالأفراد.العدل والتوافق المجتمعى ونبذ العنف مدخلنا الوحيد وغير ذلك إنتحار جماعى. من أين نبدأ ؟

“We are manufacturing a whole new generation of terrorists in the Middle East,” former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tells me, saying the Trump administration's conduct of its war in Iran appears to him unprecedented.

Incredible…

Former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei says the Iran war is “illegal” and echoes Iraq. “We saw a complete deception… and yet they went to war and destroyed a country.” Speaking on The David Hearst Podcast ↓

On the global system: “We have no international law in place… it’s spiralling out of control.” Full interview ↓ youtu.be/fjGU0goJQ_0

A novel strategic doctrine : launch a war against your enemy but at the same time fill their coffers :) War is Peace #IranWar‌

Wall Street Journal: "America’s Arab allies are now fuming that they don’t seem to have any influence with the Trump administration despite heavy investments of time and money."

This is probably the most important article of the month: an op-ed by Oman's Foreign Minister, who mediated the talks between the U.S. and Iran, in which he writes that the U.S. "has lost control of its foreign policy" to Israel. He repeats that a deal was possible as an outcome of the talks (something confirmed by the UK's National Security Advisor, who also attended: x.com/i/status/20341…) and that the military strike by the U.S. and Israel was "a shock." Interestingly, given he is one of Iran's neighbors and given that Oman has been struck multiple times by Iran since the war began (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran…), he writes that "Iran’s retaliation against what it claims are American targets on the territory of its neighbours was an inevitable result" of the U.S.-Israeli attack. He describes it as "probably the only rational option available to the Iranian leadership." He says the war "endangers" the region's entire "economic model in which global sport, tourism, aviation and technology were to play an important role." He adds that "if this had not been anticipated by the architects of this war, that was surely a grave miscalculation." But, he adds, the "greatest miscalculation" of all for the U.S. "was allowing itself to be drawn into this war in the first place." In his view this was the doing of "Israel’s leadership" who "persuaded America that Iran had been so weakened by sanctions, internal divisions and the American-Israeli bombings of its nuclear sites last June, that an unconditional surrender would swiftly follow the initial assault and the assassination of the supreme leader." Obviously, this proved completely wrong, and the U.S. is now in a quagmire. He says that, given this, "America’s friends have a responsibility to tell the truth," which is that "there are two parties to this war who have nothing to gain from it," namely "Iran and America." He says that all of the U.S. interests in the region (end to nuclear proliferation, secure energy supply chains, investment opportunities) are "best achieved with Iran at peace." As he writes, "this is an uncomfortable truth to tell, because it involves indicating the extent to which America has lost control of its own foreign policy. But it must be told." He then proposes a couple of paths to get back to the negotiating table, although he recognizes how difficult it would be for Iran "to return to dialogue with an administration that twice switched abruptly from talks to bombing and assassination." That's perhaps the most profound damage Trump did during this entire episode: the complete discrediting of diplomacy. If Iran was taught anything, it is: don't negotiate with the U.S., it's a trap that will literally kill you. The great irony of the man who sold himself as a dealmaker is that he taught the world one thing: don't make deals with my country. Link to the article: economist.com/by-invitation/…

In a recent interview on The David Hearst Podcast, Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke about Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, who was recently killed in an Israeli strike. ElBaradei characterised Larijani as both a hardliner and a pragmatist, noting his capacity for serious philosophical reflection and effective negotiation. The full episode of The David Hearst Podcast featuring Dr Mohamed ElBaradei will be available soon on Middle East Eye’s platforms

بعد طول غياب اعلامي البوب يعود @ElBaradei

هناك حرب عدوانيه بالمخالفة لكل قانون وعقل وانسانية يشنها #ترامب بالمشاركة مع ونيابة عن شخص مطلوب للمحكمة الجنائية الدولية والتى يهدف الأخير منها الى القضاء على اى مقاومة في المنطقة لسياسات حكومته العنصرية والتوسعية التى يدفع ثمنها البشع الشعوب في فلسطين ولبنان وسوريا وغيرها… خطة #ايران المعلنة للتصدي لحرب - تراها حرب وجودية- هى تحويلها إلى حرب إقليمية سيدفع ثمنها الإقليم باكمله وفي المقدمة الخليج العربى كما رأينا بالفعل وكذلك فإن تداعيتها الاقتصادية والسياسية والأمنية ستطال الجميع … فى ضوء الموقف الدولي الذي لايتخطى موقف المراقب لابد من موقف عربي موحد من كل الدول ذات التأثير -بصرف النظر عن موقفها من النظام الإيراني-لممارسة الضغوط اللازمة على ترامب ونتنياهو قبل ان تستفحل الأمور سوءا على حسابنا كما هي العادة… #حرب_إقليمية

Israel is preparing to deploy the “Gaza model” in Lebanon in plain sight — mass ethnic cleansing, annihilation of entire cities and villages, long-term occupation, and perhaps eventually Israeli settlements and annexation. My latest in the Guardian. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

More than one million people across Lebanon are displaced following the Israeli military’s evacuation orders. The Israeli Defense Minister said that hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of southern Lebanon will not return to their homes until the "safety of [Israel's] northern residents is guaranteed.” Forced displacement is a war crime.

BREAKING Cardinal Pizzaballa says Abuse and Manipulation of God's Name to Justify War is the "Gravest Sin" - Palestinians Including Christians Suffer Daily Attacks catholicnewsworld.com/2026/03/cardin…

Would be good to have one shred of evidence that the Iranians “were two weeks away” from having a nuclear weapon!! This sounds very much like the infamous #Iraq lie that they had weapons ready “to be deployed within 45 minutes”… It is criminal to continue to wreak havoc and inflict death and destruction on the basis of bogus information that does not exist !! #IranWar‌

Meanwhile in the “ oasis of democracy” !!

🆕The number of people facing acute levels of hunger could reach record numbers if the escalation in the Middle East continues. A new analysis warns that vulnerable families managing to put some food on the table today may soon find they are only able to afford little or none.

EXCL: UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell attended final talks between US and Iran - and judged Tehran's offer on its nuclear programme was significant enough to prevent rush to war @patrickwintour & @julianborger reveal theguardian.com/world/2026/mar…

Israel has become dangerous for Jews around the world haaretz.com/opinion/2026-0…

Removal of Ali Larijani and his replacement by Saeed Jalili at the SNSC is just another step in the 'hardlining' of the Iranian regime. Not weakening, but 'hardlining.' aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/17…

Larijani’s replacement will be appointed by IRGC. With every assassination U.S. and Israel engineering greater radicalization of Iran’s leadership. It will makes for a bleak future for Iran, Iranians, the region and ultimately makes it far more difficult for U.S. to disentangle itself from endless conflict in the region.