Iran Warns Saudi Arabia & Pakistan Over Suicide Bombing
This week, the FATF extends the deadline for Iran to pass banking reform laws, Foreign Minister Zarif travels to China, and a hardline member of parliament introduces an impeachment bill against President Rouhani.
Iran and the U.S. meet on the wrestling mat in Tehran
In an atmosphere of heavy sanctions and talk of war, wrestlers from around the world have come to Tehran to participate in the annual Wrestling World Cup. The event, which changes venues every year, has brought together wresting teams from countries not typically known for close ties, such as the U.S., Cuba, Russia, and Iran. […]
Iran News Roundup: August 13, 2012
Iran earthquakes: Tehran criticized for response to disaster Iran Moves to Distribute Aid After Two Earthquakes Kill 307 Iran raises toll from Saturday’s earthquake to 306 dead, over 3,000 injured Israeli Minister Asks Nations to Say Iran Talks Have Failed Revised gov’t protocol gives PM unprecedented powers Nuclear ruse: Posing as toymaker, Chinese merchant allegedly […]
Iran News Roundup: June 29, 2012
Shorter Range Missiles in the Persian Gulf In an apparent escalation in Iran’s standoff with the West, a Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying Iran expects to equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz with shorter-range missiles (Reuters 6/29). Dubai’s ENOC Affected by State Department Clarification U.S. State Department officials have clarified that […]
Clinton and Baker on Iran, Israeli strikes, and diplomacy
In an interview with Charlie Rose at the State Department last Wednesday, June 20, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Former Secretary of State James Baker discussed the role of diplomacy in resolving US- Iranian tensions [watch the interview here, read the transcript here]. Baker said the U.S. must pursue all non-military means to prevent an […]
Iran News Roundup: June 25, 2012
Escalation, Counter-Escalation, and Repeat The editor-in-chief of the hardline Iranian newspaper, Kayhan, argues that Iran can restrict oil tankers’ access to the Strait of Hormuz based on a “’right of retaliation’” under the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea after the implementation of an EU oil embargo. The paper’s editor, who is appointed by Iran’s […]
Iran News Roundup: June 21, 2012
Clinton Hints China May Receive Sanctions Waiver Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has said that China appears to be complying with US sanctions on Iranian oil, and decreasing Iranian imports (Reuters 6/20). Clinton said Iran was “very much with us in the international arena [on Iran]”, and that China was moving in a similar direction […]
Iran News Roundup: June 12, 2012
China Not Exempted from Sanctions The Obama Administration announced yesterday that seven more countries that import Iranian oil, including India and Turkey, would be exempt from the oil sanctions going into effect in less than a month. (NYT 6/11/12; Washington Post 6/11/12) Notably absent from the list of exempt nations is China, currently the largest importer […]
Iran News Roundup 02/14
Injured Iranian held responsible for Thailand bombings A man believed to be Iranian had both legs blown off after attempting to throw a bomb at Thai police in Bangkok. Two other nearby explosions, which resulted in several people being injured, accompanied this attack. These explosions occurred a day after bombing attacks against Israeli diplomatic staff […]
News Roundup 01/27
NYTimes: Israel doubtful that military strike would result in Iranian retaliation The New York times reports that Israeli academics and intelligence officials are skeptical of the ferocity of Iranian retaliation tactics in the case of an Israeli strike and believe that possible measures, such as shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, would cause Iran to […]
Iran News Roundup 01/26
Iran unlikely to begin building nuclear weapon in 2012 According to a report drafted by the Institute for Science and International Security, Iran is unlikely to take steps toward building a nuclear weapon in 2012 due to their inability to produce a sufficient amount of weapons-grade uranium. According to the report, “Iran’s essential challenge remains […]
Iran News Roundup 01/19
U.S. proposes a direct line of communication with Iran A a conservative Iranian lawmaker, Ali Motahari, claims that the U.S. has sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader proposing direct talks. The Obama administration has denied the claim. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast claims that the proposal for direct talks was embedded in the U.S. […]