United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that human rights in Iran have not improved since the election and inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, with Ban specifically citing what Reuters described as “the prevalent use of capital punishment” by the Islamic republic. “The new administration has not made any significant improvement in...

Iranian negotiators are trying to put off addressing suspected military dimensions related to the country’s atomic program until negotiations with the global P5+1 powers have substantially progressed, creating what the Wall Street Journal on Monday described as “a new challenge for efforts to reach a broad nuclear deal with six world powers.” In an...

Iranian officials have become more vocal and more explicit in airing conspiracy theories regarding last week’s Israeli interdiction of the Klos-C, a Panamanian-flagged Iranian arms ship bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazzayeri, of the Iranian armed Forces, told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency Sunday, “the Americans...

Voice of America (VOA) reported last week that Washington was facing renewed concerns from its Arab and Israeli allies over its diplomatic approach toward Iran, amid reemphasized declarations by top Iranian leaders that they will refuse to dismantle any aspects of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. The dynamics had already reenergized domestic moves to assert a strong...

The Daily Beast on Wednesday described how the Israeli military “launched a sophisticated PR campaign to tell the world why they shouldn’t trust Tehran” in the aftermath of Israeli commandos interdicting an Iranian arms ship carrying advanced missiles bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, noting that that apparent “coordinated public relations campaign” stood...

Iran and Hamas are scrambling to minimize the damage from Israel’s Wednesday interdiction of the Klos-C – a Panamanian-flagged Iranian arms ship carrying advanced missiles bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip – even as new details emerged throughout Thursday about intelligence operations that preceded the vessel’s capture. The intercepted cargo included M-302 missiles with ranges of...