For years, the U.S. has seemed determined on preventing an Israeli attack on Iran. Both Presidents Bush and Obama stood firm in their opposition to Iran becoming a nuclear state. But Bush outright vetoed Israel’s request in the final months of his presidency, and Obama has stood resolutely opposed to green lighting a military option […]
Alan Dershowitz made a profound statement Wednesday night at an event I attended in New York City. He said Israel could never rely on another country for its defense and security. He was, of course, talking about the situation with Iran and the United States. The last year and a half has been full of […]
Despite the fact that it’s only the 9th of November, election day is far behind us. There’s no option of a lame duck for any officials. The glaringly obvious and ever-pressing question is, of course, what now? Or, to put it another way, where? Some of the “whats” have snuck their way into kitchen table […]
During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama advocated diplomacy over coercion to resolve the Iranian nuclear threat, pledging to open the lines of communication and work to reinstate trust between Washington and Tehran. Barely having time to file for a change of address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, newly sworn-in President Obama’s Iran policy was challenged […]
Dear followers of FPA’s Middle East blog, News.Az, a leading online news source of the Caucasus recently conducted an online interview with me – here you can find the full version of the interview: —————————————————————————————– Turkey is a new leader of the Muslim world in the Middle East. Are you satisfied with the Turkish policy […]
Iran is back in the news again: bungled attempt to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US on American territory, IAEA’s upcoming report which is expected to detail how the Islamic Republic is working toward a nuclear weapon’s program, President Ahmadinejad’s growing feud with the Supreme Leader, and of course Iran’s support for the Bashir […]
The following is a contributing piece from guest writer Ladan Yazdian. Ms. Yazdian is a foreign affairs and Middle East specialist. She holds a BA and an MA in political science. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, working on global security, foreign policy, international relations, and human rights. In the wake of […]
One of the more shocking stories regarding Iranian nuclear program I read this weekend was The New York Times’ article “U.S. Subpoenas Times Reporter Over Book on C.I.A.” The author, James Risen, who is a reporter for The New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize winner, received a subpoena requiring him to provide documents and […]
Recently the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) proposed that GCC countries needed to be in direct discussion with Iran and Iraq to help develop a safe, secure and advanced nuclear energy program in the Gulf. The program would be a win-win situation for both the Gulf countries and Iran as this venture would provide Iran with […]
The United States is not taking the support offered by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the Iranian nuclear program lightly (Here is a previous blog I wrote on this topic). This week as the Turkish prime minister met with President Obama in Washington D.C., Iran’s nuclear program was very much a topic of […]
In the Muslim world, Turkey and Iran are usually perceived as standing on opposite sides. Turkey stands for secularism, while the Shia clerics dominate the Iranian politics. Turkey is a “friend of the West”, and is also a Muslim country that has normal relations with Israel. While Iran, if it is not in the news […]
It feels like the last couple of days, each morning bought a new story about the Iranian nuclear program. Is Iran cooperating or not? How did their meeting with the IAEA go? What are the Iranian leaders saying about the ElBradei deal? How is the United States responding to Iran’s equivocation? Here is a quick […]
My last blog examined the public opinion in Iran, looking at how the Iranians felt about their nuclear program and their perception about the United States. Continuing with the theme of deciphering public opinion, this blog will examine the American public’s viewpoint. The Pew Center for the People and the Press has released a survey […]
The WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) has released a new poll on how Iranians view their nuclear program. The poll has some interesting revelations; the most pertinent being that two-thirds of Iranians would favor their government precluding the development of nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against Iran. The poll also found that only […]
Yesterday was a very historical day as the Iranian delegation met with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia in Geneva. It is a little too soon to judge the efficacy of these talks, but there has been some positive news. As the New York Times reported, Iran has agreed to […]