Syria, Middle East politics, and Mediterranean security at @FOIresearch. Fellow at @UIsweden and occasional freelance writer.
aron.lund.syria/gmail
Joined December 2011
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Israeli media, apparently unencumbered by the usual military censorship on matters of national security, reports that IDF CoS Zamir is trying to block Netanyahu from launching “some kind of military action relating to Iran just before Tuesday’s election”. timesofisrael.com/liveblog_e…
Useful function of the Mecca Alliance: it creates a framework for high-level meetings with Iran, esp. for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi defense min. Khaled bin Salman, Pakistani military chief Asem Munir, and Turkish intel head Ibrahim Kalin jointly visit Tehran:
aawsat.news/4jqyh
Changing USA-Israel relations: AIPAC announces that while it will keep financing U.S. politicians on behalf of Israel it will no longer endorse them publicly, in what seems like quiet recognition of its increasingly toxic reputation.
@saige_miller, @NPR: npr.org/2026/10/21/nx-s1-601…
Breaking with decades of official non-interventionism, Algeria’s parliament authorizes troop deployments to Niger.
@reuters: reuters.com/world/africa/alg…
Algeria tries a more muscular approach in the Sahel, reports @FT’s @Jacob_Judah and @hebamks. ft.com/content/d1478058-6309…
Waltz denies!
This is completely false and was fabricated by the FT. I never said this. See the transcript here:
xitter.cf/usambun/status/2113620…
Trogna läsare av @FOIresearch:s rapporter kände naturligtvis till detta redan fyra månader innan det inträffade. foi.se/rapporter/rapportsamm…
With MINURSO up for mandate renewal on Oct. 31, the United States has put forth a draft that would completely change its mission, dropping the referendum on independence in favor of merely negotiating the form of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. en.yabiladi.com/articles/det…
Polisario has responded that if that draft were to pass without meaningful changes, the group will “disengage from the peace process as a whole. spsrasd.info/en/2026/10/22/1…
With MINURSO up for mandate renewal on Oct. 31, the United States has put forth a draft that would completely change its mission, dropping the referendum on independence in favor of merely negotiating the form of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. en.yabiladi.com/articles/det…
With MINURSO up for mandate renewal on Oct. 31, the United States has put forth a draft that would completely change its mission, dropping the referendum on independence in favor of merely negotiating the form of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. en.yabiladi.com/articles/det…
Egypt, also not happy: alarabiya.net/arab-and-world…
Greece, not happy: mfa.gr/en/announcement-by-th…
Cyprus, not happy: gov.cy/en/foreign-policy/pre…
EU, not happy: consilium.europa.eu/sv/press…
A report by Matthew Cole in @VanityFair alleges potential high-value corruption on the part of Jared Kushner, linked to secret foreign policy slush funds set up with Emirati and Saudi money. vanityfair.com/story/jared-k…
Kushner rejects the allegations: xitter.cf/jaredkushner/status/21…
.@VanityFair posted an excerpt from a book containing outrageous and categorically false allegations.
The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened. We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of them. No bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details were provided to support these extraordinary accusations.
During the period in question, I was one of the most scrutinized people in the world, subjected to intense media coverage, multiple congressional investigations, and a special counsel investigation. I voluntarily cooperated with these investigations, providing over 30 hours of testimony. None of these allegations ever surfaced, because none of these events ever happened.
These are outrageous fabrications being presented as investigative journalism. This is not journalism. It is a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy, written by someone who is either deeply disturbed or acting with sinister intent.
Little bit of an opening on Lebanon, maybe?
Three-day special military operation update:
“Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the UN, acknowledged that a year from now the US could still be mired in a stalemate with Iran.”
@ahauslohner, @FT: ft.com/content/70379a26-c20e…
Three-day special military operation update:
“Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the UN, acknowledged that a year from now the US could still be mired in a stalemate with Iran.”
@ahauslohner, @FT: ft.com/content/70379a26-c20e…
Making plans do not equal making a decision, of course, but with all that’s happening—diplomacy stalled, carriers heading into place, weird Israeli Air Force trial runs/defense tests, diplomats leaving etc.—this seems quite credible.
The United States and Israel have made plans for attacking Iran once they’re done with their elections, reports @nytimes. nytimes.com/2026/10/21/us/po…
The United States and Israel have made plans for attacking Iran once they’re done with their elections, reports @nytimes. nytimes.com/2026/10/21/us/po…
With Hormuz still closed, Bahrain’s economy is going kaput and the UAE prepares a financial support package, reports @AsharqBusiness’s @AlaaShahine. asharqbusiness.com/economics…
Aron Lund retweeted
IMF 2026 Forecast for MENAP:
🇩🇿 Algeria: 3.8%
🇪🇬 Egypt: 5.1%
🇮🇷 Iran: -7.6%
🇮🇶 Iraq: -16.0%
🇯🇴 Jordan: 2.7%
🇰🇼 Kuwait: -16.7%
🇲🇦 Morocco: 4.5%
🇵🇰 Pakistan: 3.6%
🇶🇦 Qatar: -15.6%
🇸🇦 Saudi: -3.3%
🇸🇴 Somalia: 2.3%
🇸🇩 Sudan: 7.0%
🇦🇪 UAE: -3.9%
🇾🇪 Yemen: -1.5%
imf.org/en/publications/reo/…
Aron Lund retweeted
BREAKING: Washington has ordered all US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, a diplomatic source told @AFP
The families of embassy staff were also ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
Full text of the Mecca Agreement, via @ragipsoylu. middleeasteye.net/news/full-…
