Latest on the Iran War

This Opinion first appeared in Frontline’s “Tehran Bureau” on April 3, 2012.

Let us assume that nobody will bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, at least for quite a while. There is no Iranian nuclear test in the offing. Until now, the inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have uncovered no diversion of declared stocks of uranium for use in a nuclear explosive device. Of course, clandestine activities could always take place in some remote stretch of the vast Iranian territory, unknown to the inspectors of the Vienna Agency.

This Opinion first appeared in the Majalla on March 22, 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described upcoming talks with Iran over its nuclear program as "the last chance to resolve the crisis." Yet as the final hour approaches for an opportunity to avert a military attack, there are few apparent signs Iran will make compromises. Recent parliamentary elections have only strengthened the power of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the hardliners in his inner circle who aspire to make the Islamic republic a regional superpower.

MEI Podcast number 10, 21 March, 2012, Iran and the West at a Crossroad: Will Recent Elections Make or Break a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

MEI Podcast number 10, 21 March, 2012, Iran and the West at a Crossroad: Will Recent Elections Make or Break a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

MEI Podcast number 10, 21 March, 2012, Iran and the West at a Crossroad: Will Recent Elections Make or Break a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

MEI Podcast number 10, 21 March, 2012, Iran and the West at a Crossroad: Will Recent Elections Make or Break a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

MEI Podcast number 10, 21 March, 2012, Iran and the West at a Crossroad: Will Recent Elections Make or Break a Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

Are Iran’s leaders rational actors? This question matters when justifying any decision by Israel to preempt Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. An Iranian regime seen as driven to destroy the Jewish state has to be dealt with differently than one whose objectives are mediated by calculations of costs and benefits. Deterrents that would be normally expected to restrain a state would not work with an irrational Iran.

Originally posted July 2010

In the past, there was no need for learning a foreign language. Today, however, learning foreign languages should be included in school curricula … Today is not like yesterday, when our voice could not reach beyond the national boundary. Today, we can stay in Iran but publicize [our ideology] and export our revolution to other parts of the world in different languages.

Ayatollah Khomeini, 1980[1]

Audio recording from The Arab Spring:  Implications for US Policy and Interests

Audio recording from The Arab Spring:  Implications for US Policy and Interests

Audio recording from The Arab Spring:  Implications for US Policy and Interests