Afghan Daily: Tehran “Blackmails” Kabul for Political Concessions
Afghanistan’s leading daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh has blasted the Iranian government for blocking Afghanistan’s accession to the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) and using its leverage within TRACECA to “blackmail” the Afghan government and seek political concessions from Kabul.
Minority-ness and the Re-entrenchment of Sectarianism since the Arab Uprisings
This essay looks at sectarianism from the perspective of minority studies. The author argues that if sectarianism is understood as a struggle for power over national truths and national resources, then a persistent overemphasis on labeling minority/majority categories could contribute to the form and force of sectarian discourse and politics.
Son of Dissident Cleric Begins Six-Year Jail Term for Releasing Mass Execution Tape
The Iranian authorities yesterday arrested Ahmad Montazeri, the son of one of the founding fathers of Islamic Republic, to serve a six-year jail term for releasing tapes that shed further light on the regime’s mass executions of political prisoners in 1988, the Iranian media reports.
Iran's Defense Minister Says Will Continue Missile Activity, Calls for Israel’s Destruction
Iran has increased the range, precision and longevity of its ballistic missiles and will continue to increase its defensive power, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said earlier today.
Top U.S. General Says Iran’s Behavior Unchanged despite Washington’s Warnings
Iran’s behavior has not changed since President Donald Trump put the country “on notice,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said at a public conference at the Brookings Institution earlier today. “From my perspective, the major export of Iran is actually malign influence across the region,” he explained.
Top Iranian Sunni Leader Urges Khamenei to Probe Reports of Speedy Execution of Sunnis
The top religious leader of Iran’s Sunni minority has written to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to express his community’s concern over reports of a “secret order” issued by the country’s Judiciary to speed up the execution of Sunni death-row prisoners.
Weekly Briefing: Geneva Talks, Iranian War Games, and Trump's New National Security Advisor
In this week’s Monday Briefing, contributors Randa Slim, Alex Vatanka, Paul Salem, and Antoun Issa provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the next round of Syria talks in Geneva, Iranian war games directed at President Trump, the appointment of a new U.S. National Security Advisor to replace Michael Flynn, and Israeli PM Netanyahu’s trip to Australia.
Amnesty International’s 2016/17 Report Exposes Iran’s Record of Human Rights Abuses
The Amnesty International Report 2016/17 released yesterday blasted the Iranian regime’s record of human rights abuses, particularly acts of torture and imprisonment of political activists after unfair trials, discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and an alarming number of executions.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) conducted its latest war games this week. Named the Great Prophet 11, the military drills included all the usual panoply to be expected. From the I.R.G.C. touting its capacity to wage warfare in urban terrain to testing of drones, missiles and artillery firepower, the three-day war games had it all.
