For those of you following Iran’s nuclear developments, a major story developed over the weekend. President Ahmanidejad announced that Iran will begin enriching its sizable stock piles of uranium, ostensibly for use in medical products and technology. The uranium will be developed to 20% purity, which is easily convertible into nuclear weapons. Please see full […]
What if the Security Council fails to impose any sanctions against Iran? Will the Obama administration goes for the adventure of the 21st century and takes a unilateral action against Iran? Few experts have voiced their concerns and the scenarios that could unfold after such a military action. With all parties involved in the war […]
One of the bluntest anti-Iran piece was published in The Wall Street Journal this week. Bret Stephens, in “Seven Myths About Iran”, tries to show why attacking Iran is perfectly reasonable. He tries to counter “myths” like “Military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities would accomplish nothing.” But as Teymoor Nabili points out in his Middle East blog, the […]
The Iranian government is desperately trying to quell dissent by using threats and intimidation to silence the opposition. Last week Iran executed two prisoners who were accused of being part of the Monarchist conspiracy, Davoud Rahmanipour and Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani. Rahmanipour was only 18 at the time of arrest and 19 at the time of his […]
Hamas is outraged that one of its top leaders was assassinated in the heart of the Gulf, with the terror group blaming the Israeli Mossad, warning other leaders of potential assassination attempts, and vowing revenge. The Israeli government has not commented, as to be expected, but all the signs point to Israeli intelligence as the […]
These are good days for Lebanon. The country is relatively stable, stocks are up, and the tourists are back. The government is semi-functional, business is booming, and construction is everywhere. The people of Lebanon are showing the world what they are capable of when their country is not at war. But many Lebanese are fearful […]
As readers know because I write about this on a far too regular basis, the Palestinians are embarking on a state building initiative that would erect institutions in the territories for a future state. This effort has been dubbed as unilateral actions and the Palestinians taking control of their destiny (cue music from Star Wars). […]
These are the questions that many Iranians are asking after watching the recent appearances of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, where in the backdrops prepared for official ceremonies, the colors of Iran’s flag appear to have been changed from red, white and green to red, white and blue. In his New York Times‘ blog, Robert Mackay […]
A war has been brewing in Israel and battles have been fought- in the food fight that is. Recently, Lebanese chefs have tried to reclaim hummus by breaking the world record for creating the largest vat of the chickpea-mush. Israeli chefs countered and used an unused satellite dish to claim the title as their own. […]
In a television statement on Tuesday, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that Iran has “no problem” sending out its stocks of low-enriched uranium abroad for processing in exchange for nuclear fuel rods. While this is a step forward in the nuclear stalemate going on between Iran and the West, there is also plenty of reasons […]
The Jewish and pro-Israel agendas do not always correlate, but the lobbying organizations often promote similar measures and advocate identical approaches from the U.S. government. JTA surveyed the major lobbying organizations on their agendas for 2010, with the major common theme being advocacy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S. is currently […]
Israeli films have garnered significant attention in the past, particularly with the internationally acclaimed Waltz with Bashir that depicted Israel’s role in the Beirut during the early 80’s. As a follow up that movie, the film Lebanon provided a glimpse into a tank and the claustrophobia of Israeli soldiers during war. Prior to release of […]
In order to return the biblical species of deer now known as the Persian Fallow Deer to Israel an espionage mission was set up by an Israeli general who was also a zealous conservationist. This particular deer species used to roam the Judean Hills for centuries and is frequently mentioned in the Bible as a […]
Iranian filmmakers- despite heavy restrictions – have over the years provided an intriguing and provocative look at Iran’s dynamic social, religious, and political culture. Reza Aslan explains in his article, Iran’s Cinematic Revolution, what sets Iranian cinema apart from others: The irony is that part of what makes Iranian cinema so unique are the ingenious […]
On January 24th, a Russian-made Iranian passenger aircraft carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash-landed in northeastern Iran injuring at least 46 people. The Taban Air aeroplane caught fire upon landing at Mashhad airport at 7:20am local time. Iran has a bloody aviation history. Last July, a Caspian Airlines jet carrying 168 people crashed into […]