Marc Champion

America’s Gulf allies didn’t want a war with Iran, because they knew how it would end. Now, they face a bad peace and with it some unenviable choices. Should they, for example, embrace the fundamental logic of President Donald Trump’s US-Iran deal, which is that the Islamic Republic can be tamed by bribery? Or is it wiser to assume it can’t, and prepare for more hostilities? Should they seek out new protectors, now that the US has proved it can’t be trusted? Or better to bind the Pentagon and it

Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Mosque, where the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was held in state this weekend, is an extraordinary building. In a country filled with exquisitely tiled, millennium-old houses of worship, this one is a plain, brutalist product of the 1979 revolution whose sole virtue is its size. With a main prayer hall that spans multiple World Cup soccer fields, it is a still unfinished monument to the sheer scale of religious fervor that Iran’s supreme leader sought to institutionalize.

Donald Trump's claims of victory over Iran are undermined by ambiguous ceasefire terms. The agreed Memorandum of Understanding allows both sides to pursue war aims by other means. This has created an unstable situation with ongoing accusations of breaches. The US and Israel's air campaign killed Iranian leaders but did not collapse the regime. A prolonged period of uncertainty now looms, resembling neither peace nor war.

Donald Trump says Iran’s leaders are “vicious,” “evil,” lying “scum.” Perhaps they are, but that is not the root cause of his predicament in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US president now says the ceasefire is over and further diplomacy would be a waste of time. His troubles — and therefore those of America’s Gulf allies and the global economy writ large — stem from his own falsehoods.

Marc Champion Mourners attend the start of the days-long funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme L you must login to access this

The hazy terms of the interim deal signed by the two adversaries let either side interpret them as they please, especially references to the Strait of Hormuz. What awaits the world may be neither peace nor war, but something in between.

It was Baron Hastings Ismay, Winston Churchill’s military advisor and NATO’s original secretary general, who first described the organization as an alliance to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down. Last week’s summit was devoted almost entirely to the second task, which is not a healthy sign.

NATO's recent summit focused on maintaining American commitment to collective defense. Donald Trump's unpredictable stance created significant uncertainty for alliance leaders. European nations are increasing defense spending to build independent deterrence capabilities. Russia's military is expected to emerge stronger and more sophisticated after the Ukraine conflict. NATO planners must prepare for potential US troop withdrawals and a changing security landscape.

For IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi and other regime leaders, this funeral was probably more important than their 60-day negotiations with the U.S.

Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Mosque, where the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was held in state earlier this month, is an extraordinary building. In a country filled with exquisitely tiled, millennium-old houses of worship, this one is a plain, brutalist...