A series of recent statements from top Iranian military and political figures – up to and including a fiery speech by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that included denunciations of “Satan and the satanic front” – has generated concerns among analysts that Tehran may refuse to make further concessions in...
Continue Reading >>
Various outlets and aggregators late last week carried public reports about a string of Hamas rallies in what has until recently been the Fatah-dominated West Bank, as concerns deepened that an impending unity agreement between the two traditional Palestinian rivals would allow Hamas to halt a year-long downward spiral by...
Continue Reading >>
The State Department was pressed on Tuesday over mounting evidence that Iranian crude export violations – in which the Iranians have for the last six months exceeded the cap of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) set by the interim Joint Plan of Action (JPA) – will not be balanced...
Continue Reading >>
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday revealed that it had obtained evidence indicating that Iran “has kept active and intact its core team of weaponization researchers” as international criticism deepened over what appears to be a deliberate campaign by Tehran to skirt core obligations regarding the disclosure of possible military...
Continue Reading >>
The Washington Post late last week carried calls from a bipartisan group of veteran diplomats and analysts – Eric Edelman, Dennis Ross, and Ray Takeyh, respectively a former undersecretary of defense during the George W. Bush administration, a special assistant to President Obama, and a senior fellow at the Council...
Continue Reading >>
The Wall Street Journal revealed on Friday that the United States is considering reopening a bilateral diplomatic channel with Iran – through which negotiations would be conducted by what the outlet described as a “secret” team: The White House secretly used this bilateral track last year to reach an interim...
Continue Reading >>
The Independent reported Friday that an Iranian actress faces possible prosecution and punishment for kissing the head of the Cannes film festival last week. According to the report, Leila Hatami “angered religious authorities” leading to calls for her prosecution and possible flogging for the infraction. Some government officials reportedly condemned her for presenting “a...
Continue Reading >>
Reuters reported Wednesday that Iran’s crude exports to China in April had more than doubled from where they were a year ago – the final number constituting an all-time record high: China’s imports, added to India’s shipments of about 225,000 bpd in April and South Korea’s 135,000 bpd, put Asia’s purchases of Iranian...
Continue Reading >>
It was reported Wednesday that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached an agreement that Iran will provide the IAEA with information about “large-scale high-explosives experimentation in Iran” by August 25. However, the text of the announcement contains a significant omission. The Global Security Newswire reports: The Middle Eastern nation also would...
Continue Reading >>
An Iranian news site dedicated to promoting the country’s nuclear program published an essay on Tuesday by Ali Asghar Soltanieh – the country’s former ambassador to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog (IAEA) – pushing back against a recent op-ed by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack: Reviewing the article “The Right...
Continue Reading >>
