Why Israel Shouldn't Attack Iranian Nuclear Installations--Unless It Has to Do So
written by: Barry Rubin
Jul 28, 2010

An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear installations for the purpose of trying to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons at all would be a mistake. Instead, Israel should plan--and indeed is planning--for a multi-layer campaign of airstrikes, missile defenses, and other measures in the event of Iran ...more

Iran admits sanctions might slow nuclear program
Jul 15, 2010

Sanctions against Iran could slow down its nuclear progress, a senior government official said on Wednesday, the first time Tehran has acknowledged the measures might have some bite.

"We cannot say the sanctions have no effect," the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, ...more

Containing Iran Requires Getting Smart, Tough, and Serious
written by: Barry Rubin
Jul 12, 2010

Note: This is an updated and revised version of my article in the July-August issue of Foreign Affairs.

It should be too obvious to have to say so but unfortunately some people don't get it: dealing with a nuclear-armed Iran is an extraordinarily important task in which the lives ...more

Iran moves radar to Syria: US official
Jul 07, 2010

Iran has moved radar to Syria that could provide early-warning against a possible surprise Israeli air attack against Tehran's nuclear sites, a US defense official said on Friday.

The radar transfer was first reported in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday and prompted the State Department ...more

U.N. Security Council approves Iran sanctions on 12 to 2 vote
written by: Colum Lynch
Jun 09, 2010

A divided U.N. Security Council on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of financial and commercial sanctions on Iran's military establishment, bringing to a close more than six months of grueling diplomatic efforts by the Obama administration to penalize Tehran for building a covert nuclear facility and accelerating its enrichment of uranium.

Does Iran really want Nuclear Weapons?
written by: Jožef Kunic
May 28, 2010

Despite the warnings of the international community, Iran does not show any intentions to give up the uranium enrichment programme arguing that it is a civil programme not intended for the weapon development. However, the Western politicians do not believe those statements and perceive Iran's nuclear programme as a threat for the region and the Western world with global implications.

Ahmadinejad Unveils His Grand Strategy: A Nuclear Defensive Umbrella for Aggression
written by: Barry Rubin
May 26, 2010

Whatever you think of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad he is not a stupid man. And he's also not acting like an intimidated one. During the latest UN meeting on nuclear issues, when the new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)director-general urged Iran to "clarify" its activities, the ...more

Channeling "Nixon Goes to China" in the Middle East
written by: Greg R. Lawson
Apr 30, 2010

The balance of power between Sunni and Shia has shifted since the 2003 Iraq War. A bold, "Nixon goes to China " moment with Iran could reset the balance in the region and allow the US to recalibrate its Middle East strategy.

While the famous "unclenched" fist President Obama offered to Iran ...more

Listen to the Two Best Arab Journalists Warning What A Nuclear-Armed Iran Means
written by: Barry Rubin
Apr 28, 2010

The two Arab journalists I most respect have written of the fear in Arabic-speaking countries about Iran's having nuclear weapons. They explain persuasively why a U.S. containment policy of reassuring Arab states and Israel against direct nuclear attack is totally inadequate.
Listen to what ...more

The Iranian Struggle for Freedom from Tyranny Is a Constitutional Mandate
written by: Sousan Alemansour
Apr 26, 2010

The February 2010 travel of Ali Ardeshir Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to Japan for discussions about Iran's nuclear enrichment program received moderate media attention. To the Iranian nationals, however, more interesting than the overseas trip ...more

"The Nuclear Issue is More than it Appears to be for Iran"
written by: Antonia Dimou
Apr 19, 2010

- Interview with Jalil Roshandel conducted by Antonia Dimou -

Iran’s Ex-President Banisadr: “People want Regime Change”
written by: Dieter Farwick
Mar 08, 2010

Abu I-Hasan Banisadr was the first President of Iran after the revolution in 1979. He was elected with 75 percent of the vote in the Iranian parliament. When he lived in Paris he joined the Iranian opposition in exile led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni, who came in 1978 to Paris.

IAEA fears Iran working now on nuclear warhead
Feb 22, 2010

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it feared Iran may be working now to develop a nuclear-armed missile, as Washington warned Tehran of "consequences" for ignoring international demands to stop its atomic program.

In unusually blunt language, an International Atomic Energy Agency ...more

The Point of No Return: Clearly the Obama Administration Won't Ever Do Anything Serious Against Iran's Nuclear Program
written by: Barry Rubin
Jan 29, 2010

We must now face an extremely unpleasant truth: Even giving the Obama administration every possible break regarding its Iran policy, it is now clear that the U.S. government isn't going to take strong action on the nuclear weapons issue.

Note that I didn't even say "effective" action, ...more

The Future of Iran
written by: Nazenin Ansari and Jonathan Paris
Jan 25, 2010

The deadline for Iran to accept a U.N.-brokered deal on its controversial nuclear program expired on Dec. 31, proving yet again that the policy of modifying the behavior of the Islamic Republic is not working. While Washington frets over what the Obama Administration should do next, legitimate power ...more

Iran at a Crossroad
written by: Amin Tarzi and Adam C Seitz
Jan 20, 2010

The Islamic Republic of Iran is at a crossroad. 2009 closed with the Islamic Republic regime witnessing the most fundamental challenges to its rule over Iran. As a result both the regime in power and the country of Iran begin the year 2010 with more uncertainty than at any other ...more

Muslim World: Iran --The End Is Not Nigh
written by: Jonathan Spyer
Jan 05, 2010

The ongoing demonstrations in Iran are testimony to the continued strength and resilience of Iranian civil society. They make a mockery of the Islamic Republic's ambition of offering a model for successful Muslim governance to the world.

The next major manifestation of the protests is likely ...more

The Iranian Incursion in Context
written by: George Friedman
Dec 29, 2009

A small number of Iranian troops entered Iraq, where they ...more

Iran - Israel: Peace or War?
written by: Marjan Hajnal
Dec 28, 2009

The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses events in the Middle East and the Balkans. Marjan Hajnal, M. Sc., member of the IFIMES International Institute, presents ...more

On Human Rights Day 2009: A Look at Iran
written by: Diana Gregor
Dec 21, 2009

Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005, the human rights situation there has deteriorated dramatically. [1] In the aftermath of the Iranian elections on June 12, 2009 the human rights situation has deteriorated even further. [2] Between June 12, 2009 ...more

Sanctions and Strategy
written by: George Friedman
Dec 01, 2009

The Iranian government has rejected, at least for the moment, a proposal from the P-5+1 to ship the majority of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment. The group is now considering the next step in the roadmap that it laid out last April.

Iran vows to expand its nuclear program
written by: Thomas Erdbrink
Nov 30, 2009

10 uranium-enrichment sites announced after international rebuke

TEHRAN -- Iran's government will build 10 new sites to enrich ...more

Iran & Russia's Hot Double Games: SS-20 missiles sold as well as S-300 and plutonium breeder
written by: Dr. Hans Ruehle
Nov 10, 2009

On Sept 16 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama declared that the United States of America would no longer proceed with the anti-missile system in Middle and Eastern Europe that had been initiated by his predecessor George W. Bush. In future, the U.S. will focus on sea-based defense systems ...more

The Message From the Streets of Tehran
written by: Nazenin Ansari and Jonathan Paris
Nov 13, 2009

LONDON - On Wednesday, the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, the streets of Iran were filled with ordinary citizens demonstrating not for the humiliation of the United States but for peaceful political change in their country.

This citizen offensive, under the ...more

A Hitch in Iran's Nuclear Plans?
written by: David Ignatius
Oct 19, 2009

Since you're probably not a regular reader of the trade publication Nucleonics Week, let me summarize an article that appeared in its Oct. 8 issue. It reported that Iran's supply of low-enriched uranium -- the potential feedstock for nuclear bombs -- appears to have certain "impurities" that "could ...more

Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis
written by: George Friedman
Oct 06, 2009

Two major leaks occurred this weekend over the Iran matter.

In the first, The New York Times published an article reporting that staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear oversight group, had produced an unreleased report saying that Iran was much more advanced ...more

Medvedev jumps the gun on Iran
written by: M K Bhadrakumar
Sep 29, 2009

"Medvedev-watching" graduated from pure science to applied science during the four-day visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to New York and Pittsburgh last week.

The Western perception that the famous Prime Minister Vladimir Putin-Medvedev "tandem" in Moscow would inevitably transform ...more

Plenty to talk about
written by: Jim Lobe
Sep 29, 2009

WASHINGTON - Charges by United States President Barack Obama and the leaders of France and Britain on Friday that Iran is building a secret underground plant to enrich uranium appear certain to heighten tensions just days before critical talks between Tehran and its three accusers, as well as Germany, ...more