A scandal has erupted in Iran surrounding the dramatic misuse of funds intended for medical budgets, undercutting one of the most widely held arguments for lifting international sanctions. It emerges that the widely reported shortage in medical supplies in the Islamic Republic was the result not of sanctions — but...

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The U.S. and EU’s response to the crisis in Ukraine may induce Russia to “raise the stakes” by revising its stance on nuclear talks with Iran, per statements by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov conveyed on Wednesday by Reuters. “We wouldn’t like to use these talks as an element of the game...

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Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon stunned both domestic and international observers yesterday when he signaled that he now leans in favor of a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to multiple reports. This comes in the wake of months of failed Western efforts, through the P5+1 states, to...

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Analysts and journalists worked yesterday to unpack a weekend interview between Reuters and Vann Van Diepen – the U.S.’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation – in which Van Diepen bluntly declared that there has been no change in Iran’s efforts to illicitly procure components for its nuclear...

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The U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran yesterday officially presented his latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Stating that he had met with representatives from the Iranian Judiciary and other government organizations in Geneva, Shaheed said, “the report before the Council demonstrates that...

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Eighty-three senators—split almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans—sent a joint letter to President Obama today calling for increased pressure on Iran and the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Among other things, the letter called for the “rapid and dramatic” expansion of sanctions if talks with Iran fail: Most importantly, Iran must...

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The Associated Press assessed last week that Hamas has “been hit by the worst economic crisis since seizing the [Gaza Strip] seven years ago,” after a series of bad geopolitical gambles – most prominently its alignment with the now-decapitated Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, but also various miscalculations involving Iran and its allies – left the...

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The Hamas-supporting prime minister of Turkey and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) continue to find themselves on the uncomfortable end of a growing anti-government backlash. Street protests have swelled in recent weeks as the Islamist-Authoritarian regime has brutally jailed critics and political rivals, and continued to deploy force against...

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With unusual candor and stark language, a top State Department official is accusing Iran of ongoing illicit nuclear-related activity in violation of international obligations.  The shift in tone suggests an early beginning to establishing blame for a failure of international talks designed to remove the nuclear threat posed by Iran....

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Journalists and analysts continued on Thursday to unpack a report on Iran issued this week by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in which the U.N. diplomat broadly emphasized that there had been no fundamental improvement in Iranian human rights since the election and inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, “despite pledges made...

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