TIMES OF ISRAEL
The US is negotiating with Iran like a venture capitalist
Ariel Beery
April 29, 2026

If there is one meme that sums up the mistake many make when thinking about the negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, it’s the one best expressed by Mir Mohammad Alikhan’s description of the negotiating teams. He writes, “Irani: PhD, PhD, PhD, PhD, PhD,” to contrast with the other team: “American: Real Estate Developer, Real Estate Lawyer, Venture Capitalist.” Most people who read the tweet used it to make fun of the Americans for being outwitted at the negotiating table, echoing a sentiment shared by many if not most policy analysts and politicians. As someone who has experienced both the policy and private equity worlds (of which venture capital, or VC, is a subset), I’m pretty sure they are wrong, and it is the Islamic Republic that has been outgunned. READ MORE

AXIOS Israel sent “Iron Dome” system and troops to UAE during Iran war Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with troops to operate it early in the war with Iran, two Israeli officials and one U.S. official tell Axios. The military, security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has reached new heights during the war. The unprecedented deployment of the Iron Dome system during the war was not previously made public. This was the first time Israel had sent an Iron Dome battery to another country, and the UAE was the first country outside of the U.S. and Israel in which the system was used, a senior Israeli official said…“We are not going to forget it,” a senior Emirati official said of the assistance from Israel and Netanyahu at a critical moment.