Iran’s oil dollars are drying up—and plunging it deeper into crisis
The U.S. blockade and dwindling supplies already on the water are squeezing Tehran’s most important export earner.
Argentina's Milei escalates Falklands dispute as Trump questions U.S. support for Britain
Argentina's President Javier Milei has renewed the country's claim to the Falkland Islands and threatened sanctions on oil companies.
The geopolitical mismatch driving Russia to threaten the West
Russia is threatening the West primarily because of a sharp geopolitical imbalance in the Ukraine war: Kyiv can draw on a secure European hinterland for aid, logistics, production, and economic resilience, while Moscow has no comparable backup and feels every strike on its refineries, industry, and infrastructure more directly. Russian leaders therefore see Western support as the factor that lets Ukraine keep fighting, and they want to intimidate European governments and publics into cutting that support through hybrid attacks, sabotage, and increasingly explicit threats. They frame the conflict as a war against the “collective West,” not Ukraine alone, and argue that NATO is damaging Russia’s economy and military capacity at little cost to itself. Without a reliable proxy that can strike NATO territory and absorb retaliation, Moscow treats hybrid operations—and potential limited strikes on European logistics—as the main way to close that gap, raise the price of helping Ukraine, and restore Russian influence over Europe.
Were Chinese missiles filled with water, instead of rocket fuel?
While there is some question over the exact meaning of the phrase. It is clear that many of the regimes rockets were not ready to fire and it was not just faulty fuel
Many silos were not functioning as well. Per
Putin sees U.S. as weakened by Iran war, intelligence reports say - T…
CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s mysterious trip to Moscow this week was preceded by fresh U.S. intelligence indicating that the Kremlin sees the United States as weakened by the Iran war, offering Russia an opportunity to escalate action against American interests and allies in Europe, according to two people familiar with the matter.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s mysterious trip to Moscow this week was preceded by fresh U.S. intelligence indicating that the Kremlin sees the United States as weakened by the Iran war, offering Russia an opportunity to escalate action against American interests and allies in Europe, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Has World War III Already Started?
Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I wrote a column under the headline “This Is How World War III Begins.” More than four years on, I wonder how much I got right.
Europe in Free Fall
[T]he terrifying fact [is] that Europe's erasure as a civilization is underway. Economically, Europe is in ghastly shape. For nearly five decades, the European Union's economic growth and productivity rates have lagged behind those of the United States.
C14 News | EN on X: "Syrian resident sounds the alarm to Channel 14, saying al-Jolani is planning an October 7th style attack on Israel "This Syrian entity is operating according to Islamist policy, the consolidation phase and the power phase. The consolidation phase is directed toward Israel, https://t.co/2rSucRpjDz" / X
"This Syrian entity is operating according to Islamist policy, the consolidation phase and the power phase. The consolidation phase is directed toward Israel,
Europe’s next migration crisis
Europe faces an escalating migration crisis, with 15 million displaced Sudanese migrants projected by 2026. Many are expected to enter Libya and head towards European shores.
'Tons' of nuclear material found at undisclosed Syrian site, IAEA chief says
UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Mariano Grossi said Tuesday that his agency had found several "tons of nuclear materials" at a previously undeclared site dating from the rule of Syria's previous authorities.…
Granting Potential Adversaries Spheres of Influence is a Bad Idea - Lessons from History
The U.S. 2025 National Security Strategy states that “The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity—a condition that allows u
David Betz: Civil War in Britain and Europe is Inevitable
On this episode of the Long History Short Podcast, I talk with Dr. David Betz, Professor of War Studies at the University of London, King's College. Professo...
Syria publicly confirmed possessing nuclear material left over from the Assad regime.
IAEA chief Grossi said "tons of nuclear materials that could be put to bad use" were found at an undeclared site.
Syria voluntarily informed the IAEA in July and granted inspectors access.
Xi Jinping’s failing Chinese economy is becoming dangerous
In December 2018, a noted Chinese economist gave a speech in which he put China’s GDP growth at less than 2 per cent. Other Chinese economists, he said, thought that the economy was in negative territory. At the time, the official government figure was 6.5 per cent. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) current claim is 4.7 per cent for the first hal...
Europe’s Coming Existential Crisis › American Greatness
Americans pay little attention to Europe, other than to sneer at the Euro-elites and bemoan the fecklessness of European leaders. I am guilty of both sins. Mea culpa. But I am also aware of the coming…
“We Are Preparing for War”: Poland Says Major Russian Provocation Could Be Months Away
Poland is preparing for potential war with Russia, developing advanced defense systems like the SAN counter-drone system under the East Shield program.
Putin can’t break down NATO’s door. He’s trying the window.
Also expect more nuclear threats. Putin has been rattling that saber for the past four years, mostly through the public pronouncements.
The old global nuclear order is dead. What comes next?
The world is sleepwalking into a new nuclear arms race.
As arms-control treaties hashed out over decades lapse, countries that formerly rejected possessing nuclear weapons are starting to reconsider. The Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to the symbolic hour of the apocalypse.
The world is sleepwalking into a new nuclear arms race.As arms-control treaties hashed out over decades lapse, countries that formerly rejected possessing nuclear weapons are starting to reconsider. The Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to the symbolic hour of the apocalypse.
"Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe. Sabotage. Arson. Cyberattacks. Assassination plots. GPS interference. Attacks on logistics and critical infrastructure."
The Desensitisation of Humanity: Are We Already at the Beginning of World War III?
Humanity is living in an era of permanent crisis and continuous conflict ... .
Societies are becoming desensitized ... .
Conventional World War III has not begun, but some psychological and structural conditions for a wider conflict may already be present:
- the globalization of insecurity
- economic disruption
- technological competition
- erosion of international norms
Current pressures include major-power competition across regions, record military spending, routine sanctions, cyberattacks, information warfare, AI, and overlapping regional wars involving the US, China, Russia, Europe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Türkiye, and others. The normalization of continuous geopolitical confrontation echoes pre-global-war atmospheres.
Assertive nationalism is returning alongside rapid military-technology changes ... .
Digitalization brings unprecedented information access and connectivity but also creates “compassion fatigue” and information overload.
Whoops, apocalypse! Why five conflicts could become one world war | Opinion
The wars in Iran and Ukraine have created a plausible path toward the doomsday scenarios of 1914 and 1939.
The world’s wars are adding up
Connections between many of the world’s conflicts are multiplying. The trend is notable enough that officials, analysts and even investors are increasingly asking whether humanity is on the verge of World War III. And many Western voters appear convinced that’s what’s imminent, polls show.
Connections between many of the world’s conflicts are multiplying. The trend is notable enough that officials, analysts and even investors are increasingly asking whether humanity is on the verge of World War III. And many Western voters appear convinced that’s what’s imminent, polls show.
World War III is already here, and Trump must rise to the challenge
The early stages of what could become World War III are already upon us.
Are we on the verge of World War III?
Still, historians are quick to see parallels to the situation before 1914.
Netanyahu calls UK an ‘Islamic republic,’ jokes it would be first one with nukes
PM echoes 2024 Vance crack during Army Radio podcast reportedly filmed at studio of a Likud vendor rather than the station's military base
The Next Middle East Conflict is Forming in Syria
In short, Iran’s weakening network is colliding with Syria’s emerging post-Assad order. On one side: Syria, the United States, Turkey, and Kurdish forces. On the other: The PMF—and supporting it, Iran. The lineup resembles a historic Sunni-Shia divide, but the lack of a common endgame makes the situation more dangerous.
Iran threatens hundreds of strikes across Syria if Damascus 'intervenes' in Lebanon: Report
The Iranian threat reportedly thwarted a US plan to use Syria's extremist-led forces to fight Hezbollah in Lebanon
Flesh-eating screwworms feast on humans in Mexico; human cases top 500
Six deaths reported among screwworm cases, one directly attributed to the flies.
The Next ‘Lab Leak’ Could Be AI - WSJ
archived 11 Aug 2026 10:32:58 UTC
![Avoiding the ‘Guns of August’ 2026 [World War 3]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.realclear.com%2Fimages%2F72%2F724013_6_.jpeg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
Avoiding the ‘Guns of August’ 2026 [World War 3]
Today, the Russia-Ukraine war is in its fifth year with no end in sight and threatens to spill over into the NATO countries of Europe and the Caspian Sea region. The U.S./Israeli-Iran war in the Middle East has already involved several other Gulf states, Lebanon, Iraq, the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise in the western Pacific. Unless there emerge diplomatic solutions to these wars and potential wars, we risk a “Guns of August” 2026, which could be exponentially more catastrophic than the two world wars of the 20th century.