My Master’s thesis dealt with the effect of an independent Iraqi Kurdistan on the Kurdish movement in which I specifically examined what effect increasing the level of autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan have had on Kurdish secessionist groups in Syria, Iran, and Turkey. Considering I spent last whole year engrossed in researching the operations of Kurdish […]
Today’s newspapers are all buzzing with one news: Russia has stated that sanctions against Iran are unlikely. Newspapers, like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov on Thursday as saying Moscow wouldn’t back any new rounds of tough sanctions against Iran in the United Nations Security […]
The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth $2m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. The vessel vanished into thin air after sailing through the English Channel, a curious case that engaged the attention of Finnish police, Swedish investigators, Interpol, and the Russian Navy. Before people could really jump […]
A while ago I wrote a blog on how Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, one of the world’s most prominent game theorists, applied game theory to predict that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons. Here is a presentation he made about his findings: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ts5MKtXNpMQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
As school starts in the United States, American schools are faced with the dilemma of whether they should force kids to listen to Obama’s liberal elitist agenda, which encourages kids to “show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to (…) parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work […]
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As the United States, Britain, Germany and France threaten Iran with sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran can at least count support from its loyal friend, Venezuela. Al Jazeera quoted Chavez as stating, “We are certain that Iran, as it has shown, will not back down in its effort to obtain what is a sovereign […]
As tension between Iraq and Syria grows, it looks like Iran is stepping in to play the mediator role between the two neighbors. The already poor relationship between Iraq and Syria deteriorated further in the aftermath of August 19th suicide attacks in Baghdad that left 100 people dead. Iraq has accused Syria of sheltering the […]
For the first time in the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian cabinet will have a female minister. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi won the approval from the Parliament to become the health minister. She was one of 18 nominations for President Ahmadinejad’s new cabinet to be approved. Two other women were among three rejected […]
The recent announcement by the Turkish government that it is preparing a serious plan to address its Kurdish problem should also serve as a reminder to the Iranian government that it needs to address the Kurdish issue as well. Iran, which contains the second largest population of Kurds, has also treated its Kurdish population egregiously. […]
The juxtaposition of the two images of former Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi – one before his arrest and the other at his hearing- show the absurdity of the trials taking place in Iran. Abtahi, best known as the “blogging mullah,” is the ebullient cleric interviewed in the Daily Show. In the interview, as Jason Jones […]
Iranian political system is characterized by its duality of power: In the executive branch we have the dual offices of the President and the Supreme Leader, in the legislative branch we have the Parliament and the Council of Guardians, and in the military we have the regular forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). […]
Looks like the United States will not be alone in pushing for tough sanctions on Iran. Both French and German leaders have warned Iran that it could face new sanctions if it does not show a willingness to negotiate on its nuclear program. Speaking after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, the […]
There are plenty of legitimate arguments as to why more sanctions on Iran should not be pushed- they will not work, they hurt ordinary people while strengthening the leaders etc.- but the argument that sanctions should not be pushed because Iran can retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz is not one of them. The […]
Clinton tried it, but failed miserably. Similarly Bush gave it a shot and was unable to get any results. Now it is Obama’s turn. But this time the U.S. administration is taking a different approach on the Israel- Palestine conflict. The Guardian reported that the Obama administration’s strategy is to use Iran as a bargaining […]