MEI Podcast, 18 April, 2012 Containment: A Viable Strategy for Iran?
MEI Podcast, 18 April, 2012 Containment: A Viable Strategy for Iran?
This Opinion first appeared in Hurriyet on April 13, 2012
By Alex Vatanka and Soner Çağaptay
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
Podcast forU.S.-Iraq Relations after the Withdrawal 13 April, 2012
Originally posted January 2009
It is only fitting that “The Iranian Revolution at 30” begin with an introductory essay by R.K. Ramazani and that this project be dedicated to him. For 55 years, Professor Ramazani has been a teacher and mentor to many scholars and practitioners of the Middle East. His body of work on Iran is unrivalled in its scope and originality. Many of his articles and books on Iranian foreign policy are standard works.
This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy’s Middle East Channel on April 9, 2012
BERLIN – If at one time European governments believed the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran was far more frightening for the United States than for those across the Atlantic, those days are in the past. As talks near on Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran should know that European officials’ views are somewhere in the middle between America’s caution and Israel’s alarm.
This Opinion first appeared in Frontline’s “Tehran Bureau” on April 3, 2012.
Jerusalem will probably be the toughest issue in any future Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The other three core issues – borders/settlements, security, and Palestinian refugees – will also be very difficult, but Jerusalem is at a different level. Jews, Muslims, and Christians worldwide have strong attachment to the city and its many holy sites. For Israelis and Palestinians, Jerusalem is the focal point of national, cultural, and religious identities and aspirations. Their conflicting claims are based on long history and narratives that do not accommodate the other.
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.
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.