The Parchin Puzzle

by Robert Kelley In the seemingly never-ending debate over Iran’s nuclear program, specifically the “possible military dimensions,” or PMD, of its past work, much has been made over the thus-far frustrated demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to… Continue Reading

Choosing Between Death and Death in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan (IPS) — Residents of the Khyber Agency, one of seven administrative districts that comprise northern Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), are in the worst possible predicament: either course of action they choose now, they say, could… Continue Reading

The Roots of Recurring Iranian-Pakistani Tensions

by Shireen T. Hunter In the past two weeks, relations between Tehran and Islamabad appear to have deteriorated again over border clashes and terrorist attacks in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province located close to the Pakistani-Iranian border. Unlike past tensions,… Continue Reading

Bookends of America’s Broken Regional Policy

by James A. Russell It’s hard not to cringe watching the United States careen around the Middle East these days, dispensing bombs, money and political fealty in various doses depending on the crisis of the day to a series of… Continue Reading

US Policy Towards Iran Played Big Role in Rise of Sunni Extremism

by Shireen T. Hunter Throughout the recent handwringing about how the US and other Western countries failed to foresee the emergence of ISIS, one factor has been totally ignored, either intentionally or inadvertently: the impact of Washington’s hostility towards Iran,… Continue Reading