The Nuclear Deal and Expunging Iran’s Historical Ghosts

by Farideh Farhi Yesterday’s historic agreement between Iran and the world powers over Iran’s nuclear program will be hailed (or trashed) for many reasons. Much will be debated—the deal’s impact on the future of the Middle East, the potential re-direction… Continue Reading

Silencing Khatami?

by Tehran Correspondent The judicial order of a media blackout on Mohammad Khatami and the reaction of Iranian social media users have once again highlighted the former president’s political importance. As the potentially pivotal 2016 parliamentary elections draw near, the pressure… 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

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

Is Rouhani Preparing the Ground for Failed Nuclear Talks?

by Derek Davison Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s recently concluded trip to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly offered signals that Iran’s complex political establishment is, at least right now, quietly going along with the push toward an… Continue Reading