This is probably the most important article of the month: an op-ed by Oman's Foreign Minister, who mediated the talks between the U.S. and Iran, in which he writes that the U.S. "has lost control of its foreign policy" to Israel. He repeats that a deal was possible as an outcome of the talks (something confirmed by the UK's National Security Advisor, who also attended: x.com/i/status/2034162151871…) and that the military strike by the U.S. and Israel was "a shock." Interestingly, given he is one of Iran's neighbors and given that Oman has been struck multiple times by Iran since the war began (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_I…), he writes that "Iran’s retaliation against what it claims are American targets on the territory of its neighbours was an inevitable result" of the U.S.-Israeli attack. He describes it as "probably the only rational option available to the Iranian leadership." He says the war "endangers" the region's entire "economic model in which global sport, tourism, aviation and technology were to play an important role." He adds that "if this had not been anticipated by the architects of this war, that was surely a grave miscalculation." But, he adds, the "greatest miscalculation" of all for the U.S. "was allowing itself to be drawn into this war in the first place." In his view this was the doing of "Israel’s leadership" who "persuaded America that Iran had been so weakened by sanctions, internal divisions and the American-Israeli bombings of its nuclear sites last June, that an unconditional surrender would swiftly follow the initial assault and the assassination of the supreme leader." Obviously, this proved completely wrong, and the U.S. is now in a quagmire. He says that, given this, "America’s friends have a responsibility to tell the truth," which is that "there are two parties to this war who have nothing to gain from it," namely "Iran and America." He says that all of the U.S. interests in the region (end to nuclear proliferation, secure energy supply chains, investment opportunities) are "best achieved with Iran at peace." As he writes, "this is an uncomfortable truth to tell, because it involves indicating the extent to which America has lost control of its own foreign policy. But it must be told." He then proposes a couple of paths to get back to the negotiating table, although he recognizes how difficult it would be for Iran "to return to dialogue with an administration that twice switched abruptly from talks to bombing and assassination." That's perhaps the most profound damage Trump did during this entire episode: the complete discrediting of diplomacy. If Iran was taught anything, it is: don't negotiate with the U.S., it's a trap that will literally kill you. The great irony of the man who sold himself as a dealmaker is that he taught the world one thing: don't make deals with my country. Link to the article: economist.com/by-invitation/…

First, the Omani FM came out and revealed that there was a deal on the table that met Trump's demands, but that he instead chose war. And now, it is revealed that the British National Security Advisor was also part of the talks, and he too attests to the fact that A) there was no imminent threat from Iran, B) Trump could have gotten a surprisingly good deal if he stuck to diplomacy. But the perhaps most damning quote in the story comes at the end, attributed to an unnamed diplomat: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.” theguardian.com/world/2026/m…

The UK Parliament welcomed President Zelensky with a standing ovation. This applause is not for one man. It is for a nation that refuses to kneel. For people who wake up to sirens and still choose to live, to fight, to endure. President of Ukraine stands there today as the voice of millions of Ukrainians - their pain, their strength, their unbreakable will. We are deeply grateful to the United Kingdom and to all our friends who stand with Ukraine.

I am the Ukrainian skeleton racer who was wrongfully disqualified from the Olympics last month because of my “Memory Helmet.” Tonight in Milano-Cortina, the Paralympic Games are opening. The Committee has bizarrely permitted Russian soldier-athletes to participate under the Russian flag. The head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) literally stated that they don’t care about what Russian soldiers did in Ukraine. The problem is that we do care. They are killing Ukrainians on the battlefield, bombing our cities, and committing genocide. Now, with this step of allowing them to compete, the IPC is giving them the opportunity to continue committing genocide by spreading Russian narratives with Russian flags and symbols. They try to manipulate the situation by pointing out that the movement started after World War II, but during World War II the Olympic Games were cancelled, and German athletes were not invited and did not take part in the Games until 1952. It looks like the head of the IPC doesn’t know the history of the Olympic and Paralympic movement at all. What a shame. This whole story is just getting worse and worse.

What Russians did in Bucha is particularly painful to my heart. I was there in the first days after it was liberated, and I will never forget it. Friends, please share this as widely as possible in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Ukrainian feature film Bucha is now available on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and Fandango in the US, Canada, and the UK. The world needs to see the truth about the heroism of Ukrainian civilians under Russian occupation. Thank you for helping Ukraine's voice be heard louder!

Putin's War: 2 Million Casualties and Growing. A shocking number. Totally unnecessary. Solely because of one evil monster: Vladimir Putin newsmax.com/newsfront/russia…

"No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas." - Rule 50.2, Olympic Charter. Wearing a helmet commemorating people killed in a war is not political propaganda. Banning someone from wearing one is.

We urge the International Olympic Committee to reconsider the disqualification of Vladyslav Heraskevych. His helmet was a tribute to the Ukrainian athletes who lost their lives, not a political statement. Sport should unite, not punish humanity. Let Vladyslav compete at the Olympics! @iocmedia @Olympics

Kyiv today. Behind this beautiful sunset, more than 1,400 buildings are without heating, with −20°C expected overnight. The situation across the country is extremely dire. Please don’t stop talking about russia’s humanitarian genocide.

Life changes when you have no electricity for 16–18 hours. Here is my day. Woke up in darkness. Heated water for coffee on a camp stove. Lucky to have water at all. Worked on my laptop while the battery lasted. When power briefly appeared, I did everything at once: washing, dishes, cooking. Went outside while generators were humming everywhere. Driving is tough on dark streets, especially in the rain. Then it got dark again. Power disappeared. The rest of the day was spent on power banks and lamp batteries. Hard days. But they won’t break us.

Brexit eruptions. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog looking at Tory madness, Labour’s ‘blame Farage’ strategy, the Brexit impasse and a suggestion of a way forward, and the latest ‘reset’ news. Bonus feature: a feeble new Brexit metaphor: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot…

My colleagues & I have taken a huge gamble to set up @thenerve_news. We’re trying to build a new independent publication from the ground up. Social media is our only distribution for now. Sharing this article in your networks would make a huge difference. Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏

I've made some very popular posts linking Farage and Russia. Unsurprisingly, my posts are now being almost totally suppressed on this platform. Please repost if you see this.

There is another country. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog discussing the thuggery, sanctimony and hypocrisy of the last fortnight, and how Starmer should lead in articulating an alternative version of patriotism to that of the far-right: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot…

In 2002, Putin pressured NTV to end the production of Kukly, a political satire puppet show for adults. In 2003, NTV was forced to shut down. People laughed and said, "Well, it was deserved, for the good of the country, don't mock the man who will make Russia great again." Meanwhile, war raged in Chechnya, and the restrictions got worse. The prisons got worse. The censorship got worse. OMON was created along the way. Political opposition was outlawed. The courts fell under the power of the Kremlin. Then Greenland, sorry, Georgia was attacked, then Panama, sorry Crimea, and then Canada, sorry, I meant Ukraine. 23 years after puppets hurt dear leader's feelings, Russia is isolated, with an economy in ruins, and a population indoctrinated into a political cult of self declared greatness and endless metaphorical five year plans. More than half the population lives in a weird mix of 1975 meets 2019. Some live in 1920 meets 2019. Moscow and St. Petersburg are ivory towers, isolated from the reality of the real Russia. Almost 25% of all Russian GDP comes from those two metro areas. That's how consolidated wealth has become. This greatness was achieved despite having the largest land mass on the planet and an embarrassment of riches in natural resources. But hey, the Russian people voted for ending those dangerous, insulting puppets 23 years ago and convinced themselves this was just a passing phase. Now they're being taught Stalin, one of histories worst mass murders, is what their leadership should strive to be. Bah, I'm a loyal patriot! I want this. I'm sure you are. What happened to Russia's loyal patriots in the 2023 political purge? Where is Igor Girkin today? The state always needs enemies, and history shows repeatedly, it eventually eats itself.

From Brexit to Brexitism. New post starting the 10th year of my now retitled Brexit & Brexitism Blog, analysing the current politics of Brexit, this summer's confected crisis, and the new terrain of post-Brexit politics. Long read: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot… 1/2

Full article: Five decades of disruption in UK Higher Education- reflections from the Business School tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…

A new review of my book ‘But how do you teach…business?’ by Paul Haynes just published open access in @CMCjournal tandfonline.com/eprint/HUAUR…

How did UK HE get into its current state of crisis, and what role did business schools play? My free to access piece here tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…