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Alex MacDonald

@alexjaymac

Middle East Eye, reporter/commentator. Mainly talk about Iraq, Iran, Israel-Palestine, UK and Turkey. Folk musician. He/him. DM any story tips!

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Latest posts by Alex MacDonald @alexjaymac

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Sigh...

07.03.2026 09:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Cool. Might have been worth having a think first then, before posting.

05.03.2026 18:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"As they have said they won't allow either the US (or ourselves) to conduct strikes on missile sites."

Umm...you know that's the current govt position too, right?

05.03.2026 18:52 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's obviously not true that the Greens oppose 2, is it. And in terms of 3, you still haven't explained what you mean.

05.03.2026 18:18 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Cool. Explain it to me.

05.03.2026 18:17 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yeeeah, but that's not what you wrote is it? Why would leaving Nato require abandoning British bases?

05.03.2026 18:08 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Also, where did "abandon our defence architecture and leave bases open to attack" get a mention?

05.03.2026 18:01 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

...when I wrote "most Brits oppose attacking Iran" I think that covered "public opinion" no?

05.03.2026 18:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Its also just objectively untrue, most Brits oppose attacking Iran. Whether they're right or wrong, Corbyn and Polanski are more in tune with the public than pro-war types.

05.03.2026 17:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Families of Iranian political prisoners fearful of bombs, illness and secret executions With communications cut off and Israel-US air strikes ongoing, Iranians tell MEE that the fog of war is putting their jailed relatives at risk

Families of prisoners in Iran tell me they're increasingly worried as Israeli-US strikes damage prisons and cut off access.

"[Our biggest fear is that] the regime will use the war as an opportunity to carry out executions without letting families know"

www.middleeasteye.net/news/familie...

05.03.2026 12:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Exclusive: Iranian girls killed by β€˜double-tap’ strikes on Minab school Eyewitnesses describe second blast which killed survivors as they sheltered in prayer hall

The US-Israeli attack which destroyed a school and killed 165 people in Minab in Iran was in fact a double-tap strike, my colleague in Iran can exclusively reveal: www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusi...

04.03.2026 17:58 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, possible successor to his father as Iran's supreme leader? As officials in Iran meet to decide on a new ruler, the son of Ali Khamenei has been touted as a frontrunner

"His appointment during the continuing onslaught by the US and Israel could be seen as an act of defiance, both against the killing of his father and in pushing back against calls for compromise."
www.middleeasteye.net/news/who-moj...

04.03.2026 14:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Prominent feminist activist Yanar Mohammed shot dead in Iraq Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq calls campaigner's death a 'tremendous loss' for rights activists

"The memory of Comrade Yanar Mohammed will remain a shining flame guiding our struggle for women’s liberation and the communist struggle for a world free of all forms of injustice, discrimination and oppression"

www.middleeasteye.net/news/promine...

03.03.2026 11:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
'I just hope for a miracle': Iranians brace themselves as US and Israeli bombs rain down People try desperately to contact missing relatives and flee major cities as attacks escalate

Hope, fear, uncertainty, all these emotions are mixed up in Iranians currently seeing their country attacked by the US and Israel:

β€œI honestly have no idea what will happen next. Right now, I feel like a question mark myself.”

www.middleeasteye.net/news/i-just-...

28.02.2026 16:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
'Everyone was killed': Documents shine light on 'annihilation' of Palestinians during 1948 Nakba Recently discovered papers reveal orders to kill Palestinian civilians on sight to 'cleanse' territories of Arabs

"After the conquest of the police station - after the surrender - the murder stopped. Until then, everyone was killed - women and children and everyone."
www.middleeasteye.net/news/everyon...

27.02.2026 16:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Really bizarre interview.

27.02.2026 12:08 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I don't think it's necessarily a decisive factor, but I do think the ability of Hannah Spencer and Zack Polanski to sound articulate and informed while also actually sounding like normal human beings - rather than regurgitating slogans and soundbites in a monotone voice - is part of the appeal.

27.02.2026 11:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Given that we're told that Muslims as a bloc are communalist, anti-Semitic, misogynist homophobes, you might assume voting for a non-religious white woman, standing for a LGBT friendly party, led by a gay Jewish man, might lead you to stand down all those sectarianism headlines.

27.02.2026 08:07 πŸ‘ 524 πŸ” 156 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 2

Also starting to think all those hordes of people on Twitter that so many political commentators seem to think have the pulse of the nation might not be British or, even, real people.

27.02.2026 09:28 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Dunno, maybe Starmer should resign?

27.02.2026 08:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Finished watching Dirty Business last night. Did not pull its punches!

26.02.2026 15:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Finally!

26.02.2026 15:21 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Boooooom

23.02.2026 17:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You know who the real winner is with Bonnie Blue being pregnant following an unprotected marathon with around 400 men?

Vladimir Putin.

bsky.app/profile/popb...

23.02.2026 09:39 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Maybe have a quick look at Tony Blair's housing policy...

22.02.2026 12:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Except she lost. So she clearly wasn't.

22.02.2026 12:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Explain what you mean with this post

21.02.2026 11:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You know who the real winner is with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being arrested over his Epstein ties?

Vladimir Putin.

21.02.2026 08:32 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

3) An end to violent conflict is in itself positive. There is no doubt about it. Still, seeing this process as a genuine step away from autocratic rule is misleading. PKK's disarmament and dissolution process serves Turkey's regional recalibration efforts, while aiming at power consolidation.

20.02.2026 18:04 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

That's a rather contemptuous and patronising thing to say, no?

20.02.2026 16:43 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0