by Brian Dooley The news last Friday that Saudi Arabia will send tortured women’s rights activists to trial is another key test of U.S.-Saudi relations. The announcement came just three days after President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Jared Kushner, met with Saudi Arabia’s… Continue Reading
by Kourosh Ziabari It has been more than 300 years since Iran and France launched official diplomatic ties. The initial contact between the two nations dates back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when the kingdom of Persia… Continue Reading
by Seyed Hossein Mousavian In his State of Union, President Trump focused his comments about the Middle East on Iran, the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), and the U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria. Despite his negative rhetoric… Continue Reading
by James M. Dorsey China is leading the charge in a bid to undermine accepted concepts of human rights accountability and justice. The Chinese effort backed by autocrats elsewhere has turned human rights into an underrated, yet crucial battleground in… Continue Reading
by Michael Elleman Iran attempted and failed to lift the Payam-e Amirkabir satellite into orbit using a Simorgh rocket on 15 January. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the news by stating that the purportedly ‘innocent satellite’ launched by… Continue Reading