Middle East analyst Dr Farhang Jahanpour views the current problems of the Middle East – its Arab, Israeli, Iranian and Turkish components – and its relations with the West from an historical perspective. He outlines a vision whereby Middle Eastern peoples might regain their position as “great members of the international community”.…

Caucasus analyst Anne Thompson sheds light on the origins and present status of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict over the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagornyy Karabakh, which is situated inside Azerbaijan, the roles of Russia, Iran and Turkey in the conflict, and what lay behind Azerbaijan’s close military and political ties with Israel.…

Interview with John Davison who until October 2022 served for four years as Reuters Bureau Chief in Baghdad. He relates his experience of Iraq: how corruption affects the lives of ordinary people, instability and waning Iranian and US influence, but also a glimmer of hope.By Mohamed El-Doufani

Israeli academic and author Ilan Pappe describes his most significant research finding as uncovering the “intentional ethnic cleansing” of Palestine by the Zionists — a fact. he says, that’s supported by documents he found in Israeli and British archives. He says public debate of this and other matters related to the establishment of Israel had bec…

Dr Mohamed El-Doufani says the proliferation of the Muslim veil, the niqab, and its variants is an indicator of the spread of a pernicious ideology propagated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other ultra-reactionary Salafists, and why it should be of concern to everyone who values freedom and equality.By Mohamed El-Doufani

Dr Mohamed El-Doufani argues that despite all the present worries in the world — the cost of living crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war, the energy crisis, the savagery and aftermath of the so-called “Arab Spring” — the whole world, and not just Israel’s neighbours, should worry about what it is doing and what it can do. It’s not just its persecution an…

Award-winning Israeli author and Haaretz newspaper journalist Gideon Levy discusses the implications of the latest Israeli election, which took place earlier this month (1 November 2022). He says for Israeli Arabs and, especially, for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation, matters may became much worse, and he notes the total lack of interest o…

Dr James Dorsey, Adjunct Senior Fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, analyses the relations between the Persian/Arab Gulf states and their influence on other Arab countries. He also explains the motives behind the United Arab Emirates’ normalisation of relations with Is…

Iranian academic Dr Farhang Jahanpour analyses the extraordinary protests that have been sweeping Iran for the past month. Since the protests were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died while in the custody of the morality police for being “inappropriately” dressed – an incident that highlighted the status of wo…

The son of Israeli General Matityahu Peled, writer and human rights campaigner Miko Peled says Israeli Jews are indifferent towards the Palestinian people, their plight and the injustice committed against them. With rampant racism characterising most Israelis’ attitudes towards the Palestinian people, he says Israeli recognition of the need for jus…

Retired British media executive Grahame Perrie analyses the possible reasons for the British media’s inadequate reporting of the Palestine-Israel conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war and elsewhere, including failure to challenge the politically-motivated definition of anti-Semitism, skirting around vital issues that are critical to understanding a stor…

Tunisian analyst Dr Ali Chokri looks at why President Kais Saied decided in July 2021 to suspend parliament and freeze political activities pending a new constitution, why that constitution – adopted in a low turnout referendum – is so controversial, and the present economic and security situations in Tunisia.…

Iranian analyst Behrouz Turani discusses the current status of talks to revive the nuclear deal, and the political, economic, ethnic, sectarian and social fissures in Iranian society.By Mohamed El-Doufani

Libyan activist and popular rapper Assem Mihirig shares with us a deeply insightful analysis, derived from direct experience, of the workings and power of the militias blighting Libya and the thinking of their leaders, and offers a view of how they can be dealt with.By Mohamed El-Doufani

Libyan diplomat and writer Giuma Bukleb looks at how the legacy of chaos and the political vacuum seeded by the regime of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, coupled with Libya’s geostrategic location and its oil wealth, turned the country into “a battleground for competing local and foreign interests” and “led to the emergence of new opportunis…

Amira Galal, a specialist in online harmful speech, discusses the role of social media in the Syrian civil war, from fake news and images disseminated by both the opposition groups and the government, to recruitment for the pro- and anti-government militias, to the promotion of sectarianism — the latter often hidden in the comments sections of soci…

Dr Farhang Jahanpour, an Iranian academic and journalist living in the UK, sheds light on the reasons for the chequered relations between Iran and the West, primarily the United States, and highlights the main drivers behind Iran’s regional policy.By Mohamed El-Doufani

Five Minutes to Midnight seeks to explain some of the intractable issues in international politics. We do not shock or skirt around sensitive subjects. We offer expert, unique analyses of the Arab world, Iran, Israel, the British media and other topics and regions, giving you in-depth insight you’re unlikely to find in the mainstream media. All our…