Iran

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A couple of weeks ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a conference on security in the Middle East for February 13-14. Although the theme seemed general, the conclave was clearly intended by Pompeo, Saudi Arabia, and Israel to direct hate against Iran. Poland issued 70 invitations to the countries […]

Iran

Iran steals Trump’s Thunder: ‘We defeated ISIL & We’ll Rebuild Iraq’

AFP

Karbala (AFP) – Iranian firms should have a key role in rebuilding Iraq after the fight against the Islamic State group, Tehran’s top diplomat said Wednesday in a rare meeting with Iraqi paramilitary units. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke in Iraq’s holy city of Karbala to commanders of the Hashed al-Shaabi, which is dominated […]

Donald Trump

Who’s Running John Bolton to Start a war with Iran? He worried even Mad Dog Mattis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – National Security Adviser John Bolton lied his face off when he told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his recent Mideast junket that he was sure Iran’s leaders are dedicated to acquiring deliverable nuclear weapons. Nuclear security expert Joe Cirincione shredded Bolton over his false assertion, which is contradicted by […]

Iran

Iraq welcomes Iran Foreign Minister after Pompeo, denounces US Sanctions as “Illegal”

AFP

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | – Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali al-Hakim (R) receives his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Baghdad on January 13, 2019 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad on Sunday for wide-ranging talks, including on US sanctions against Tehran. The visit came just days […]

Donald Trump

Pompeo’s US Jingoism and Anti-Iran Warmongering Rejected by Mideast Public

Juan Cole

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a major and extremely embarrassing foreign policy speech in Cairo on Thursday, which is probably inconsequential since his major talking points departed from the positions of his president, Trump. Also, aside from some generals and kings and princes, nobody in the region agrees with anything he said. Pompeo’s message […]

Iran

What is Behind Iran’s Anti-Corruption Protest Drive?

Mina Yousefi

By Mina Yousefi | – (International Center for Non-Violent Conflict ) – For a little over a year, Iran has witnessed a new wave of civil resistance, which had been brewing in various towns and cities around the country since the 2009 Green Revolution. Corruption and economic hardship—-although not entirely new problems—-are the two main […]

Featured

Trump’s Remark that Iranians ‘Can do what they want’ in Syria Mocked in Mideast

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Christian-owned Lebanese daily al-Nahar (The Day) mocked Trump’s remark this week that Iran can do whatever it wants in Syria after the US military withdrawal (“they can do what they want there, frankly”). A columnist for the newspaper, Monalisa Fariha, entitled her piece, “Iran will get out of Syria […]

Iran

Under Trump’s Pressure, Iran’s Khamenei moves to Ensure Rightwing Successor

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) – By appointing a conservative ally to head the influential Expediency Council, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have made a move to strengthen the hard-line camp and weaken the moderates — and also may have cleaned up his line of succession. “This is not good news for the moderates within […]

Iran

Rightwing Iran’s Policy in post-US Syria is to Block Kurdish Left

Middle East Monitor

By Maysam Behravesh | – US President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement last week of the withdrawal of American troops from Syria caught many people off guard, including his own administration officials. It actually prompted the resignation of Defence Secretary James Mattis. The surprise, however, was perhaps greater in Tehran’s corridors of power. Less than two […]