Reprinted from John’s Substack:
On 22 April 2026, I was on Glenn Diesen’s popular podcast. We of course spent much time talking about Iran, but in addition we talked about how Iran fits into what is happening to inter-state relations at the global level. When one thinks about relations among the three great powers — China, Russia, and the US — and what is happening in Ukraine, Europe more generally, East Asia, the Iran war, and the wider Middle East, it is not a pretty picture. And there is little reason to think the situation is going to improve in the foreseeable future.
