Snow flurries circled in the air that winter in Tabriz in northern Iran where the old man sitting outside his old shop of curios was plucking the rhubarb. “Ah,” he grinned, plucked the strings and played Mere Saamne Wale Khidki Mein, the all-time Kishore Kumar favourite from Padosan. Quite contrary to what the US and Israel are now going through: the Shah Mat (checkmate) in the Persian Gambit. In the Shah Mat for now, till the next geopolitical boardgame, the Iranians are clear winners. Surrounding Iran, before this war there were 26 US military bases (45, according to Julian Assange).

Source: The Telegraph April 08, 2026 15:26 UTC