U.S. efforts to reduce global demand for Iran’s oil exports as a means to pressure it into curbing its nuclear ambitions could present major problems for China, the leading customer of Iranian crude exports. China reacted …
Middle East
In Their Own Words: For Iranians, Negotiations = Stalling
“Ah, the Iranians!” the politician said, eyes lighting up. “They make carpets!”
And his hand fanned across the air between us, a gesture both subtle and appreciative.
It was the winter of 2003, in a chilly room in the …
Did British Spies Collude in the Rendition and Torture of Libyan Rebels?
On Sept. 15, 2011, as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi scurried from one hideout to another, British Prime Minister David Cameron traveled to Benghazi to congratulate rebel leaders on their victory. Aware that the U.K. had supported their …
The Fate of Bashar Assad: Will He Be the Next Gaddafi or the Next Milosevic?
The fighting words from Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who vowed Tuesday to hold on to power and crush his opponents with “an iron fist”, were optimistically interpreted by some as the bluster of a doomed man. To be sure, the …
Fareed Zakaria: It’s Not the Islamists You Should Worry About
In his column in the latest issue of TIME magazine, Fareed Zakaria points to the specter seemingly hanging over the Middle East — the rise of Islamist political parties in Arab Spring countries like Egypt — and dispels its menace. Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood appear genuine in their commitments to democratic and constitutional …
Ahmadinejad Goes on Tour: What’s Iran’s Agenda in Latin America?
In 2006, the same year Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called then U.S. President George W. Bush “the devil” at the U.N., Chávez and his oil-rich, anti-U.S. revolution were looking for new ways to kick Washington in the …
Can Diplomacy Save an American Condemned to Death in Iran?
The bad news for Amir Mirzai Hekmati, the 28-year-old American sentenced to death in Tehran on Monday for allegedly spying for the CIA, is that the state of relations between Iran and the U.S. makes Iran’s leaders indifferent, at …
Jordan Allows Hamas to Take Up Residence on Its Soil
In what sure looks like further evidence of diminishing American influence in the Middle East, the country that summarily ejected Hamas a dozen years ago is opening its doors to senior leaders of the group Washington and Israel …
Why New Sanctions Raise Danger of Iran Building Nuclear Weapons
The White House believes the latest round of saber rattling from Iran is a sign that sanctions are beginning to bite. Perhaps. But as the U.S. and its European partners move to throttle Iran’s economy by cutting off its ability
…
A Hit-and-Run Death Clouds French-Israeli Relations
Given France’s historic and generally close ties with Arab regimes, it’s perhaps not surprising that Paris’ relationship with Israel has always been somewhat complicated. And while French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made …
Can A European Ban on Iranian Oil Push Tehran to Fold Its Nuclear Program?
With its agreement in principle to impose an embargo on Iranian oil, the European Union has taken a big step closer to the U.S. stand to force Tehran to renounce its suspected military nuclear develop program. But while it seems …
As U.S. Explores Dialogue with Muslim Brotherhood, Israelis Urge a Tougher Line Against Islamists’ Rise
Unlike its predecessor, the Obama Administration has understood the limits on Washington’s ability to remake the Middle East to its own specifications. The corollary, of course, is that in a rapidly democratizing region, refusal …
In Post-Gaddafi Libya, Freedom is Messy—and Getting Messier
“I fear this looks like a civil war”, one Libyan rebel commander from Misrata told the Associated Press, in the wake of a fierce firefight between rival militia factions using heavy weapons in broad daylight in Tripoli on …