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Author: shailender

My Twitter, not X

My Twitter, not X

Nothing much stays with me from the first days of Twitter, which was publicly launched 20 years ago, on July 15, 2006. I had discovered the internet back in 1995 and early on, I started thinking about how to get my voice heard by the world. I created a couple of websites through Angelfire and 8m, but there was no real ecosystem to nurture the idea. It’s like opening a shop to sell a certain product in a remote area – somewhere nobody really knows, at a time when there’s no interest – compared with opening that same shop in a mall, or on a street full of other vendors. MySpace was another opening, but the idea was not yet ripe. Facebook came with a spark – and then we got Twitter. “It’s like having your own breaking news platform, you’ll set your own agenda,” I remember one of my colleagues at the BBC, where I used to work, saying at the time. It didn’t take me long to sign up. I cannot recall whether I tweeted immediately or not, yet what happened afterwards helped frame my future as an international journalist. Twitter’s first defining moment for me was 2009’s Green Revolution in Iran, when I and others followed how the platform shaped the discourse in a way that differed completely from traditional media. We were not new to citizen journalism; a few years earlier, Salam Pax emerged as the first ever famous war blogger, presenting his distinctive view of the US-led invasion of Iraq through his individual blog. A few years later, tens of thousands of Salams have appeared – and I’m one of them. Advertisement Going through my early timeline, I see that I was tweeting randomly – an earthquake in Japan, an election in Lebanon, an explosion in Somalia, and so on. Then came the Arab Spring. Just as with many in the world, this was the moment that shaped my Twitter presence, and as I got involved in the coverage, I became well-positioned to post and attract followers. My coverage of the Libyan revolution in March 2011 introduced me to many people and gave me a better understanding of what was happening. I was based in Sallum, a village on the Egyptian side of the Libyan border, without a connection of my own. I fed a colleague back in Cairo a sentence at a time over a crackling Thuraya satellite phone, and he typed my words into the account that I could not reach. Its password lived on my friend’s head until days later, when I finally got my hands on a satellite dish. Trips to Libya, Egypt, Syria, Somalia – all of it made Twitter part and parcel of my journalistic journey, and it also helped me build a parallel path writing for international outlets including Al-Monitor and The Sunday Times. Yet still, there was something else that changed my direction. Until 2013, I was a journalist covering stories without specialisation – I used to report from Iran, like I do today, yet it was not my career the way it currently is. But then I became a bureau chief in Tehran and my knowledge began growing – and here, Twitter gave me another layer, widening my network day after day. Personally, that specialisation gave the platform its finest hour for me. I broke developments out of Iran’s nuclear talks with world powers before the news agencies had finished their first draft, filing in Arabic and English within minutes of each other and announcing the agreement itself while other newsrooms were still working on their bulletins. The war against ISIL (ISIS) followed, then a January 2020 morning near Baghdad airport when my sources told me the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, and the deputy chief of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, were in a convoy hit by a US air strike – and I was among the first to say so. Twitter was never only a wire service for other people’s wars. I’ve “met” heads of state and celebrities on this platform – and for a moment we felt equals. I have made my scoops there, and I have made my hugest gaffes there, too. You act and you interact and you see the result immediately, backlash or praise. It’s like a daily journal, one that outlives you. I know of many, some friends, some colleagues, some people I only happened to follow, who left our world while their accounts are still there – for us, and for me – to return to for the memory or to get a piece of information. Advertisement It was also where, on the 100th anniversary of World War I, that I told the story of my great-grandfather, Ali Hashem, who went to the war and never returned; and of my grandfather Hussein, who was three when his father was summoned to the Ottoman army and never saw him again. It was where colleagues at Al Jazeera, stationed in the north of Palestine, went looking for my family’s village on my behalf, for a cemetery nearly in ruins, for a great-grandmother’s grave that has never been found. It became, eventually, the subject of my own academic work too, a master’s thesis on Twiplomacy, examining how a platform built for gossip and jokes quietly rewired the choreography of nations, with Iran’s nuclear diplomacy as my case study. In the summer of 2023 – sensing where things were headed, as new owner Elon Musk decided to change Twitter’s name to X, and to tragically, if I may so, kill the famous and lovely blue bird that accompanied the journey many made with the platform, including myself – I posted five words. “Someone buy Twitter and save the bird.” Alas, nobody did, and the bird disappeared from the icon, and the name went with it, replaced by a single letter that still sits wrong in my mouth. In Arabic or in English, the

How US-Iran escalation will test Iraq’s balancing act

How US-Iran escalation will test Iraq’s balancing act

At the White House on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump was warm and effusive towards Iraq’s visiting prime minister, the 40-year-old Ali al-Zaidi, describing him as “young”, “handsome” and as someone he wanted to work with. They shook hands warmly. Later in the day came the caveat, when US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Iraq to disarm Iran-aligned armed groups in the country. As the war between the US and Iran intensifies again, analysts say al-Zaidi’s Washington meetings summed up how Iraq could find itself caught in a bind, balancing two critical relationships it cannot afford to jeopardise — with the United States and Iran. What is Iraq’s PM doing in the US? Trump and al-Zaidi pledged to deepen economic ties and boost Iraq’s oil output during their White House meeting. A well-informed source told Al Jazeera that meetings of Iraqi officials with US administration officials and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also been planned. According to the source, who asked not to be named, Iraq is seeking to secure an IMF loan of up to $8bn. Tuesday’s meeting came after Trump threw his support behind al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political experience, and publicly opposed Iraq’s former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the prime ministerial role earlier this year. Al-Maliki, a divisive figure seen as having close ties to Iran, subsequently dropped out of contention in April. The Iraqi government had previously said it expected several oil and gas agreements to be signed during al-Zaidi’s visit to the US, with Trump also promising a slew of deals during the Oval Office meeting. Advertisement He called al-Zaidi “a fantastic champion, a new champion”. “Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” Trump said. The meeting also came as the US prepares to reduce its military presence in Iraq. Both al-Zaidi and Trump said the remaining US forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, would completely withdraw from Iraq by September 30. That is the same date al-Zaidi pledged that armed factions active across Iraq would disarm. But later in the day, Hegseth met al-Zaidi. In a post on X shortly after the meeting, Hegseth said Iraq “must assert its sovereignty and disarm the Iran-aligned militias” that he blamed for frequent attacks on US forces amid the US-Israel war on Iran. It was a taste of the pressures that could amplify for Iraq in the weeks to come, say analysts. What did Kataib Hezbollah say? Kataib Hezbollah is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance”, a loose coalition of groups including Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. It is also one of the largest groups within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), founded in 2014 to stop lightning advances by ISIL (ISIS) at the time. On Tuesday, the group made it clear that it was ready to join the war against the US if needed. “If a war is launched against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the participation of the resistance forces will be immediate and certain. This decision is rooted in our ideology and is not open to negotiation,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a Kataib Hezbollah official, said, according to Iran’s Fars news agency. Iraq’s balancing act Ignoring the Trump administration’s demands won’t be easy for Iraq. It relies on US companies to modernise its oil and gas companies. Yet there’s a limit beyond which Iraq cannot afford to bend before the US. “Baghdad is courting Washington, but it will not tolerate its territory being used as a launching pad for attacks against Iran,” Inna Rudolf, a senior fellow at the Centre for Statecraft & National Security at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera. “While keen to revive and deepen ties with the United States, successive Iraqi governments have been careful to preserve a functional relationship with Iran, one grounded in long historical, religious, commercial and social ties.” About 60 percent of Iraq’s population is Shia Muslim, and Iran has cultivated deep ties with many Shia political parties, religious networks and armed groups in the country. Those connections, alongside economic and security links, give Tehran considerable influence in Iraqi politics. Advertisement For the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an official reception was held at Najaf International Airport in Iraq, followed by public processions in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. While Iraq rejects the use of its territory for strikes on Iran, Rudolf added that Iran-aligned paramilitaries and political networks remain influential inside Iraqi state institutions and parliament. “That creates a dual‑tracking relationship: formal state diplomacy seeks stable, pragmatic engagement with Tehran, while parts of the political and security landscape maintain autonomous channels of influence.” Rudolf continued: “The result is a managed interdependence: cooperation on trade, energy and cross‑border social ties coexists with mistrust, domestic contestation, and the persistent risk that armed resistance factions could act independently of Baghdad’s preferences.” How would an escalation between the US and Iran affect Iraq? Rudolf added that an escalation would pose immediate, multi‑dimensional risks for Iraq. “First, it could produce direct security spillovers: Iran‑aligned factions that resist disarmament or security‑sector reform might strike from Iraqi soil at regional targets, inviting reprisals that violate sovereignty and endanger civilians — every strike would invite retaliation, and every retaliation wounds an already fragile settlement.” She added that Iraq’s politics were already divided, and this kind of crisis would make those divisions worse. Government coalitions could break apart, making it harder to pass reforms. Additionally, economic and humanitarian fallout could follow, leading to disrupted trade and energy links, stalled investment and reconstruction, and new displacement, Rudolf said. “Finally, Iraq’s diplomatic space would shrink: rather than mediating, Baghdad could be coerced into becoming a theatre for proxy contestation, making balanced relations and credible security reform far harder. “The real danger is not necessarily all‑out war but a thousand small escalations that hollow out Iraq’s sovereignty.” Adblock test

July 15, 10 years on: Turkiye’s will, Turkiye’s victory

July 15, 10 years on: Turkiye’s will, Turkiye’s victory

The night of July 15, 2016, began like any other evening—but ended as a turning point in Turkiye’s modern history. It was a night of betrayal and defiance, fear and courage, but above all, a night when the strong will of the people determined the course of a nation. The night of July 15 was etched in our nation’s collective memory as one of the longest nights but also one of the greatest epics in Turkiye’s glorious history. It has been 10 years since the nefarious coup attempt of July 15 carried out by the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which was foiled by our beloved nation’s honourable, courageous and heroic stance. It was the Turkish nation itself that proved decisive in repelling the existential threat of July 15 – a nation that recognises no power above its own will, and that demonstrated its readiness to lay down its life in defence of its state and democratic achievements. The Turkish nation and government turned this threat into a victory. The steadfastness of its institutions and the collective will of its people transformed the darkest night into a defining moment of national resilience. Far from faltering, Turkiye emerged from that not weaker, but stronger — ushering in a new era marked by strategic empowerment. In the aftermath of the FETO-led failed coup, Turkiye embarked on a new era of transformation powered by its strong past. Turkiye has significantly expanded its diplomatic footprint, global reach and influence since July 15. As a result of its deepening and widening comprehensive policies, Turkiye has spawned the third-largest diplomatic network globally, with 264 missions. Advertisement This expansion is not merely a statistic, but a reflection of Turkiye’s determination to shape, not just observe, global events, prioritising regional peace and security through peaceful resolution and mediation, and regional ownership. As our Foreign Minister HE Hakan Fidan underscored several times, dialogue and diplomacy are needed now more than ever. This region can — and will — take ownership of its own challenges and resolve them together. Today, Turkiye conducts a diplomacy that thinks globally but acts locally in every corner of the world by availing of several complementary political, economic, humanitarian, and cultural tools. Turkiye navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and the disastrous earthquake of 2023 successfully. The nation’s economy has defied global trends, growing steadily and retaining its place among the world’s 20 largest economies. Exports reached a record $273bn in 2025. This figure is expected to be over $400bn in 2026. With a population of 85 million, Turkiye has a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita that has exceeded $19,000. Turkiye has witnessed an increase in tourists from all parts of the world, as it was and will remain one of the favorite travel destinations, hosting nearly 64 million tourists in 2025. With this number, Turkiye has become the fourth-most-visited country around the world. Turkiye has also become a leading humanitarian power, ranking first globally in humanitarian aid as a percentage of GDP, and is recognised as the world’s most generous nation based on per capita spending. Together with its diplomatic activism and economic dynamism, Turkiye has strengthened its national defence capabilities with unprecedented speed and success. Turkiye’s defence industry has become a global leader with a research and development budget nearing $3bn, over 80 percent domestic production, and a project portfolio exceeding $100bn. At the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) 2025, Turkiye unveiled 26 new defence products. Among the highlights was the debut of Tayfun Block 4, Turkiye’s first domestically produced hypersonic ballistic missile, alongside the steel dome intensified air defence concept. Most recently, at the SAHA 2026 Defence and Aerospace Exhibition held in Istanbul, Yildirimhan – the first intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Ministry of National Defence – was unveiled. Iconic platforms such as the Akinci and Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, the fifth-generation fighter jet KAAN, and the supersonic trainer Hurjet are no longer just national milestones—they are strategic assets reshaping regional dynamics. Advertisement The growing prominence of UAVs has transformed modern warfare. In this domain, Turkish UAVs have not only demonstrated their efficacy in various Turkish military operations, but have also attracted international attention, leading to exports to several countries. Turkiye accounts for 65 percent of the global UAV export market and is home to the world’s biggest drone manufacturer. As recently stated by HE Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of the Republic of Turkiye, “from the depths of seas to the vastness of space, Turkiye is a country capable of developing and producing its own software, platforms and systems bearing its unique signature at every level”. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Turkiye and Qatar have consistently shown this. Throughout the critical juncture and uncertainty of the 15th of July, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was the first leader to express solidarity with the Turkish people and government by holding a phone call with HE President Erdogan. It was a bold and principled stance, as nobody could have guessed how events would unfold. Furthermore, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, was among the first foreign officials to visit Turkiye in the aftermath of the night. The Turkish nation will always remember the brotherly State of Qatar’s firm stance, its unequivocal support for Turkiye’s elected government, and Qatari people’s deep empathy with the Turkish people. In fact, this spirit of fraternity continued and continues to shape the brotherly bilateral relations between our countries. In the wake of the earthquakes that struck Turkiye in 2023, Qatar was among the first nations to mobilise emergency aid and humanitarian relief. Likewise, during the US-Israel war with Iran, HE President Erdogan expressed our country’s condemnation of any kind of attack that violates Qatar’s sovereignty, and reiterated that Turkiye stands strongly by brotherly Qatar. Today, Turkiye–Qatar relations are stronger than ever. There is a strategic partnership that was institutionalised through the establishment of the Supreme Strategic Committee