Matthew Kroenig and Trita Parsi Debate: Should the US Strike Iran?

Back in January, academic Matthew Kroenig claimed the United States could militarily strike Iran without causing havoc and catastrophe in the region. His arguments were widely criticized and supported by the usual suspects. Jamie Fly, the neoconservative executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative, disagreed with Kroenig, but only… Continue Reading

US-led Iran sanctions can harm/alienate upper and middle-income Iranians

Virginia tech economist and Lobe Log contributor Djavad Salehi-Isfahani adds to the growing list of reasons why the Obama administration’s Iran sanctions policy is counterproductive in Foreign Policy Magazine: Despite everything, Iran seems to be weathering the storm better than advertised. Sanctions… Continue Reading

Is sanctions relief really on the table?

The Guardian is reporting that a “reformulated” proposal including “limited sanctions relief” will be launched by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (p5+1) after the US presidential election. Earlier this week Al-Monitor reported along the same lines and Secretary… Continue Reading

Bloomberg Editors: Turn Iran’s Currency Crisis Into a Revolution

By Paul Mutter Bloomberg’s editorial board urges US and EU officials to use more crippling sanctions to make the threat of regime change more credible: The idea behind tightening the screws is not that we expect the regime to see the error… Continue Reading

Current Economic Unrest Unlikely to Alter Iran’s Nuclear Calculus

via IPS News As Iran faces economic unrest, discussion is intensifying over the impact sanctions are having on Iran’s economy. But experts doubt that the current situation portends the end of the Iranian regime or Iranian capitulation to Israeli and… Continue Reading