In 2003, Iran set aside the portion of its nuclear program devoted to developing a weapon. That was the assessment of the American intelligence community, which among other things eavesdropped on hardliners complaining to one …
iran
On Holocaust Day, Israelis Debate Netanyahu’s Parallel with Iran
Thursday was Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, an annual event marked by solemn ceremony, highways dotted with drivers standing beside their cars stopped for a mid-morning moment of silence and, this year, a lively debate on …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 18, 2012
Clutching at Straw – With former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw now being accused of complicity in the rendition and alleged torture of Libyan dissident Abdel Hakim Belhadj, The Week investigates why MI6 agents have let …
Iran Nuclear Talks: Hitting the ‘Snooze’ Button on the Alarm Clock of Confrontation
Staying within the “clock is ticking” metaphor favored by the Obama Administration when discussing diplomacy with Iran, Saturday’s talks in Istanbul could be said to have hit the snooze button. The doomsday alarm could yet sound, …
Must-Reads From Around the World: April 12, 2012
Pyongyang’s Plan – Despite mounting international pressure, a defiant North Korea appears poised to launch its Unha-3 rocket, viewed by the U.S. and others as a ballistic missile test that violates U.N. resolutions aimed at …
The Günter Grass Debacle: Blowback from Anti-Israel Poem Envelopes Both Sides
Günter Grass, the German author who waited until he’d won a Nobel Prize before revealing that he’d served in Hitler’s SS, might seem an unlikely vessel for criticism of Israel (in 2006 he confessed that in 1944, at the age of …
Iran Nuclear Talks: Can Islam Guide the Way to Peace?
There’s all sorts of ways the nuclear talks with Iran might end badly. But it’s also pretty clear, even before diplomats gather in Istanbul on Friday, how the talks would manage to end happily: On the foundation of Iran’s …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 6, 2012
Warring Words – Der Spiegel reports on the raging controversy surrounding German Nobel laureate Günter Grass’s new poem, which is sharply critical of Israel. The poet has taken to the airwaves to defend himself, while Israeli …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 5, 2012
In Response – Under the headline “Nobel Laureates Clueless About Real Tibet,” semi-official mouthpiece Global Times rebuts a recent open letter from 12 Nobel laureates to Chinese leaders raising concerns about the self-immolation …
Must-Reads from Around the World: April 3, 2012
Taking Stock – The Jerusalem Post says Israel’s security cabinet has been briefed on a worst-case scenario in a potential war with Iran. Israeli TV news station Channel 10 reported that experts estimate less than 300 people would …
Iran Talks: Amid Ticking Clocks and Closing Windows, What Would Success Look Like?
The clock is ticking and the window is closing for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear standoff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Saturday, ahead of talks scheduled for April 13 in Istanbul. “We are determined to …
Mossad Cutting Back on Covert Operations Inside Iran, Officials Say
Israel’s intelligence services have scaled back covert operations inside Iran, ratcheting down by “dozens of percent” in recent months secret efforts to disable or delay the enemy state’s nuclear program, senior Israeli …
Must-Reads from Around the World: March 27, 2012
Life After Chávez – The Economist examines splits emerging in Venezuela’s ruling United Socialist Party as the president undergoes more cancer treatment. “The fissures in the ruling party show only too clearly what is likely to …