What the…? The United States believes Iran has obtained enough nuclear material to make a bomb, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said on Sunday. ‘We think they do, quite frankly,’ Mullen said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ program when asked whether Iran has enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. [UPDATE: [...]
Archive for the ‘Iran’ Category
Mullen: Iran Has Enough Material for a Nuke
Posted in Iran on March 1, 2009 | 12 Comments »
Iran: Obama May Not Take Strike Option off Table
Posted in Iran on January 11, 2009 | 1 Comment »
President George W. Bush uncharacteristically used common sense last year when he rejected aid for an Israeli strike on Iran, David Sanger reports in today’s NYT. This is good news. Yet, writes Stephen Walt at Foreign Policy, Obama’s arrival hardly signals that the military option is off the table: First, there are still influential voices [...]
Obama to Name Carrot-and-Stick Envoy to Iran
Posted in Iran on January 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Another smart pick: former Clinton Middle East envoy Dennis Ross will be named Obama’s troubleshooter for Iran, according to sources. Just so you know what we’re dealing with, check out this piece Ross wrote for a Newsweek special issue in December. Money quote: The U.N. sanctions adopted in the past three years apply primarily to [...]
Meanwhile in Tehran…
Posted in Iran on October 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Just a short note: Zamin has another thoughtful post on presidential politics in Iran. If you ask me, those two guys fighting over who gets to redecorate the White House need to start reading this stuff now.
Iran: President Qalibaf?
Posted in Iran on July 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Quiz question to Obama and McCain: Who is Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf? Don’t know? Well, you should. The excellent new blog Zamin reports that Tehran mayor Qalibaf may be a serious contender in the Iranian presidential election next year.
War Is Not News — But a Fake Photo Is
Posted in Iran on July 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday was not a good day for the Middle East. Iran carried out another missile test. The U.S. warned that it will defend Israel if its ally is attacked. Indeed, so troubling was the news that Iran even made the front page in Finland. Here’s how the country’s premiere newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS) featured these [...]
Iran: Gloom and Doom
Posted in Iran on July 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
John Robb thinks an attack on Iran is all but inevitable.
Iran Preparing for “Passive Defense” — MEMRI
Posted in Iran on July 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
What will Iran do if it is attacked by the United States or Israel? According to Y. Mansharof and A. Savyon, writing for MEMRI: Despite confident pronouncements by Iranian leaders that the West will not dare to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Iranian regime has, on orders from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, been preparing for [...]
Iran: Who’s In Charge?
Posted in Iran on July 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you thought Iraqi politics were complex, look at this. It’s an excellent PowerPoint presentation of who runs Iran, and how, by Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an associate professor at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and director of its Middle Eastern Studies Program. Points of note: External pressures don’t bring about regime change. Iranian leaders are [...]
Fallon: “Did I Bitch? You Bet”
Posted in Iran on June 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh, always a good read even when he’s wrong, has another scoop on Iran, this time detailing the escalation of American covert operations there. As usual, most of Hersh’s sources are anonymous, but he has also spoken to former CENTCOM head Adm. William Fallon: Admiral Fallon acknowledged, when I spoke to [...]
