Fair Weather Friend
Fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza is usually a political cash cow for Iran’s leaders. But by their own standards, Iranian leaders have remained curiously quiet on the ongoing, month-long fight. Why?
How Sanctions Actually Help the Regime
Although Iran has been under some form of sanctions since 1979, today it faces indiscriminate sanctions so severe that ordinary Iranian citizens are being hurt the most. Reports have already indicated that sanctions are adversely affecting public health, personal finance, public education, and progressive social movements in Iran. Still, Western lawmakers claim that this is […]
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 […]
Ending characterization of “the other” is key to an Iran agreement
As a French-Iranian who has been exposed to both Iranian and Western mindsets, I have witnessed the lack of understanding that exists between Iran and the United States firsthand. During my travels and personal meetings, I have been able to access both narratives and what has struck me most is the harsh and intense misleading […]
Reactions to the Alleged Iranian Assassination Plot
Over the last 24 hours since the Department of Justice announced that they had foiled an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States linked to members of Iran’s Quds Force, there has been a range of reactions from across the spectrum. Some analysts and commentators said that the highest echelons of […]
Afghanistan’s Hidden Opportunity
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan has become the world’s leading producer of opium and heroin. This has humanitarian as well as security implications for both the United States and Iran and highlights perhaps the most obvious issue where mutual antagonism between the United States and Iran has prevented the two countries […]