US Foreign Policy

By Golnaz Esfandiari | (RFE/RL) – “What should I wear, now that we will be hanging out with the Americans?” It’s a joke that was making the rounds among Iranians after a framework nuclear deal with world powers was hammered out after lengthy negotiations in Switzerland. And it reflects the wish of many Iranians for […]

Featured

Iran: What did Khamenei really say about the Lausanne Agreement, and Why?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s paramount leader, spoke out on Thursday about the framework agreement for Iran’s negotiations over its nuclear enrichment program with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5 + 1). The speech is all over the place and seems to me to […]

Iraq

ISIL Momentum In Iraq Has ‘Halted’: VP Joe Biden

contributors

By RFE/RL | – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has said the momentum of Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq has stalled. “ISIL’s [IS] momentum in Iraq has halted, and in many places has been flat-out reversed,” he said in Washington on April 9. He cautioned, “There’s still a long fight ahead — I don’t […]

Barack Obama

Lausanne: Is there really much Disagreement between US, Iran on those Talking Points?

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari | (RFE/RL) – There are two sides to every story. When it comes to the framework nuclear deal reached this month between world powers and Iran, there is the account provided by the United States, and there is the Iranian account. Sanctions Relief They differ slightly, including on the timing of the […]

Barack Obama

US Arms Hypocrisy in Egypt: Obama’s New Beginning that Never Started

contributors

By Marwa Fikry Abdel Samei | (Informed Comment) – “To the people of Egypt, particularly the young people of Egypt: I want to be clear: We hear your voices. I have an unyielding belief that you will determine your own destiny and seize the promise of a better future for your children and your grandchildren.” […]

Iran

How are Iranians reacting to Nuclear Deal?

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Farangis Najibullah | (RFE/RL) – Iranian supporters of the framework nuclear deal announced on April 2 describe it as a historic achievement that will offer a better future for the people of Iran and improved ties with the world. Hard-liners, however, say the deal is a disaster that achieves “nothing” for […]

Featured

The von Moltke Fallacy and avoiding another World War, with Iran

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Iran has just de facto announced that it does not want a nuclear weapon, at least in this generation, and probably ever. That American and Western hawks can’t see this is a measure of their own blinkered view of reality or their own corruption. Some hawkishness is a […]

Iran

What’s at Stake in Nuclear Talks for Ordinary Iranians

contributors

By Saideh Jamshidi Iran’s new round of nuclear negotiations with the United Nations is expected to be completed by March 31, today. But one thing is clear: Leader Ali Khamenei wants to gain as much as he can from this political dilemma. He might be the only one who can end to this political comedy […]

Featured

Israel’s Netanyahu jumps Shark with “Iran-Lausanne-Yemen” axis barb

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, no longer allowed to sit at the adult table because of his past food fights, has been reduced, as Haaretz observed, to whining from the sidelines. Now he is complaining about an “Iran-Lausanne-Yemen” axis. The negotiations between Iran and the P5 + 1 (the […]