TEHRAN — A high-level ministerial summit between Iran and Arab states of the Persian Gulf scheduled to convene in Oman to negotiate arrangements for safe commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed to a later date.
TEHRAN — Iran has warned South Korea against any military involvement in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz, while accusing Washington of creating disruption in regional shipping and rejecting Western efforts to revive international pressure over Tehran’s nuclear program.
TEHRAN — The metaphor of Tom and Jerry has long served financial journalists describing the Federal Reserve's pressure on Wall Street. That narrative, however, is a sideshow. The real contest unfolds in the Persian Gulf, and the dynamics defy cartoon logic entirely. Iran, cast as Jerry, does not flee; it stands its ground, exhausts its adversary, and systematically neutralizes American capabilities.
Mitsugu Saito, former Japanese Ambassador to Iran (October 2018–October 2020), has spent decades studying the Middle East, and his latest book, "Why the United States Lost to Iran" (Bungeishunju Ltd., July 2026, 224 pages), argues that Washington misjudged its political objectives in the recent war with Iran. The book, published with an initial print run of 10,000 copies — a notably large figure in Japan for a specialized foreign-policy title — follows his 2022 work, "Is Iran a Threat? — A Regional Power on the Strait of Hormuz and Japan's Diplomacy" (Iwanami Shoten).
