The Aporia · How the Middle East Got So Screwed Up, with Simon Sebag Montefiore

How the Middle East Got So Screwed Up, with Simon Sebag Montefiore

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MacLean, A. (2026, September 29). How the Middle East Got So Screwed Up, with Simon Sebag Montefiore. The Free Press. https://www.thefp.com/p/how-the-middle-east-got-so-screwed

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Quick Summary

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the current state of the Middle East on Schooled, suggesting that economic sanctions imposed by former President Trump are having an effect. He emphasizes the importance of historical context in understanding contemporary events in the region. The article offers insights from Montefiore's book "The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East."

Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore suggested in an interview that former US President Donald Trump's policies towards the Middle East have been effective, referring to them as "the Trump blockade." According to Montefiore, understanding historical context is crucial for interpreting current events in the region. He joined a discussion on The Free Press to provide this perspective amidst recent tensions and political rhetoric.

Written for “Middle East History Complexity” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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96/100

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The Free Press · 413 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

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Who wrote this

Aaron MacLean

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Topics

The Free Press

Subjects

Schoo PERSON · 1× Simon Sebag Montefiore PERSON · 1× The Free Press ORG · 1× Trump PERSON · 1×

Narrative

It can be hard to parse the state of play in the Middle East amid escalating rhetoric, but history gives us the necessary perspective to call balls and strikes in the present day.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29

2026-09-29 · The Free Press

How the Middle East Got So Screwed Up, with Simon Sebag Montefiore · assertive framing

Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)

“Let’s whisper it,” said historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. asserted

Montefiore → whisper → it

“The Trump blockade is working.” asserted

blockade → work → ?

It can be hard to parse the state of play in the Middle East amid escalating rhetoric, but history gives us the necessary perspective to call balls and strikes in the present day. asserted

history → parse → day

Today, the author of The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East joins Schoo… asserted

author → join → Schoo

To support our journalism, and unlock all of our investigative stories and provocative commentary about the world as it actually is, subscribe below. asserted

it → support → world