Iran Archives - Page 35 of 112 - Foreign Policy In Focus

The Not-So-Great Game

by John Feffer | Feb 7, 2012

The current Great Game centers on Iran and the efforts particularly of the United States and Israel to prevent the country from going nuclear. The 19th-century battle over turf and influence in Central Asia lasted decades and sent armies slogging their way across high mountains and unforgiving plains. The current standoff, by contrast, could escalate in a matter of hours, if Israel launches a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iran retaliates directly or through proxies.

Israel v. Iran: “U.S. Assets” Might Not Be American

by Russ Wellen | Feb 7, 2012

Who knew that the term “U.S. assets” was a category broad enough to include the entire state of Israel?

Iran and Post-Withdrawal Iraq

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Feb 3, 2012

With the United States formally ending its military operations in Iraq, many analysts are beginning to examine Iran’s deep influence in the country. In light of of Iran’s growing tensions with the Westover its burgeoning nuclear program, Tehran’s maneuvers in Iraq carry tremendous strategic implications.

Failed Sanctions on Iran

by David Cortright | Feb 2, 2012

During his State of the Union address President Obama trumpeted the supposed success of tougher sanctions on Iran. U.S. policymakers seem to believe that stronger measures will deny the regime’s nuclear capability and force it to cry uncle. Although sanctions are indeed causing serious harm to the Iranian economy, they have not forced the government to comply with U.S. demands. Greater pressure seems only to have hardened the regime’s determination to press ahead with the nuclear program, while weakening the position of the country’s beleaguered civil society opposition.

Avoiding a War in the Persian Gulf

by Navid Hassibi | Feb 1, 2012

With tensions between the United States and Iran rising over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, the prospect of an accidental or deliberate military provocation in the region has increased dramatically. Direct military conflict between the two sides is more likely now than at any point since diplomatic relations were severed in 1980.

We’re America and We’ll Breach Whatever Perimeter We Want

by Russ Wellen | Jan 31, 2012

What if Iran’s Republican Guard we’re conducting operations at the U.S. border with Mexico?

The West Judges Iran by Not One, But Two Double Standards

by Russ Wellen | Jan 27, 2012

When it comes to nuclear weapons and assassinations, Iran is judged by a different standard from the West.

Putting a Country on a Leash: Iran and Uranium

by Russ Wellen | Jan 25, 2012

If Iran agrees, on paper, to end uranium enrichment, it will no longer be inspected and could then secretly recreate its program.

An Alternative to War with Iran

by Richard Silverstein | Jan 25, 2012

Relations between Iran and the West, fraught with tension and conflict for decades, have in the past few months reached a fever pitch. There is talk of war on a daily basis from both sides. Hundreds of millions, if not billions, have been spent both to fuel the Iranian missile and nuclear program and the counter-measures taken by the West to frustrate it. Leaders on both sides have worked themselves into paroxysms of rage regarding the alleged homicidal intensions of the other side.

Is Disarmament to Proliferation as Spending Is to Austerity?

by Russ Wellen | Jan 24, 2012

Disarming to prevent nuclear proliferation strikes some as counterintuitive as spending during an economic crisis instead of cutting spending.