Iranian-American Rapprochement: What’s In It for Israel and Saudi Arabia?

by Mark N. Katz Israel, Saudi Arabia, and some of the other ArabGulf states are deeply skeptical of the Obama Administration’s efforts to reach a deal with Iran limiting its nuclear program and to improve U.S.-Iranian relations generally.  America’s traditional… Continue Reading

Is Iran Escalating the Nuclear Issue?

by Mohammad Ali Shabani Most headlines on Iran’s launch of uranium-related sites on April 9th — its National Day of Nuclear Technology — linked it to the diplomatic deadlock in Kazakhstan. Tehran was regarded as pursuing escalation, perhaps in frustration… Continue Reading

Report: Engage Iran’s People While Preventing Nuke

by Jasmin Ramsey via IPS News The U.S. should not only focus on the short-term goal of “suspending or delaying” Iran’s alleged quest for a nuclear weapons capability, but also on “curtailing Iran’s other worrisome activities in the region while… Continue Reading

P5+1 Coalition Fraying on Eve of Second Almaty Talks with Iran

by Jim Lobe via IPS News On the eve of its second round of talks with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the so-called P5+1 (U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany) is showing signs of… Continue Reading

A Strange Way to Build Trust

by Peter Jenkins Divining the Obama administration’s foreign policy intentions can be intellectually challenging. At the beginning of February the US Vice President appeared to be offering Iran an opportunity to enter into bilateral talks on the nuclear dispute. Three… Continue Reading