How to Engage Iran (If You Must)
Ilan Berman After months of dithering and delay, the Iranian government appears to have grudgingly accepted the U.S. president's diplomatic overtures. Just shy of the deadline for dialogue set by...
Oil Realism in the Middle East
Shlomo Ben-Ami No matter how important rising oil powers outside the Middle East are becoming, the region will continue to be the world’s main source of energy for years...
Iran: OK, The Cabinet’s In, Has Ahmadinejad “Won”?
Prof. Scott Lucas Today, on Iran’s “weekend”, should be a political catch-your-breath day after the culmination of Parliament’s approval of 18 of 21 proposed Ministers for the Ahmadinejad Cabinet....
Egypt’s Role Critical as Mideast Peace Mediator
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.S. President Barack Obama expressed optimism about attaining Middle East peace after their White House Meeting on Tuesday. But journalists and regional analysts are far...
Iraqi Arabs and Kurds: How Wide Is the Gulf?
Iraq’s Arab-led central government and Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq are talking, but they are still far from agreement on issues of land and oil that threaten the country’s stability....
Iran: Government Says, “Overweight? Try Prison”
Prof. Scott Lucas From Press TV, “Ahmadinejad aide says jail improves health condition”: Amid concerns over health conditions and treatment of Iran’s post-vote detainees, an aide to the Iranian...
Iran: Is the Challenge to the Regime Alive? Karroubi, Rafsanjani, and Detainees
Prof. Scott Lucas The immediate significance of Mehdi Karroubi’s letter, as it passed from Karroubi to Secretary of Parliament Ali Larijani and then, via Hashemi Rafsanjani, to the head of...
US Sanctions and Iran
Scott Lucas, Prof. Throughout the Iran crisis, we have referred to US-based efforts to manipulate the conflict for a much different objective: confronting Iran over its nuclear programme. ...
Iran: The “40th Day” Memorial and the Inauguration
Scott Lucas, Prof. The political scene in Iran is always shifting, but an hour last night brought dramatic evidence of the trends, not only in Opposition v. Government but also...
Iran Deaths: A Further Word on the Figures
Scott Lucas, Prof. Earlier this week I wrote, as part of our posts on the casualties and detentions in the post-election conflict in Iran, about a figure of 245 deaths...
My (Dutch) Kingdom for Iraq
Giles Scott-Smith Iraq 2003 is becoming ancient history within the Anglo-Saxon political world, as all the commissions have reported, the questions have been answered (as far as we know), and...
Text: Mousavi Letter to Guardian Council
Scott Lucas, Prof. This weekend, candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, in the context both of the Guardian Council’s purported recount of 10% of the Presidential vote and its appointment of...
Israeli President’s Azerbaijan Trip Breaks New Ground
Breffni O'Rourke As part of a strategy by Israel to improve relations with moderate, secular countries of the Islamic world, President Shimon Peres is visiting Azerbaijan on June 28. In the first...
Iran: Detained Iranian Politicians and Journalists
Scott Lucas Tehran Bureau has posted the following list. Many of the names have also been confirmed by other sources and our correspondents. In addition, Tehran Bureau profiles journalist...
Iran: A Preview of Tomorrow’s Presidential Election
Scott Lucas n Enduring America on 12 February, Chris Emery evaluated the announcement of former President Mohammad Khatami that he would stand in June’s election. He wrote, “[It is] an error…to link Khatami’s...