100 posts
The EU Sanctions on Iran – the Legal Background
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We all know that the EU has imposed stricter sanctions on Iran than provided for in the United Nations Security Council resolution 1929 (2010). It is interesting, though, to consider the legal background of this measure. The new sanctions are imposed...
Morning Brief (26-7)
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EU foreign ministers to give green light for tough Iran sanctions. AFP reports: The European Union will hit Iran with tough sanctions against its vital oil and gas industry on Monday in a bid to lure Tehran back to the negotiating table over its disp...
Iran favours talks with EU after Ramadan -Turkey
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Iran has expressed willingness to have talks with the European Union on its nuclear programme after the month of Ramadan ends in early September, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday. READ MORE...
Ashton Seeks to Revive EU Role in Iran Nuclear Talks
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The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, are currently involved in a diplomatic dance over resuming talks on Tehran's nuclear program. If the talks do indeed come to fruition, As...
Morning Brief (2-7)
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Obama signs into law new US sanctions on Iran, the New York Times reports: President Obama on Thursday signed into law new unilateral American sanctions on Iran that go beyond the penalties imposed by the United Nations last month as he tries to esca...
Kazakhstan Gets Jump on Caspian Naval Race
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It may not approach the scale of the great battleship race between Britain and Germany that preceded World War I, but a naval build-up is currently and quietly taking place on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan appears to be setting the pace, with plans to...
Aliyev: Azerbaijan’s defense spending tops Armenia budget
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President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan is committed to increasing its military power that now surpasses the budget of Armenia, a neighboring country that occupies part of Azerbaijani territory, ignoring international law. READ MORE...
The merit of dialogue in the EU Foreign Policy on Iran
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The establishment of a stable and viable EU foreign policy has always been a desideratum amongst its member states. In spite of the repeated efforts from the EU administration to establish a coherent EU profile on various aspects of political, econom...
EU approves harsh new sanctions against Iran
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The European Union and the United States apparently find it easier to take on the Iranian nuclear problem than the global financial crisis. On June 17, EU government chiefs agreed to new sanctions against Iran at a Brussels summit. U.S. President...
Morning Brief (18-6)
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EU leaders approve fresh sanctions against Iran. The BBC reports: European Union leaders have approved a new set of sanctions against Iran that go further than the latest United Nations measures. The fresh EU sanctions include a ban on investments, t...
The myth of Iran's 'isolation'
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In announcing the passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran, President Obama stressed not once but twice Iran's increasing "isolation" from the world. This claim is not surprising considering that after 16...
Morning Brief (15-6)
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EU plans new sanctions on Iran. The FT reports from yesterday’s EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg: European Union governments are expected to impose new sanctions against Iran that would go further than those approved by the United Nat...
Iran's tortured Green movement is down but not out. We can still help | Timothy Garton Ash
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One harrowing year since the stolen election, the people of Iran need the world's attention to go beyond the nuclear issueDo not forget Iran. Remember Neda. If there are green-clad protests in Tehran this weekend, to mark the first anniversary of the...
Morning Brief (8-6)
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UN Iran sanctions vote on Wednesday. Politico’s Laura Rozen reports: “The goal is Wednesday,” one European diplomat said of the anticipated vote date. “Vote is likely Wednesday,” another diplomatic source in New York said. The text of t...
Morning Brief (3-6)
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UN vote on Iran delayed because of Israeli raid. Politico’s Laura Rozen reports: A vote on a new UN Iran sanctions resolution will likely be pushed back due to diplomatic fallout from the Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, among other reaso...
Iran’s foreign minister Mottaki flunks the courage test
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How time flies when you’re having fun. I spent the best part of Wednesday trailing Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s foreign minister, around Brussels. After about four hours it dawned on me that, no matter how strange and disturbing som...
Turkey, Brazil, and Iran: A Glimpse of the Future
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WASHINGTON–It has been quite a week for diplomacy on Iran. On the eve of agreement on a new round of sanctions among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the leaders of Turkey and Brazil concluded a dramatic visit to Tehran, bringi...
A diplomatic game of chicken with Iran
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Let's be generous and call the frantic diplomatic maneuvers that have been taking place this week over Iran's nuclear program a "negotiation," Tehran-style. READ MORE...
Iran signs nuclear fuel-swap deal with Turkey
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Iran has signed an agreement to send uranium abroad for enrichment after mediation talks in Tehran with Turkish and Brazilian leaders. READ MORE...
It looks like a victorious day for Turkish foreign policy: Iran agrees to send low enriched uranium to Turkey
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From L: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a picture in Tehran. Iran agreed on Monday to ship much of its low enriched uranium abroad in a...
Envoys: Turkey, Brazil brokering Iran nuclear deal
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Turkey and Brazil are trying to revive a stalled atomic fuel deal with Iran in an attempt to help the Islamic Republic avoid new UN sanctions over its nuclear program, Western diplomats said . READ MORE...
Ahmadinejad Blasts U.S., Says Iran Not Seeking Nuclear Weapons
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Iran's nuclear ambitions are endangering the entire world and called on the international community to hold Tehran accountable. READ MORE...
Norouz
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I would like to send my best wishes to all those who are celebrating the ancient festival of Norouz. At this time of year millions of people in Iran and around the world will be coming together to welcome the coming of the new year. Many...
Can we start to build some power stations please?
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Its just that I don't want a bunch of mad mullahs having this sort of power over us. And No, windmills just don't do it for me.TEHRAN: Iran could make European countries suffer by cutting off energy supplies and can target any adversary with its miss...
The commemoration of the Islamic Revolution and the struggle for power in Iran
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In Iran the Islamic Revolution (1979) is the most significant political development in the second half of the twentieth century and the event which led to the formation of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is commemorated annua...
International Community Weighs Response To Nuclear Iran
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Experts agree that if Iran's claims about its ability to produce higher-grade enriched uranium are true, the country could have weapons-grade uranium within six months. What does this mean for the West? READ MORE...
Ankara's Iran gambit
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Iran, it seems, is going to turn into one of the main litmus tests of exactly how influential Turkey has become in the region.Ankara is in an uncomfortable position in this respect. If it does not manage to bring Tehran around to a reasonable positio...
Freedom for Iran!
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“Where liberty is, there is my country” Benjamin Franklin The people of Iran are obviously not happy with its current government, and they protest. The Iranian government has in response arrested, tortured, raped and killed protesters in order to...
The 2003 question about Iran
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One of Tony Blair’s better lines in his evidence to the Chilcot inquiry on 29 January was that one should not ask the 2003 question about Iraq – how much of a threat was Saddam Hussein then? – but rather the 2010 question: how much of a threat...
Morning Brief (25-1)
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Negotiating with the Taliban. The New York Times editorializes about the coalition’s policy change in Afghanistan: Killing Taliban fighters won’t be enough. If there is any hope of defeating the insurgency, Afghanistan’s government will hav...
These protests should shame the west into a change of policy on Iran | Timothy Garton Ash
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Political change in Tehran is not just a moral matter. It's our best hope of achieving Obama's nuclear objectivesWhile the west has been on holiday, Iranians have again risked their lives to protest against an increasingly desperate, oppressive regim...
Iran Cancels MEP Visit
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The European Parliament delegation for relations with Iran has voiced surprise at the last-minute cancellation by Iranian authorities of the EP delegation’s visit to Tehran, which was to take place later this week. The visit was criticized in a...
‘Here is your revolution!’
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Now, a blog is not a rolling news service, and Socialist Unity can write about what it likes. And yet, like Gene, I find it curious that a blog dedicated to revolutionary socialism can’t find the space to offer support to what looks increasingl...
Morning Brief (14-12)
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New sanctions on Iran? The Times reports: The United States, Germany, France and Britain will push Russia and China at a meeting expected to be on Friday to agree to new UN sanctions against Iran. (…) Western officials say that talks this week...
We Are All Majid Tavakoli
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Throughout the 2000s, various silly people have claimed that forced Islamic religious dress – the veil, headscarf, hijab, chador, burka, jilbab, niqab – is a purely sartorial issue, a statement of resistance to imperialism, even a tool o...
Last hooray for the EU on Iran?
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by Tomas ValasekWhen the EU's first 'foreign minister', Cathy Ashton, starts work on December 1st, she will find Iran on top of her 'to do' pile. Earlier this week, Tehran turned down a proposal from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that...
Is Turkey Iran's friend?
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by Katinka BaryschIs Turkey really Iran’s “friend”, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed in a recent interview with the Guardian newspaper? Erdogan’s visit last week to Tehran suggests so. He met not only President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but also Sup...
Iran Moves To Cut Subsidies On Fossil Energy
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Like most oil and gas producing countries Iran has been spoiling its citizens by ridiculously low prices for gasoline, fuel, gas and electricity, at a hefty charge for the national budget. The subsidies, including those for food, telephone and transp...
Iran’s nuclear program at the crossroads
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The way ahead with the dispute between Iran’s nuclear programme and the possible response of western powers is foggy. News from last weeks give some base for optimism (peaceful solution) while others are increasing the use of military option. W...
NPR’s On Point hosts Constanze Stelzenmuller to discusses diplomacy, threats, and tackling the challenge of Iran
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President Obama, before the United Nations General Assembly and the world today, talking about the world’s challenges and how the United States cannot solve them alone. In the middle of those challenges — and very soon at the center of six-party...
We can't decide Iran's struggle. But we can avoid backing the wrong side | Timothy Garton Ash
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Iranians will choose their own fate, but the west must not abandon the reformers for the sake of an elusive nuclear dealLet's get this straight: the people who will change Iran for the better are the Iranians. The words of an American president at th...
No more dollars, Tehran set to use Euros as main foreign exchange currency
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Announced in the past, the decision to switch is now official, following a decree signed by President Ahmadinejad. It will be particularly important for oil sales. With four million barrels a day, Iran is the world’s fourth largest “black gold”...
Only a coincidence? US gives up missile defense while Moscow performs U-turn on Iran
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Now it is official. As the Guardian reports: Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe. And the story continues with first reactions: The move has prompted angry accusations of betrayal fro...
Just bad timing
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The big news of the day is that that United States abandoned its plans for establishing a missile defense shield in Europe. The change was expected but the timing was not. Obama is facing a lot of criticism at home for moving to the left, especially...
Iran (or Europe?) Downgraded
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U.S. to Shelve Nuclear-Missile Shield The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build...
Iran looms over Gymnich meeting
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What line should the EU take on economic sanctions towards Iran? This is one of the crucial questions at the informal meeting with EU Foreign Ministers, starting tomorrow. Angela Merkel´s statement last week on Iran has been interpreted as a shif...
Why Attend Ahmadinejad’s Inauguration?
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The protests after the presidential elections in Iran have somewhat subsided. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as the elected President of Iran. But why did EU ambassadors attend the ceremony? The Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, says that ther...
Solidarity with Iranian political prisoners: protest outside Press TV tomorrow
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The muderous clamp-down on opposition groups and protesters against the rigged Iranian elections, continues. Amnesty International suggests that at least four protesters have died in custody. Opposition groups claim that protesters have been kept in...
Is war with Iran inevitable?
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The G8 has finally ended and I’m sitting on an ATR 42- 500 Italian customs police plane, which is usually used to spot illegal immigrants crossing the Med to Italy from Africa, with President Barroso and his advisers flying back to Rome. It’s...
Iran, elections, and nuclear weapons
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by Tomas ValasekWhat the future holds for Iran's theocratic regime is hard to read. True, the government has ensured its own survival by suppressing last month's protests there with brutal force. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will remain in p...
G-8 Leaders Set Deadline For Resolution Of Iran Nuclear Stand-Off
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G-8 leaders have laid down the gauntlet to Iran by setting a September deadline for the Islamic Republic to accept negotiations over its nuclear ambitions or else face tougher sanctions. READ MORE...
IRAN – revolution postponed
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Revolution in Iran seems to happen only in western dreams and media. Protests took place only in Tehran and a few large cities and are now nearly disappeared. Smaller towns and rural areas have been very quiet whole the time after elections. The oppo...
Iran Contemplates on Negotiation Eligibility
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Iran’s military chief of staff Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi has said that the alleged “interference” of European Union Member States in the riots following the June presidential election means the bloc has “lost its qualif...
The facts of the election are disputed. Iranians can make the next one better | Timothy Garton Ash
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For all those who wish to commemorate Neda, democracy can be delivered – with the help of legitimate monitorsSo it's official. Iran's Guardian Council has, after ordering a random recount of some 10% of the votes, endorsed the supreme leader's judg...
Iran - no Revolution but potential for Change anyway
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In my previous article “Iran-Twitter-Revolution” I had some doubts that revolution is coming soon concluding however that something historic is afoot in Iran today. I order to understand events in today’s Iran I think they should be put i...
EU warns Tehran over detained British embassy staff
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The European Union agreed on Sunday that intimidation and harassment of European diplomatic staff by Iran in Tehran would be met with a "strong and collective response." READ MORE...
Should EU Member States’ Embassies Help Iranian Protestors?
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EUobserver reports that Italy had instructed its embassy in Tehran to provide humanitarian aid to wounded protesters, pending a coordinated response from all EU countries. Austria has also instructed its embassy to provide first aid to protestors. Bu...
Iranian elections, with SCIENCE
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Georg Hoffmann of PrimaKlima has turned away from climatology for a moment to carry out an interesting statistical analysis of the Iranian election results. Bizarrely, the percentage split between the incumbent and the closest rival remained entirely...
Why Ahmadinejad will win
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We’ve seen a number of regimes fall because of popular protests: Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, yadda yadda. We’ve also seen several that have not fallen: Burma, Armenia, Greece. Which one does Iran more resemble? Or, to put it another way,...
Iran: the power struggle
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The Guardian Council today announced that there will be a partial recount of the disputed presidential election results: this is not expected to change the outcome. It is surprising that the western media before today failed to report much beyond the...
A Very Iranian Democracy
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"The elections are a matter for the Iranian people, but if there are serious questions that are now being asked about the conduct of the elections, they have got to be answered" Gordon Brown - Unelected Prime Minister of BritainGordon Brown can have...
Soccer Diplomacy with Iran?
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"We had ping pong diplomacy with China, and now we may soon engage in soccer diplomacy with Iran. Reports out of Tehran indicate that the US Soccer Federation has inquired about the possibility of holding a friendly with Iran sometime in October...
Russia Is Not Able to Play a Significant Part in Iranian Gas Transit to Europe
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The attempts of Russia to participate in Iranian gas supplies to Europe will hardly be successful. This point of view was sounded by the Senior Researcher of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Ivan Danilin. READ MORE...
Europe Could Draw Gas Through Iran-Armenia Pipeline
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If Teheran manages to agree with Brussels, gas for the “Nabucco” pipeline could flow from Iran to the EU, comments Armenian analyst Armen Hanbabian for Deutsche Welle. Today the Iran-Armenia pipeline has a regional importance and is in a...
Iran: Obama gets his message wrong
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President Barack Obama is to be congratulated on his video message to Tehran, but he spoiled it by unnecessarily saying: “You, too, have a choice. The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community o...
Iran Awakening
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Iran is one big enigma. Having lived three years in Iran, one lesson I learned was not to try to analyse Iranian behaviour in order to determine policy or motivation. You have to try to feel what is in mind because Iranian thinking differs fundam...
