This week it looked much more as if Iran and the powerful European states, aside from Russia, which is already in the Iranian corner, were presenting a common front against the US in defence of the nuclear deal

Israel is flexing its muscles as the expected end of the Syrian conflict changes the political and military balance of power in the region

A vacuum of information is created which, at a moment of intense international interest, is going to be filled with dubious stories from partisan sources

Bloody suppression of demonstrators could turn other countries against Iran and fatally undermine the nuclear deal

The new area of instability in the Middle East today is further south in the Arabian Peninsula – the war in Yemen is now the bloodiest and cruellest in the region

Britain is a minor player in Syria and the major player in Northern Ireland, but makes similar mistakes in both places

Other states in the Middle East are coming to recognise that there are winners and losers, and have no wish to be on the losing side

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation represent failed states with neither morality nor courage to show for their presence at the Istanbul summit

The recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will make it easier for Tehran to call for all Muslims, Shia and Sunni, to stand together in defence of the Palestinians and the holy sites

The city where three religions collide, and violence is never far away