Gareth Smyth

Gareth Smyth has covered Middle Eastern affairs for 20 years and was chief correspondent for The Financial Times in Iran.

Author Articles

Workers of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are seen at a construction site in Heilongjiang province, China, last year. (China Daily via Reuters)
China curtailing Iran business as US tightens sanctions
October 12, 2019
Writer Yossi Alpher. (Courtesy of Yossi Alpher)
Who are the winners and losers of the ‘Arab spring’?
September 21, 2019
Spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation Behrouz Kamalvandi attends a news conference in Tehran. (AP)
Iran is in no hurry to revert to terms of 2015 nuclear deal
September 14, 2019
Increasingly assertive. Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, last February. (AFP)
Russia widens footprint in Middle East
September 07, 2019
US President Donald Trump gestures during a news conference at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France, August 26. (AFP)
Trump accelerates demise of multilateralism in Middle East
August 31, 2019
Mohammad-Javad Larijani, secretary of the High Council for Human rights, poses prior to a meeting in Tehran, last June.(AFP)
Criticism of Larijani reflects pressures within Iran’s ruling class
August 24, 2019
Concerns over breakout time. A general view of a heavy water plant in Arak, 320km south of Tehran. (AFP)
US extends Iran’s atomic facilities waivers but sanctions Zarif
August 03, 2019
Lethal force. A speedboat of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aims a weapon towards the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, July 21. (AP)
Detention of British tanker weakens Iran’s position
July 27, 2019
Playing for time. US Ambassador Jackie Wolcott waits for IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, July 10. (AP)
Gap between Europe, US regarding Iran highlighted by IAEA meeting
July 13, 2019
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a gathering of the judiciary in Tehran, June 26. (AFP)
Iran’s religious foundations in Washington’s crosshairs
June 29, 2019
Dangerous cycle. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen near a 3 Khordad system, which is said to have been used to shoot down a US military drone. (Reuters)
Iran treads on shaky ground amid escalatory indications
June 22, 2019
Shifting politics. European Council President Donald Tusk holds a news conference after a European Union leaders summit following the EU elections, in Brussels, May 28. (Reuters)
European elections bring different challenges to Arabs, Israelis
June 01, 2019
New bloc. (L-R): Manuel Vescovi of Italy’s League; Jaak Madison, deputy chairman of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia; French far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen; and Finns Party member Olli Kotro, a candidate in the European Parliament elections, give a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, May 14. (AFP)
Will the far right make significant gains in European parliament elections?
May 18, 2019
A file photo shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visiting the Bushehr nuclear power plant just outside of Bushehr, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Iran ‘calibrates’ its moves but does not know what to expect
May 11, 2019
Hopes and challenges. Bryan Gibson, of Hawaii Pacific University, poses for a photo in the Iraqi city of Erbil. (Courtesy of Bryan Gibson)
Momentum for Kurdish independence stalled but is not finished
May 04, 2019
A view of Lebanon’s Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanon nearing fiscal crunch
May 04, 2019
An Iranian military speedboat patrols the Arabian Gulf as a tanker prepares to dock at the oil facility at Kharg Island, Iran. (AFP)
New phase of cat-and-mouse tussle between US, Iran begins
April 27, 2019
A driverless vehicle at Masdar City, on the eastern outskirts of Abu Dhabi. (AFP)
‘Artificial intelligence’ becoming buzz phrase in Arab world
April 13, 2019
A Syrian refugee works on an oud, a pear-shaped stringed instrument made of wood, in Beirut. (AFP)
Lebanon’s divisions prolong suffering of Syrian refugees
April 06, 2019
The price of mismanagement. A view of areas affected by floods in Iran’s north-eastern Golestan region, March 27.(AFP)
Environmental problems exacerbate Tehran’s political tensions
April 06, 2019