Posts About Iran
Dependence on Food Imports Doesn't Help
Civil commotion over food prices is essentially about low incomes and reduced purchasing power -- and not just in developing countries. But it helps not to be dependent on food imports.
America, Stay Out of Headscarf Debate
Is a leap towards a pluralist society and respect of a fellow citizen really fearsome? This debate reeks of Islamophobia.
Let Iran Change on Its Own
Iran has been an epicenter of change in politics and doctrines for almost three decades.
2007: The Cold War Ends
No one in this region is prepared to endure the burden of other people’s wars or crusades for energy.
Bush's Nuclear Double Standard
Bush slaps Iran and pushes on toward war, but talks with North Korea and sends a nice letter. Double standard, anyone?
The Undignified Episodes of Jihad George
Bush is operating under an absurd hallucination that attacking Iran will actually solve some of America’s plethora of problems. He’s wrong.
Wake Up, America: Iran is Not What You Think
Americans must realize that it is time to accept Iran as it is today, and not as they daydream it to be, as some sort of a retro-1950s creampuff headed by a brutal puppet.
Opening Old Wounds to Polarize
This opening of old wounds is a desperate attempt to polarize communities. It is simply a bad idea -- be it honoring Rushdie or promoting the violent ideas of bin Laden. Both are misguided efforts rooted in an aimless desire for more violence. Few have read Rushdie's book, and equally few have read Khomeini's fatwa.
Start with Cool Heads and Good Faith
The tense recent history leading to such talks has been remarkably devoid of any kind of diplomacy. The Bush era has seen intensified tough talk, with the baggage of recent history piled high on both sides of the table. These negotiations will take time, and won't go anywhere if they aren't done in good faith.
Propaganda & Childish Mind Games
If Amar visits Iran, like any first-time visitor he will be confronted with a reality very different than the fantasy America has spun since the Iranian Revolution 29 years ago. It failed to understand Iran then, and instead of learning its lesson has refused to engage since, spinning a relationship of hostile words.
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.
Remember the 1960s? Iran Doesn't
Almost all Iranians, and the rich Persian culture, never adopted the shallow sex-for-sale commercialism of Western societies.
Some Delicate Diplomacy, Please
America plays diplomacy like it plays sports. It's too bad American sports don't end in a tie. Instead, they end in "sudden death". Always having an absolute winner is dangerous.
Consume Much Less
Climate change is no longer a theory; it’s a harsh reality, impacting the lives of everyone. Its pace and momentum of the change is perhaps its most alarming aspect....
Gulf: Iran's the Enemy, America's OK
With Palestine the predominant cause behind Arab nationalism of past decades, America's support for Israel always made it the Arabs' cause for evil in the Middle East. But the U.S. has maintained good friends in the region as well: Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states. For them, Iran is increasingly the real trouble.
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.
Islamism Rode Democracy's Wave
Somalia/UAE - The Muslim world heeded Washington's call for democratic change, and ushered political Islam in.
The Final Option: A Washington-Tehran Dialogue
Somalia/United Arab Emirates - Why does Iran insist on rebuffing the overtures of the international community? I suspect it is because Iran has already succeeded in producing highly enriched uranium and is closer than we think to making a nuclear bomb....
Just the Sort We Should Honor
Personally, I find all knighthoods needlessly provocative. But if my country is foolish enough to continue to hand them out, I cannot see why Salman Rushdie should be disqualified. Britain waited 18 years after Iran issued its fatwa against him before knighting Rushdie. Calling that needlessly provocative is more than ridiculous.
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.
Iran is Going Nuclear, the UN Can't Stop It
London, England - The truth is that Iran is following the Israeli principle: It is creating facts on the ground. Neither the UN, nor the United States, can stop Iran if (as seems certain) it chooses to develop nuclear weapons....
Don't Let Iran Dominate
London -- Middle Easterners may long for the stability of Ottoman days, but that doesn't mean they want a new Persian empire. Iranian regional domination would be dangerous in the extreme....
Next to Bush, Iranian President Doesn't Look So Bad
Iran is a major player in a region of strategic importance to the U.S.. Americans should hear the Iranian president's opinions from his own mouth.
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!!!
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.
The Leadership Curse
The U.S. has often been blessed with good leaders, but every now and then it gets a bad one.
For Iran and Israel, Use the Same Yardstick
Amman, Jordan - I don't accept the logic of this question. Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy is as much her right as that of any other country in the region. Only if two conditions are met would I support a boycott on Iran....
Iran is an Unlikely Mideast Power
Amman, Jordan -- Iran's seeming strength is mostly a result of the weakness of the surrounding Middle East countries....
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.
Ahmadinejad's Old-School Appeal
I have finally realized what it was that the entire Iranian nation revolted in order to achieve and how valuable this subjectivity is to empower the world of the marginalized, the poor and the oppressed.
TV confessions undermine the reality of American plans to destabilise Iran
Esfandiari, Jahanbegloo and Tajbakhsh's tv 'confessions' is only targeted at the ordinary Iranians inside Iran and the fact that they're broadcasting it on the Channel 1 confirms that. But there is also another delicate detail no one has paid attention to yet that explains what exactly Iranian intelligence system is trying to achieve: The above mentioned people, at least in the TV spots shown so far, are characterised as experts, not as prisoners. The average man or woman in Iran who doesn't read newspapers or watch satellite television or simply doesn't follow politics has no idea about the conditions in...
Khamenei's Assault on Rafsanjani's American Allies
One noteworthy observation about the recent arrests in Iran all of those detained have close ties to former president Rafsanjani and his family. Rafsanjani may believe it's a good time to establish direct channels between his trusted contacts in Iran and the U.S. -- relations that Khamenei does not want him involved in.
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.
Iranian Women: Caught Between the U.S. and Islaimc Republic
Two well-known and moderate women's rights activists have been detained in Iran since last week for participating in a peaceful street protest. The incident has outraged activists in Iran and elsewhere, but there is much more to it. On June 23, 2003, after months of heated debate, the then-reformist parliament in Iran passed a bill, in favor of signing a UN document that would abolish legal discrimination against women. It was a big day for the 14 female MPs, who had tirelessly pushed for the bill in the hope that it would be a serious start to a series of...
I'd Take Khamenei Over Bush
If the U.S. waged a war against it, I'd absolutely go back and defend Iran.
How Akbar Ganji Helps Buildup for Military Action Agaianst Iran
The problem I have with people like Akbar Ganji is that, while they clearly reject the military option for regime change in Iran, the alternative approach they are advocating, i.e. the human rights argument, still ultimately falls into the same agenda of regime change. It serves the same people with the same aim. They fail to see that their human rights discourse has always been used by the Americans to press countries they don't feel comfortable with, such as Cuba, Iran, China, Syria, Venezualla, etc. -- and very recently Russia. You can never attack a state before de-humanizing it and...
When Thom Connects Tehran to Tel Aviv; After a Joint
The night before my birthday, I was in Tel Aviv. I had just discovered the coolest bar in Tel Aviv (Okay, one of the coolest) on Lilinblum, called The Gallery, a couple days before. They were so open and nice and we immediately became friends, with Bozi and Amir, the managers and even some regular costumers. And all this was after I told them everything about my background as an Iranian and my TehrAviv project: to connect the two people of Iran and Israel through unconventional cultural exchanges and joint projects. Let me give you an example: How about getting...
Beware Freedom House's Gozaar Project
If the secular women rights activists wanted to guarantee that the Islamic Republic sees their great "One Million Signatures" campaign as a covert Amercian project to destabilize Iran through organizing and mobilizing women, being promoted by Gozaar, a Freedom House project with the Dutch government's money, was exactly what they should have done. The project (whose website is already filtered in Iran) now is definitely seen by the intelligence service as a security threat, despite the good intention of many genuine activists involved in it. What a huge mistake. Gozaar single-handedly has put the entire group of Dutch-funded projects in...
Conservative Leadership Unhappy With Ahmadinjead
For over a year, I've been saying that Khamanei is not very happy with Ahmadinejad's style and performance. Now this great story by the mostly amazing Robert Tait from Tehran for The Guardian is probably the first substantial reporting on this topic. Few people have seen it, so please link to it and spread it around. Read it: President's future in doubt as MPs rebel and economic crisis grows (The Guardian) My favorite paragraphs:...
Calling Hacktivists for Disrupting Ahmadinejad's Pre-emptive War Against Persian Websites And Blogs
The press deputy at the Ministry of Culture in Iran has announced that all Iranians who hold a blog or a website should register them within two month. Based on a recently written law in Ahmadinejad's cabinet, which surprisingly has not received enough media attention, any type of online content (in Persian language, I supposed) unregistered websites or blogs are going to be filtered after the deadline. There are many noteworthy details about this new regulations that I have to talk about later, but I think it is outrageous, unconstitutional, and impractical -- very hard to enforce. (Will elaborate later.)...
Iran Needs Nuclear Weapons
Paris, France - Two years ago I did not want Iran to produce nuclear energy for electricity, let alone for its military. Today I've changed my mind. Iran needs nuclear weapons to defend itself....
Risk of World War III? Music to Mr. Chávez's Ears
Mr. Bush's reckless talk of war on Iran is just one of the thousand ways Washington is forcefully helping Hugo Chávez's totalitarian schemes come true.
Petropolitics and the Iranian Bomb
Venezuela -- Thomas L Friedman recently argued that "the price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions." It's his "First Law of Petropolitics." Indeed, rising oil prices work as a psychotropic drug on the minds of petro-state leaders. Here's a corollary to Friedman's First Law: the price of oil and anti-American bullyism move in the same direction....
Don't Fuel Iran's Pretext for Radicalism
Casablanca, Morocco -- False, given the current conditions. The easy answer is that a future conservative-led Iranian state, bolstered by its dominant position, would try to strengthen itself by playing the Shiite card....
Worry About America, Not About Iran
While there is some anxiety in the Middle East about Iranian policies, there is more anxiety about American intentions.
Competing for Influence, Not Freeing Iraq
While it is good that the U.S. is opting -- for the time being at least -- for talks rather than war with Iran, it is unlikely that a democratic and independent future for Iraq will be on the agenda....
America the Dangerous
The U.S. has turned the world into a dictatorship under its own rule.
Iran Is Invincible, For Now
Mexico City, Mexico - We have reached new, ominous depths when the world's cleverest political strategy is crafted in Tehran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has taken the two main geopolitical forces of our times - the high price of oil and the growing instability in the Middle East - and used them both to strengthen his regime. Sanctions, though hard to pass, are needed....
Allied With Iran Against Israel
New Delhi, India - Equipped with a mountain of weapons left behind by George Bush, the Iraqi armed forces will raise confrontation with Israel to the top of its agenda.
Iranian "Hot Air" Doesn't Equal Power
New Delhi--The problem with this proposition lies in the "if." In fact, there is no possibility that Iran will become the pre-eminent power in the Middle East in the foreseeable future....
Europe Fears The Unintended Consequences
Europe has a long history in empire building, and is well aware of the shortcomings of policies that rely on dominance rather than balance.
Iran's Own Manifest Destiny
Cairo, Egypt - Middle East nations perceive the U.S. and the West trying to dominate the region through economic, political and military means. Iran's nuclear challenge to the West then becomes a welcome relief for many....
According to Putin, U.S. Is the Bigger Threat
Russia's President Putin lashed out against the United States, but had relatively mild words for Iran. In his view, America presents a much greater threat to world peace than a nuclear Iran.
An Iranian Dissects U.S.-Iran Talks
Tehran, Iran - Mr. Cheney and co. may like to topple the Ayatollahs. Many Iranian men would like Britney Spears to convert to Islam and marry them. Neither is on the cards, but U.S.-Iran dialog must be.
Break the Shiites Away from Hezbollah
Beirut, Lebanon - Secretary Rice should ensure that any future peace plan offers an route for the quick return of Shiite refugees to the areas which Israeli bombs forced them from while leaving open the possibility of Lebanese constitutional reform in the Shiites' favor. She should also open lines to Iran, even if it means pinching her nose in disgust....
Iraq Will Be Decisive to Middle East Stability, Not Iran
Beirut -- For Iran to become the dominant power in the Middle East, the United States and the region's majority Sunnis would have to disappear. That's not soon likely, so expect more tension as Iran and the U.S. go at each other....
Iran Needs Much More Than Military Power
Tokyo -- Iran has lots of housekeeping jobs to do before it even dreams of being the dominant power in the Middle East....
Other Presidents Should Follow Ahmedinejad’s Lead
Even the wildest speeches are better than the most “regular” wars. Why would anyone stop a politician from addressing inquiring minds?
Stop the Fear Mongering
It's strange to picture any country holding “cards.” If there was a deck, the United States – the strongest country in the world – would hold most of them. Yet the U.S. still seems unable to solve anything.
Columbia is Perfect Forum for Ahmedinejad's Talk
President Ahmedinejad should be heard -- not so that we can follow his authoritarian ideas, but because intelligent dialogue requires exposure to different and opposing ways of thinking.
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.
America Is a Sleeping Beauty
We have learned how destabilizing the American presidency can be when democratic institutions stop doing their job to countervail White House power.
An Unstable Iran Cannot Export Stability
Washington--A country that is inherently unstable cannot act as a stabilizer for its neighbors. Iran is economically, socially, and politically fragile. While Iran will continue to be an influential actor in specific circumstances, it lacks the internal conditions to make its international influence sustained and stable....
Tackling the Iranian Threat
It’s high time the international community gave its full backing to the Iranian opposition coalition that the current Regime most fears.
Déjà Vu: Musharraf and the Shah
The U.S. is making the same mistakes it made in Iran all over again in Pakistan: betting the farm on one man, Pervez Musharraf, with no Plan B.
Why I Helped Invite Ahmadinejad to Columbia
By Richard W. Bulliet On a balmy April day in 1959, I joined with thousands of other students to listen to Fidel Castro speak from the balcony of the field house at Harvard University....
Iran: Civil Society Held at Gunpoint
By Nasrin Alavi Here we go again. As Iran becomes increasingly isolated and under pressure from both Western powers and its Arab neighbours in the region, the battle lines are drawn. For many Iranians the signs are both ominous and all too familiar. On 22 September 1980, Iraq attacked western Iran, launching what would become the longest conventional war of the twentieth century....
The Costs of Iran’s Political Pageantry
Ahmadinejad's recent pageantry reminds me of what one European Ambassador in Tehran once told me: “You know the thing about Iran. It has such a rich culture, a grand history...incredible poets, musicians and filmmakers…But it’s cursed with such lousy politicians.”
Iranian Women Activists: In It To Win It
In March 2007, in an unusual political act for Tehran, nearly a hundred women gathered without the Interior Ministry’s permission in front of a court building to protest the trial of five women activists who had participated in a rally in June 2006. Police and security agents beat and detained the protesters and sent 33 people to Evin Prison. Like other activists taking action against the government’s discriminatory and oppressive policies, the women were charged with threatening national security, agitating against the government and taking part in illegal actions....
U.S. Agrees to Meeting with Iran and Syria
The Bush administration has agreed to sit around a negotiating table with Iran and Syria next month -- as part of a planned regional conference in Baghdad to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.
Polls Distort the Issue
Europeans probably fear an isolationist U.S. more than an overly aggressive one.
No Sense of Panic With Iran
The Iran issue is serious, but European diplomats have been working intensively on it for years and there is no sense of panic.
Regional Powers Cannot Achieve Victory
Paris, France - The war is making the world more dangerous because no protagonist will achieve any of its goals. Moreover, each might be tempted, at worst, to extend the war or at best to achieve a temporary peace agreement in order to prepare for future battles....
Are We Heading for WWIII?
President Bush has talked about the danger of World War III if Iran doesn't stop its nuclear program. What do people think is the risk of war where you are?...
PostGlobal Bloggers
M. J. Akbar, New Delhi, India Mubashar Jawed Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of The Asian Age, a daily multi-edition Indian newspaper with a global perspective and editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle, a news daily based in Hyderabad. He has written books including Blood Brothers, Nehru: The Making of India, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, Riot After Riot, The Shade of Swords, and India: The Siege Within. Kyoko Altman, Hong Kong, China Kyoko Altman is a writer based in Hong Kong. She has worked as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and...
Political, Not Nuclear, Power Play
This dispute isn't about nuclear power - it's about political power, and whether America and Israel can stop Iran from becoming a counterweight to their influence in the Middle East.
Can't Dominate Arabs, Or Each Other
Mutual respect would be a good starting point for the focus of the next U.S.-Iran talks. Abiding by international law and political consensus would be another one. The two sides should consider creating a Helsinki-like approach to the issues that divide them, grounded in recognition of what they can and cannot achieve.
To Help Pakistan, Fight Iran
The most important thing the West can do to help Pakistan and all other Muslim countries, themselves torn between battling and appeasing the jihadis, is to stand up to jihadi central: Iran.
Bureaucratic Mutiny May Backfire
The report is a bureaucratic mutiny - an attempt to determine policy by tying President George Bush's hands - but it may backfire.
Iraq Can Succeed -- Unless Iran Gets Nukes
The war in Iraq cannot be viewed in isolation. Iran is heavily backing jihadis in Iraq as part of a regional effort to oppose the U.S., destroy democracy and eliminate prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. While it took the White House too long to adopt the current strategy, there is no reason to believe it cannot work -- unless Iran is allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
Confront Real Obstacle: Genocidal Jihad
The first thing Tony Blair should do is rethink the whole concept of a "Mideast envoy." What the job needs most now is not a mediator but a truth-teller. The struggle for peace is no longer between Israelis and Palestinians. It is against the jihadi axis (Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Syria and Iran) that wants to block peace at all cost.
Back to the USSR
Russia should be treated, if not as a pariah itself, as an active accomplice with Tehran.
Drop the Defeatism, A United West Can Triumph
Some Europeans evidently are content being the last one eaten by the Iranian crocodile. But why the defeatism when America and Europe have the power to face Iran down without firing a shot?
Stiffer Sanctions for Iran
Jerusalem, Israel - I predict some high level Israeli officials will change posts or resign and that sanctions against Iran will tighten significantly.
Singer's Response to Readers
Jerusalem, Israel -Readers are right to be skeptical of scaremongering. But the threat of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas to Israel and the West is grave.
Western Defenses, Reawaken
Jerusalem, Israel - The weaker the West looks and acts, the more the Islamists will be emboldened and the more they will attack.
Iran Can Be Stopped; Use Harsh Sanctions, and Maybe Force
Jerusalem, Israel - If the current Iranian regime is allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, global terrorism will rise as sharply as the prospects for Middle East peace will drop. This scenario would also quash the Iranian people's yearning for freedom and human rights, as demonstrated by growing internal opposition to decades of clerical rule....
To Beat Terror, Defeat Iran
Jerusalem, Israel - Five ounces (150 milliliters) of nitroglycerine, a liquid explosive, can bring down an airplane. This does not mean it is impossible to secure an airplane but it does mean it is impossible to secure wide open, target-rich, democratic societies from suicide bombers solely with defensive measures....
Trust Iran, But Verify
We made this mistake when we trusted North Korea’s nuclear intentions – and we’re about to make it again.
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.
Iran and North Korea Are Nuclear Siamese Twins
Seoul, South Korea - It is no surprise that Iran refused to halt uranium enrichment activities despite the Group of Six's package of incentives. Like Kim Jong Il in North Korea, Ahmadinejad has fashioned an argument that the pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy is a matter of sovereign rights. This leaves him little room to compromise....
Take a Nuclear Iran Over An Incompetent Invader
The world expects the worst of the Bush administration. Despite the sense that attacking Iran is not a rational policy choice, most everyone suspects this administration is capable of doing it.
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.
U.S. Reaches its Global Limits
Johannesburg, South Africa- The Iraq Study Group's damning report points to the waning influence of U.S. power in the Middle East, and around the globe.
Don't Impose Sanctions, Talk First
Johannesburg, South Africa - At this stage United Nations sanctions against Iran would be an ineffective strategy. Without first talking with the regime, imposing sanctions would only strengthen the hand of Iran hardliners....
Don’t Trust a Liar
How can the world believe that Iran, a permanent liar, has corrected its ways?
U.S. Needs Help in Iraq, Iran Wants More
The Bush administration has come to an unfortunately late realization that without Iran, the chances of stabilizing Iraq are slim to none. But Iran has broader interests, for them these talks in Baghdad are only the start. The U.S. will have to give wider concessions, and should seek an agreement for securing the whole region.
Lose-Lose Situation, Start Cutting Deals
In Iraq, the U.S. faces a choice between bad and worse. It would be a mistake to stay for long, but leaving could devastate the region's delicate political composition. To stabilize the situation, the U.S. needs the help of Syria and Iran. There's no alternative to talking.
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.
Iran Cannot Dominate
Tel Aviv, Israel - Iran is trying to create a "Shiite Crescent" but Sunnites will prevent Iranian hegemony.
Make Bush Talk to "Axis of Evil"
Tel Aviv, Israel - Their nuclear projects must be stopped. If the U.S. doesn't use force, it must use diplomacy.
This War Will Bring Safety
Tel Aviv, Israel - Yes. Israel must and will be a safer place once this war and the crisis are over and resolved with a durable ceasefire and tangible security arrangements in place. The Western world will be safer....
