by Jahandad Memarian In Iran, intellectual discourse is moving in a new direction. Mostafa Malekian, one of the highest-celebrated intellectuals in the country, is slowly gaining a following tantamount to Abdol Karim Soroush, often described as the “Martin Luther of… Continue Reading
by Mitchell Plitnick It’s too early to tell yet whether Russia’s initiative has removed the threat of a U.S. strike on Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons. While the signs are as good as could be hoped for… Continue Reading
by Thomas W. Lippman Whenever a Saudi Arabian king or senior prince publicly criticizes U.S. policy, they inevitably touch off speculation about how the Saudis may be rethinking their security alliance with the United States. The Saudis have lost confidence… Continue Reading
by Wayne White The main objective of the Russian chemical weapons (CW) initiative this week was to steer the US away from military action in Syria that might weaken the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Although Moscow also is concerned about… Continue Reading
by Shawn Amoei Foreign Affairs President Hassan Rouhani cites improved relations with Europe as a top foreign policy priority. Yemen confirms that a kidnapped Iranian diplomat is in al-Qaeda custody. Audio from a speech by former President Hashemi Rafsanjani blaming… Continue Reading