THE QUESTION

Ahmadinejad's pardon of 15 captured British sailors raises the question: Who's running Iran and how should we deal with them?

Posted by David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria on April 4, 2007 10:00 AM

FROM THE PANEL

Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals.

Will Deal With Musharraf, Why Not Ahmadinejad?

Ahmadinejad's recent moves seem to have succeeded in the short term, in sending a signal to the West and to his allies in the region. Many in the Middle East see him as democratically elected, and U.S. attitudes toward various regimes as confusing and hypocritical.

Bashir Goth Somalia/UAE | 23 COMMENTS
Apr 5, 2007 at 7:46 PM
Miriam Leitao is a reporter and columnist for O Globo and Radio CBN in Brazil. She is also a commentator on Globo TV Network and runs her own blog, www.miriamleitao.com, hosted at Globo online at www.oglobo.com.br. She was awarded Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2005.

Masterful Coup Despite Finger-Wagging

The seizure of British sailors -- and their surprising release -- was the perfect publicity stunt by Ahmadinejad. The U.S. needs to stop thinking it can scare countries into passivity by simply labeling them as its enemies.

Miriam Leitao Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 57 COMMENTS
Apr 5, 2007 at 1:03 PM
Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff is a Senior Director at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a transatlantic public policy and grant-making foundation. He overseas the fund's policy programs. He was previously the Washington bureau chief of the German newsweekly, Die Zeit.

More Lessons: Iran Showed True Colors

I don't agree with my PostGlobal colleague Hossein Derakhshan that Iran has won this round of the PR war. While Iran has proven to be more flexible than some had anticipated, the incident has also shown what Iran is capable of doing.

Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff Germany | 41 COMMENTS
Apr 5, 2007 at 10:17 AM
Shim Jae Hoon is a Seoul-based journalist and commentator writing for a variety of international publications including YaleGlobal Online, The Straits Times of Singapore, The Taipei Times and Korea Herald. He was a correspondent for Far Eastern Economic Review in Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta.

What’s In It for Iranian, North Korean People?

Iran has fallen under the control of an increasingly erratic leadership that needs more and more such "incidents" to keep its revolutionary fervor going in the face of protracted sanctions that are beginning to affect the lives of ordinary Iranians.

Shim Jae Hoon South Korea | 8 COMMENTS
Apr 5, 2007 at 9:11 AM
Iranian-born Hossein "Hoder" Derakhshan is a blogger, journalist, and internet activist. Since 2001, he has been based out of Toronto, Canada, running his award-winning weblog, Editor: Myself, which has been among the most influential blogs in the Persian language.

Lessons From Iran-Britain Standoff

There are many lessons we can all learn from this. The first is that the Islamic Republic of Iran, when genuinely engaged, is negotiable, unlike what neo-conservatives try to make us believe.

Hossein Derakhshan Canada/Iran | 56 COMMENTS
Apr 4, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com

Brits Pardoned Only After Iranian Diplomat Released

The pardon of the sailors shows that neither Iran nor the United Kingdom live on an island. This decision came after news that an Iranian diplomat was released unexpectedly in Iraq!!!

Daoud Kuttab Princeton, NJ | 15 COMMENTS
Apr 4, 2007 at 10:17 AM
Dr. Ali Ettefagh serves as a director of Highmore Global Corporation, an investment company in emerging markets of Eastern Europe, CIS, and the Middle East. He is the co-author of several books on trade conflict, resolution of international trade disputes, conflicts in letters of credit, trade-related banking transactions, sovereign debt, arbitration and dispute resolutions and publications specific to the oil and gas, communication, aviation and finance sectors. Dr. Ettefagh is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of The Development Foundation, an advisor to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and an advisor to a number of European companies. Dr. Ettefagh speaks Persian (Farsi), English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Turkish.

Stark Reality is Running Iran

About 11 days ago, 15 members of a foreign naval force, bearing arms, in uniform and the British flag, in service of Her Majesty’s Government, had trespassed into Iranian waters. Despite British attempts at disinformation, they did not bear the UN flag, and what unfolded was another round of media spin.

Ali Ettefagh Tehran, Iran | 59 COMMENTS
Apr 4, 2007 at 7:12 AM
Yossi Melman is a senior commentator for the Israeli daily Haaretz. He specializes in intelligence, security, terrorism and strategic issues. An author of seven books on these topics, his most recent book, The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran was published recently by Carroll & Graf.

The Shah Would Have Nukes By Now

Ahmadinejad’s desire to become a nuclear power has been shared by most of Iran’s past and present leaders. For Iranians, nuclear weapons boost national pride, enhance regional power and secure the country’s survival as an Islamic Republic. But if Ahmadinejad goes too far, the Supreme Leader has the final say.

Yossi Melman Tel Aviv, Israel | 41 COMMENTS
Apr 3, 2007 at 3:42 PM
Bill Emmott is the former editor of The Economist magazine, a leading international current affairs publication from England. He is now an independent writer, speaker, and consultant on international affairs.

Gitmo Not Exactly Model Diplomacy

Why have the Iranians seized these British sailors? Probably because they could. Iran is not the only country to noisily violate international norms. When the U.S. does it, the problem is that we do know who runs the country.

Bill Emmott Great Britain | 34 COMMENTS
Apr 3, 2007 at 1:56 PM
Helena Luczywo is the Managing Editor of Gazeta Wyborcza (Electoral Gazette), the first independent daily of a communist country founded in 1989 and now boasting the largest national daily readership in Poland.

What Can We Do With Iran? Not Much

It would be better to think about what we can do with Iran, which simplifies the question significantly. And the answer is: not too much.

Helena Luczywo Warsaw, Poland | 55 COMMENTS
Apr 3, 2007 at 1:54 PM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com

Condi and Cheney Not Best Friends Either

Differences clearly exist among the Iranian leadership and within its society. But so do they exist between the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department in the United States.

Daoud Kuttab Princeton, NJ | 9 COMMENTS
Apr 3, 2007 at 1:52 PM

READER RESPONSE

» BobL-V A | Looking through the clutter, Oh, to the contrary. The Iranians knew exactly whose gun boats those were. It really isn't that difficult to identify ...
» Look through the clutter | I have been discussing this around the office and many of the views that have been posted have been discussed in and about my office too. I think peo...
» daniel | Who is running Iran and how should we deal with them? A good question. But this question can be asked of any Islamic country--and it seems to me this...
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