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 15, 2012
Tightening Oil Trade OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badry has announced oil prices could elevate to $110 without putting the global economy in jeopardy (AP 6/15). He said, “$110 is not a threat to the world economic growth,” after OPEC leader agreed yesterday to keep OPEC’s total output ceiling at 30 million barrels a day (AP […]
Iran News Roundup: June 14, 2012
US-Russia Strain over Iran’s Role in Syria Russia and Iran, strong allies of Syria, allege the US has sent weapons and troops into Syria to assist opposition forces (NYT 6/13). The claims were denied and countered by US accusations that Russia supplies Syrian opposition groups with helicopter gunships, an allegation denied by the Russian government […]
Iran News Roundup 01/23
European Union agrees to Iran oil embargo All 27-member states have agreed to impose a ban on Iranian oil. Full implementation begins on July 1. In response, an Iranian member of Parliament urged Iran to immediately cut off sales to the EU, in order to disrupt EU oil supply before the planned July date. (Reuters 01/23) In […]
Iran News Roundup 01/20
Terms of nuclear talks to be disclosed The P5+1 released the details of a letter sent to Iran last October demonstrating a willingness to hold talks with Iran amidst tough sanctions and speculation of a military conflict (Reuters 01/20). Details of U.S. letter to Iran emerge Laura Rozen reports the Obama administration used three channels of […]
Iran News Roundup 01/18
Israel acknowledges Iran has yet to decide to pursue a nuclear weapon Israeli officials will reportedly present an intelligence assessment next week that Iran has not yet decided to pursue a nuclear weapon. This comes as the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey visits Israel next week. Additionally, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak […]
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 […]
Iran News Roundup 01/11
Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated An Iranian nuclear scientist and a department supervisor of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, was assassinated after an assailant on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to his car. Iranian officials claim that Israel is responsible for the assassination (New York Times 01/11). State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, “The […]
IAEA Votes to Censure Iran
From Reuters: The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors voted 25-3 to censure Iran in a motion that gained rare backing from Russia and China, which have in the past blocked attempts to isolate Iran, a trade partner for both. The U.S. envoy to the IAEA, Ambassador Glynn Davies, said in Vienna on Friday […]
Nuclear deal drafted Wednesday, signatures due Friday
An agreement calling for Iran to send its domestically-produced low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment and then have it returned for medical use (what is being called by some the “elegant solution”) was accepted by negotiators in Wednesday’s negotiations in Vienna. Friday is the current deadline for delegations from France, Russia, the US, and Iran to sign it. […]