A pro-regime newspaper announced earlier this week that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will lead the country’s delegation to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Muallem will reportedly speak next Monday. Political intrigue will swirl around whether and to what extent Muallem is treated as a legitimate representative...

Reuters reports that Russia has expressed hopes that some resolution revolving around some aspect of Syria’s vast chemical weapons arsenal can be hammered out this week. The details of that resolution have yet to be worked out, but Russia officials have very definite ideas about what won’t be included: “There...

In the aftermath of a speech by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that was panned by journalists and analysts for falling short of expectations built up by the revolutionary-era cleric’s public writings, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez issued a statement reemphasizing a sentiment that has become increasingly heard from lawmakers across the...

Top officials from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Iranian diplomats over the weekend that they were courting danger by diplomatically engaging the United States. A statement issued by the IRGC was not very subtly directed toward “those who favor interaction”: “Historical experiences make it necessary for the diplomatic...

Intelligence officials and world leaders are expressing renewed doubts about the potential for Syria’s chemical arsenal to be safely secured and destroyed, amid newly published figures describing Syria’s stockpile and political maneuvering by actors involved in the crisis. The Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,...

Newly inaugurated Iranian president Hassan Rouhani last night refused to answer a direct question from NBC journalist Ann Curry regarding his stance – agree or disagree – on statements made by his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioning the historical reality of the Holocaust. Rouhani answered “I’m not a historian, I’m a politician.” The...