Deconstructing Netanyahu’s Spin about the Paris Peace Summit

by Shemuel Meir It is difficult to ignore the unbridled joy that took over the Prime Minister’s Office as its spokespeople went out of their way to declare the Paris peace summit, which took place this past weekend, a failure.… Continue Reading

Hardliners: The Real Barrier to Iran’s Economic Revival

by Shireen T. Hunter By now it has become clear that Iran’s expectations of an immediate economic revival following the nuclear deal were unrealistic. Tehran thought that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) would restore its severed links to… Continue Reading

Nagorno-Karabakh: Chance for EU-Iran Engagement

by Eldar Mamedov What was feared for a long time happened on April 2. Severe clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a disputed, Armenian-majority area legally part of Azerbaijan. The clashes, which claimed the lives of… Continue Reading

EU Labeling: Carrots and Sticks Work

by Mitchell Plitnick Last November, when the European Union announced the implementation of long-standing regulations regarding the labeling of products from Israeli settlements, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played one of its biggest cards, suspending contact with the… Continue Reading

Why Did Rouhani Visit Italy?

by Cinzia Bianco and Giorgio Cafiero When Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani visited Rome last month, Italian and Iranian officials and businessmen signed $22 billion worth of deals in sectors ranging from energy to infrastructure, steel, and shipbuilding. Rouhani’s “charm offensive”… Continue Reading