In remarks ahead of his meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva, Iranian foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the depictions of Mohammad by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were “provocative,” and undermined efforts to “engage in a serious dialogue,” Bloomberg News reported today. While...

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Why was Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal’s visit to Tehran unexpectedly postponed until further notice? This question is the focus of a new position paper (Arabic link) written by the Iranian Institute for Diplomacy think tank. The answer, according to them, is that “there are still a lack of confidence and...

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A series of boasts by Iranian officials in recent weeks is deepening concerns that Western negotiators now lack the necessary leverage to extract meaningful concessions from Tehran. The comments, which range from boasts about Iranian military power to its relations with the Western countries it is currently engaged in negotiations with,...

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After having been arrested nearly half a year ago, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian still has neither been informed of the specific charges against him nor been allowed to see a lawyer, the Post reported Saturday. In what appears to be the longest imprisonment for a Western journalist in Iran, Rezaian, who...

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A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is preparing to reintroduce legislation in the coming weeks that would impose further sanctions on Tehran and call for a greater congressional voice in Washington’s negotiations with the Islamic Republic. The legislation, first introduced in December 2013, was not at the time brought to the...

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The Gulf states are showing a united front against attempts by Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah to penetrate their territories. The Arab countries reacted after the latest inflammatory statement by Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who accused Bahraini authorities of limiting the rights of its Shiite minority. In a televised...

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman condemned the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, but called the magazine’s irreverent style of satire a form of extremism. Iran’s semi-official Press TV reported that spokeswoman, Marziye Afham, called “any terrorist action against innocent people as being against Islam’s teachings.” However Afham also implicitly condemned...

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American weapons initially delivered to the Iraqi government are falling into the hands of Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq according to a report for Bloomberg View Thursday by Eli Lake and Josh Rogin. U.S. weapons intended for Iraq’s beleaguered military are winding up in the possession of the country’s Shiite...

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Charges that Iran’s restrictive policies towards women are similar to those practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are gaining currency among Arab language commentators. Iran went from banning hijab in 1936 to making it compulsory in 1979.  Now, wearing the hijab is legally required in Iran, even in...

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Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq are threatening the Kurdish regions in northern Iraq according to a report published Wednesday in The National Interest. The report quotes a minister from the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Mustafa Sayid Qadir, who explains: […] From the KRG perspective, two Shia militia forces—Asaib Ahl Haq and...

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