Stop talking war, start talking…
We’re slowly reaching a critical point in the nuclear impasse with Iran. If you listen to Iran hawks on the right, Iran is hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon. They just know that’s what Iran wants, despite, as Roger Cohen suggests, no evidence or logical basis supporting their conclusion. Unfortunately, there’s been little to […]
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, […]
Paying for the US-Iran Feud With Blood
In the summer of 2009, in the aftermath of the elections, there was obviously a lot going on in Iran. But one of the things that I remember made everyone hold their breaths in those months is probably not what you’re assuming right now. On July 15 2009, an Iranian passenger jet – a Russian-made […]
Military Attack on Iran: A Combination of Ignorance and Naivety
As always, those who talk about what US policy towards Iran should look like, are already prepared for failure of current US policy. Now Senator Joe Lieberman is preparing to “up the rhetorical ante” on Iran and endorse military actions if sanctions fail In an excerpt of what his staff has labeled a “major policy […]
Clinton’s Rhetoric on Iran: Does It Match the Administration’s Actions?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a wide-ranging speech yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations on the current and future United States role in the international community. In addition to commenting on general trends and intentions, Secretary Clinton discussed many individual policy issues, one of which was Iran. She described how the United States […]
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 […]
Shifting on 20% enrichment?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Permanent Envoy to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh relayed seemingly coordinated messages yesterday, hinting that Iran might consider giving up its 20% enrichment work, which is currently the biggest stumbling block for the fuel swap deal. While reiterating the usual assertion that uranium enrichment is allowed under the NPT, […]
Hikers and Mothers in Emotional Reunion
[vodpod id=Video.3663241&w=425&h=350&fv=embedReferer%3D%26amp%3BembedPageUrl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fmiddle_east%2F10129546.stm%26amp%3Bconfig_settings_language%3Ddefault%26amp%3BcompanionSize%3D300x60%26amp%3BcompanionType%3Dadi%26amp%3Bpreroll%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fpfadx%2Fbbccom.live.site.news%2Fnews_middleeast_content%3Bsectn%3Dnews%3Bctype%3Dcontent%3Bnews%3Dmiddleeast%3Badsense_middle%3Dadsense_middle%3Badsense_mpu%3Dadsense_mpu%3Breferrer%3Dnonbbc%3Breferrer_domain%3D%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10126%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10128%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10139%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10153%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10170%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10172%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10173%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10180%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10189%3Brsi%3DJ08781_10191%3Bheadline%3Dmothersmeetushikersintehran%3Bslot%3Dcompanion%3Bsz%3D512x288%3Btile%3D6%26amp%3Bconfig%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fplayer%2Femp%2Fconfig%2Fdefault.xml%3F2.18.13034_14207_20100317162935%26amp%3BdomId%3Demp-8694174%26amp%3Bplaylist%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Femp%2F8690000%2F8694100%2F8694174.xml%26amp%3Bholding%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbcimg.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F47884000%2Fjpg%2F_47884119_jex_698791_de27-1.jpg%26amp%3Bconfig_settings_autoPlay%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bconfig_settings_showPopoutButton%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bconfig_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageType%3Deav2%26amp%3Bconfig_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_edition%3DInternational%26amp%3BfmtjDocURI%3D%2F2%2Fhi%2Fmiddle_east%2F10129546.stm%26amp%3BcompanionId%3Dbbccom_companion_8694174%26amp%3Bconfig_settings_showShareButton%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bconfig_settings_showUpdatedInFooter%3Dtrue] The three American hikers who were detained by Iranian officials back in July were finally reunited with their mothers in Iran today. Relatives of the hikers, Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal, say that the trio were hiking along northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region and accidently crossed the border into Iran. A simple […]
The Starvation of Iranian Art
World-renowned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, famous for his 2006 film Offside, has been engaged in a hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison since Sunday. Tahere Saeidi, the filmmaker’s wife, told the Rahesabz website that Panahi told her on the phone that he will continue his protest until he is allowed to see his family, meet […]
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 […]
The Radioactive Elephant in the Room (UPDATED)
With the NPT review conference in New York and the international community increasingly focusing on Iran’s nuclear program, a variety of media sources have picked up on what other countries in the Middle East have been saying for decades. “Israel’s nuclear arsenal stands like the radioactive elephant in the room,” blogger and journalist Khaled Diab […]
Deja Vu All Over Again
On the heels of last week’s testimony by Tony Blair before Britain’s Chilcot panel regarding the Iraq war, Seumas Milne discusses in the Guardian yesterday the parallels between the 2002 run up to war with Iraq and the current escalation in rhetoric and military forces aimed at Iran . In his column, “The lessons of […]