The Uranium Core of Obama’s Iran Strategy
This post originally appeared at Talking Warheads: In dismissing the Tehran Declaration in May, US officials said the fuel swap proposal doesn’t get to the heart of the issue. The core issue, according to four UN Security Council resolutions and two successive US administrations, is Iran’s enrichment program. That’s why Uranium Intelligence Weekly thought it […]
Smart Sanctions
New sanctions have caused ETS, the Educational Testing Service, to block Iranian students from taking standardized tests required for Western educations, such as the TOEFL and the GRE. From ETS’s website: Registration temporarily suspended in Iran The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution affecting banks and financial institutions that conduct business in Iran. As […]
When is a Nuclear Program Not a Nuclear Program? (UPDATE)
It should come as no surprise that, when dealing with a topic like nuclear weapons and Iran, there’s just a lot of wrong information out there. For example: take this Council on Foreign Relations overview of the Feb 18, 2010 IAEA report on Iran’s safeguards. These IAEA reports are pretty routine, and CFR is a […]
Sanctions Are the New Appeasement
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwHBdNwm2fo”] Citizens United — famous for winning the Supreme Court case that ruled corporations have first amendment rights — has used the massive influx of cash that came with their notoriety to put together this ad. It’s a lot of the usual “Obama is Chamberlain; Iran is Hitler” message that has been peddled by dozens of […]
(Re)Fueling Resentment
Airports in the UK, Germany, Kuwait, the UAE and elsewhere are refusing to refuel Iranian passenger planes, citing recently-passed US sanctions on petroleum sales to Iran. Under the new law, sanctions are triggered once an entity provides one million dollars worth of refined petroleum to Iran, or five million dollars worth in the course of […]
Hot Dog Diplomacy, Take 2
Last year, just before July 4th and only a few months after Obama took office with his pledge to engage Iran, the State Department sent a cable to every US Embassy around the world. The message: for the first time in decades, Iranian diplomats could attend fourth of July parties. The idea was met with some […]
Of extended hands and slaps to the face
Now that Congress and the UN Security Council have approved “the toughest Iran sanctions ever written,” the Obama administration has some breathing room to go back to its plan for diplomacy. But did the engagement strategy ever really start? If you remember, Obama’s “extended hand” got pretty well chopped off at the wrist on June […]
Draft Iran Sanctions Conference Report
House and Senate conference co-chairs Rep. Howard Berman and Sen. Chris Dodd announced today they have formed an agreement on new Iran sanctions legislation, which they are circulating to other members of the conference committee today. niacINsight has obtained a copy of the legislation, which is expected to be approved formally by the Congress and […]
What Mousavi’s Charter Means for the Green Movement
Mir Hosein Mousavi’s latest statement — called a “charter” for the Green Movement — is the clearest sign yet that the Iranian opposition is transforming from a purely reformist movement to one demanding more fundamental change to the political system. Mousavi made a strong case for the separation of church and state in Iran — […]
Michael Rubin Wants to Let Iran Decide US Immigration Policy
Michael Rubin, writing at the Corner this week, took half a second to criticize NIAC’s work on expanding opportunities for Iranian students who want to come study in the US. I say half a second because Rubin doesn’t seem to have actually read the article we wrote, having missed the point of it entirely. According […]
UN Sanctions Pass, US Rejects Fuel Swap Deal
The UN Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against Iran this morning, by a vote of 12 in favor, 2 opposed, and one abstention. At the same time, American diplomats have reported that the US, along with Russia and France, has rejected the nuclear fuel swap deal recently negotiated by Brazil and Turkey. […]
UN Sanctions Vote Expected Wednesday
Via Laura Rozen, the United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on a new round of Iran sanctions Wednesday. The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on a new Iran sanctions resolution on Wednesday, two diplomatic sources have told POLITICO. “The goal is Wednesday,” one European diplomat said of the anticipated vote […]