Obama Norooz promise a good step, more needed to ensure U.S. not part of “Electronic Curtain”
Yesterday, President Obama released his Norooz message, which has now become an annual White House tradition marking the Iranian New Year. Thankfully, these messages have actually come with some real substance. In his 2010 message, Obama promised to increase opportunities for young Iranians to study at American universities, and he followed through by implementing a new […]
“Capability” ultimatum misses the point, threatens diplomatic opportunity
We’re at a rare moment in which both the United States and Iran have unclenched their fists and appear ready for real talks. Obama, thankfully, has taken the pro-war crowd to task. The P5+1 are finally setting new negotiations for April. And Khamenei took the rare step of publicly welcoming new talks. These are very […]
Iran News Roundup 01/13
CIA memos uncover Mossad “false flag” operations A series of CIA memos, written during the George W. Bush’s administration, describes how Mossad agents, pretending to be American agents and carrying US passports, reportedly recruited the terrorist group Jundallah to carry out a covert war against Iran (Foreign Policy 01/13). U.S. sends warning to Iran’s Supreme […]
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, […]
Leading Diplomats, Experts and Organizations Call on Obama to Reinvigorate Diplomacy with Iran
For Immediate Release Contact: Phil Elwood Phone: 202-423-7957 Email: [email protected] Washington, DC – On the eve of talks between the P5+1 and Iran in Istanbul, a diverse group of diplomats, arms control experts, Iran experts, democracy and human rights defenders, and leading Iranian-American, Jewish-American, and pro-peace organizations issued a statement urging the Obama Administration to […]
The (literally) suffocating sanctions against ordinary Iranians
The Washington Post today has a pretty shocking report about the effect of the US petroleum sanctions against Iran. Because the US has been so successful in imposing “draconian” measures against Iran (the Obama Administration’s words, not mine), average Iranians have faced the prospect of not being able to get petroleum for such nefarious purposes […]
Washington Post Blasts Defense Secretary Gates, Endorses Netanyahu’s War Rhetoric
The Washington Post Editorial board has called out US Defense Secretary Robert Gates for “undercutting the message” that the US may attack Iran. The Post criticizes the Defense Secretary for defending the Administration’s Iran policy against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pressure for the US to publicly threaten Iran with military force. Netanyahu advised that […]
The Danger of the “Nuclear Capable” Standard
How difficult would it be for a President to drag us into another war in the Middle East based on questionable justifications? According to George Friedman of Stratfor, it would be quite easy: The most obvious justification would be to claim that Iran is about to construct a nuclear device. Whether or not this is […]
Fueling Ethnic Tensions in the Persian Gulf is Not a Strategy for Middle East Stability
Washington risks entering into a game of escalating provocations with Tehran even as continuing efforts to restart talks in November are underway. Iran’s announcement that the two US hikers being held Evin prison will now face trial just ahead of the talks is no coincidence. The move is particularly shameful considering that these US citizens […]
Obama Shifts, Iranians Seethe
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the Obama Administration is using sanctions to prevent Iranian civilian flights from refueling in Europe—flights that serve as “the main lifeline for Iranians with the outside world.” This draconian step is particularly troubling since it is coming from an Administration that claimed to understand that isolating the Iranian […]
White House Statement on the TRR Nuclear Swap
The White House has released a statement on the nuclear fuel swap agreement Brazil and Turkey just reached with Iran: We acknowledge the efforts that have been made by Turkey and Brazil. The proposal announced in Tehran must now be conveyed clearly and authoritatively to the IAEA before it can be considered by the international […]
A Proxy War in Yemen?
The protracted conflict in Northern Yemen has become “a bit” more complicated – sarcasm intended – with Saudi Arabia joining the fray in attempting to destroy the Houthi rebels. However, what has become the source of serious debate is not so much the heavy fighting that is most likely taking and displacing so many lives, […]