Panetta reaffirms U.S.’s “wretched” red line on Iran’s nuclear program

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s trip to the Middle East last week included reassuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in person, that the U.S. was committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — the U.S.’s “red line” on Iran. Panetta… Continue Reading →

“Shared Myth: The status quo U.S.-Iran cold war is sustainable”

Former Iran-desk State Department staffer Reza Marashi and Iran scholar Reza Sanati write that after more than 3 decades of “institutionalized enmity”, damaging myths perpetuated by both sides have “facilitated and exacerbated U.S.-Iran hostility.” The authors list five such false narratives;… Continue Reading →

Hawks on Iran

Lobe Log publishes Hawks on Iran every Friday. Our posts highlight militaristic commentary and confrontational policy recommendations about Iran from a variety of sources including news articles, think tanks and pundits. Michael Ledeen, Foreign Affairs: The neoconservative pundit has been arguing… Continue Reading →

Romney’s political tightrope

This week Lobe Logger extraordinaire and Think Progress National Security reporter Ali Gharib was interviewed on Al Jazeera English’s Inside Story about Mitt Romney’s foreign policy record thus far. From AJE’s write-up: ROMNEY’S VISION: FOREIGN AFFAIRS: – Romney supports Obama’s… Continue Reading →

Iran Diplomacy Runs into Sanctions-Happy U.S. Congress

via IPS News WASHINGTON, Jul 30 2012 (IPS) – Congress’s rush to pass new sanctions against Iran ahead of the August recess comes amidst an intensified drive to pin the Iranian government to deadly acts of international terrorism and amplified moves… Continue Reading →