The revelation in 2009 of nuclear facilities near Qom intensified international criticism of Iran’s opaque nuclear development.
01 August 2010
U.S. President Obama 1 July signed new sanctions on Iran, targeting financial and energy sectors; criticised by China 6 July. Russian President Medvedev 12 July said Iran acquiring ...
For perhaps the first time since Iran and the U.S. broke ties in 1980, there are real prospects for fundamental change.
Away from media headlines, a war has been raging on and off in Yemen’s northern governorate of Saada since 2004, flaring up in adjacent regions and, in 2008, reaching the outskirts of the capital, Sanaa.
Though much of the focus since Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad’s June 2005 electoral victory has been on Iran’s foreign policy, the fate of his presidency will ride at least as much on his domestic performance.
There is no easy way out of the Iranian nuclear dilemma. Iran, emboldened by the situation in Iraq and soaring oil prices, and animated by a combination of insecurity and assertive nationalism, insists on its right to develop full nuclear fuel cycle capability, including the ability to enrich uranium.
The horrifying 9 November 2005 suicide attacks against three hotels in Amman - with a toll of 60 dead and over 100 wounded - drove home two important messages.
From Saudi Arabia's establishment in 1932, its minority Shiite population has been subject to discrimination and sectarian incitement. Beginning in the early 1990s, with then Crown Prince Abdullah's active support, the government took steps to improve inter-sectarian relations.
The surprise election of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, who is being sworn in as president this week, has given rise to dire predictions about Iran's domestic and foreign policies and relations with the U.S. and the European Union. There are reasons for concern.
A little over four years after Sheikh Hamad bin `Isa al-Khalifa announced a sweeping reform plan, Bahrain's fragile liberal experiment is poised to stall, or, worse, unravel. The overlap of political and social conflict with sectarian tensions makes a combustible mix.
Iran's influence in Iraq has been one of the most talked about but least understood aspects of the post-war situation.
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