As Washington escalates threats of navy motion in opposition to Iran, negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme proceed behind the scenes. However whereas the Trump administration insists that the standoff is about safety, Iran’s state media are pushing a really totally different narrative: that the disaster is a deliberate distraction from the Epstein scandal that continues to implicate the US president.
Contributors:
Dina Esfandiary – Center East Lead, Bloomberg Economics
Fereshteh Sadeghi – Iranian journalist
Jamal Abdi – President, Nationwide Iranian American Council
Sina Toossi – Senior Fellow, Centre for Worldwide Coverage
On our radar:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Israel this previous week in a fastidiously choreographed show of solidarity. Whereas Modi’s journey was celebrated within the Israeli media, criticism by Indian journalists was blocked again house. Leaving the 2 leaders to signal arms offers that can increase an already important navy partnership.
The Rise of Digital Micro-Bolsonaros
Almost two years after Jair Bolsonaro’s fall from energy in Brazil, the motion he constructed is trying to find a brand new figurehead. A rising era of younger, evangelical, and hyper-online politicians is stepping in.
They’re leveraging a complicated, decades-old spiritual media machine that developed from radio and tv into a robust pressure on social media. Brazil’s political proper is being reshaped for the digital age.
That includes:
Anna Virginia Balloussier – Journalist, Folha de Sao Paulo
Caro Evangelista – Government Director, ISER
Magali Cunha – Editor-in-Chief, Berreia Challenge
Printed On 28 Feb 2026
