Why Iran’s Hardliners Love the iPhone and McDonalds Sanctions
If you’re an Iranian who wants to get the latest iPhone, iPad or Macbook, it may just be easier for you to purchase one in Iran than in the U.S. New pressures to “tighten the noose” on Iran through sanctions have indeed led to discrimination against Persian-speakers at Apple Stores. One has to wonder how […]
Salamatian on society, state, and sanctions in Iran
The following is a transcription from an interview with Ahmad Salamatian on the French radio France Culture (on February 20, 2012). Mr. Salamatian, a political analyst who served in the Islamic Republic’s first government under Bani Sadr and cofounded the Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights, explains the evolution of Iranian society […]
If ECI, AIPAC, and Senate hawks think it’s time to launch a war, they should say so
Yesterday, the Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) released a new ad (see the J Street response, above) rejecting diplomacy and calling for an immediate “action” with regard to Iran, further adding to the list of pro-war efforts to sabotage diplomacy and limit Obama’s maneuverability at the upcoming Moscow sessions. Although they never directly call for […]
Akbar Ganji: “The Worst Scenario for Iran: A Different Look”
On June 15, 2011, Akbar Ganji published an article,”The Worst Scenario for Iran: A Different Look,” on BBC Persian, examining the economy of Iran and the effects of the international sanctions on it. NIAC’s Ali Tayebi and Sahar Fahimi have translated this article from Ganji’s original pen, Persian, to English. “The Worst Scenario for […]
Are Iran hawks pushing Tehran’s narrative?
Reading Seymour Hersh’s latest piece in the New Yorker, I can’t help but get déjà vu. Hersh reports that the recent (classified) 2011 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear weapons program reaches the same conclusion as the 2007 NIE that Iran had a nuclear weapons program but halted it in 2003. Despite the two conclusions, […]
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 […]
War is Bad For Democracy
Speculation abounds as, once again, the military option against Iran has come front and center. What is the worst case scenario if Israel attacks Iran? Most experts agree; there will be a significant toll on civilian life, Iran could justifiably withdraw from the NPT, and there could be prolonged regional insecurity that drags the US […]
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 […]