New Sanctions on Iran and Neo-Big Stick Diplomacy

by Erich C. Ferrari and Samuel Cutler Contained in the Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2013, and signed into law by President Obama on January 2, are sweeping new sanctions targeting Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The new measures… Continue Reading

Who is Responsible for Medicine Shortages in Iran?

In an interview with BBC Persian, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen says that his department’s assessment is that reports published regarding serious and extensive shortages of medicine in Iran are exaggerated. He thinks the government of… Continue Reading

Hagel and the Hawks

Chuck Hagel hasn’t even been nominated for Secretary of Defense and yet rumors abound that he is a frontrunner for the job. The volume of the squawking from hard-line hawks opposing his nomination reveals much about the way the neoconservative echo… Continue Reading

New sanctions set by EU against Iran

By Paul Mutter Bloomberg News reports on a new round of EU sanctions against Iranian banks and firms that will be announced tomorrow: The new restrictions also include a ban on exports to Iran of materials that could be used in… Continue Reading

Biden, Ryan spar over Iran policy in debate

By Paul Mutter In last night’s vice presidential debate moderated by ABC News’s Martha Raddatz, Vice President Joe Biden and GOP nominee Paul Ryan (R-WI) focused extensively on the Iranian nuclear program and the US-Israeli response to it. Ryan sought… Continue Reading