Does Tehran want Obama or Romney?

The answer to this question is simple: there is no such thing as one Tehran. Opinions vary and arguments to back up the case for either Barak Obama or Mitt Romney are sometimes unexpected. The way it looks now, the… Continue Reading

Will Disgraced Pres. Ahmadinejad Impede Diplomatic Window of Opportunity with Iran?

US-Iran relations expert Trita Parsi explains why diplomatic headway can be made with Iran in the time period after the US presidential election and before the Iranian election in the Daily Beast’s “Open Zion“: Between November 8, 2012, and mid-March… Continue Reading

No changes in Iran-US relations expected until after Iranian election

This week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton indicated they wanted talks with Iran to resume even as the US’s dual-track policy of pressure and diplomacy (translation: more sanctions) continues: HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ASHTON: As you know, in New… Continue Reading

Sanctions Continue to hit Average Iranians

The US-led sanctions regime isn’t directly targeting Iran’s healthcare system but reports continue to suggest that critically-ill Iranians are being affected. The Al Jazeera English clip above squares with Najmeh Bozorgmehr’s Financial Times article from September about how sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank are… Continue Reading

Ahmadinejad’s Tumble and Iran’s Political Terrain

Sadeq Zibakalam, University of Tehran professor and the closest the Islamic Republic has to an intra-systemic gadfly, has written an interesting commentary in the new daily Arman regarding the current state of Iranian politics. The article’s title, “End of the Deviation current,”… Continue Reading