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

How to Prevent Hardliners From Turning Iran into Another North Korea

by Shireen Hunter It is no secret that Iran’s hardliners have been unhappy about the successful completion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Iran has always maintained that it… Continue Reading

Sanctions and Symmetry in the Iran Negotiations

by Paul R. Pillar Notwithstanding the obvious asymmetries in soon-to-resume nuclear negotiations with Iran (it’s Iran’s nuclear program, not the U.S. one, that is being restricted; it’s the United States, not Iran, that is sanctioning someone else’s economy) the perceptual… Continue Reading

Iran is no Cuba

by Hooshang Amirahmadi President Barack Obama’s move towards normalization of relations with Cuba has generated lots of hope and analyses that a similar development may take place with Iran. Jim Lobe, founder of the Lobe Log and Washington Bureau Chief of… Continue Reading

Iran’s Telling Ministerial Confirmation Hearings

by Farideh Farhi Iran’s cabinet confirmation hearings this week were painful, but not for its new president Hassan Rouhani, despite the rejection of 3 out of his 18 ministerial nominees. They were painful for Iran’s hardliners, whose mismanagement of the… Continue Reading