Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times, February 10: The situation is ripe for Iran to connect with two of its enemies – the Taliban and the US – both of which are seeking Tehran’s help against each other. This is a trademark of Iranian diplomacy – to connect with its enemies and then exploit the situation…
Showing all posts tagged Iran
A quiet, internal revolution
Channel 4‘s Lindsey Hilsum reflects on the changes in Iran 10 years after she first visited the country: …The scenes the government exhibits to foreign journalists – revolutionary parades, meetings of fervent women in black – represent an Iran created to prove a myth. Most Iranians go nowhere near Friday prayers or the gatherings the…
Taking over the region
The relationship between Iran and Israel has taken many turns over the last half century, especially since the 1979 Revolution, but don’t believe the vast majority of rhetoric against the Islamic Republic; it has nothing to do with terrorism or nuclear weapons: Shlomo Brom, a senior member of the Israeli intelligence apparatus, told [Trita] Parsi…
Time for an awakening
Nasrin Alavi, Open Democracy, February 2: A campaign in mid-2008 in the Islamic Republic of Iran against “bad hijab” – scarves worn in a way that reveal a woman’s hair and thus violate the country’s rigorous public dress-code – saw many women arrested and an even larger number cautioned. At the time a university student…
Don’t act like we do
William Blum, in his latest Anti-Empire Report, gets it in one: Just leave them alone. There is no “Iranian problem”. They are a threat to no one. Iran hasn’t invaded any other country in centuries. No, President Ahmadinejad did not threaten Israel with any violence. Stop patrolling the waters surrounding Iran with American warships. Stop…
The moral collapse of modern Zionism
Israel is a vibrant democracy that “abides by the rule of law.” So writes pro-war blogger Michael Yon, who was enthralled after hearing Israeli politician and probable next leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem a few days ago. The pro-forma nature of such platitudes is amusing to read, not least this: “If you want to see…
Change the tone and people will listen
Roger Cohen, New York Times, February 1: It’s time to think again, not merely to recalibrate old formulas, in order to end the three-decade impasse in U.S.-Iranian ties, a breakdown of huge cost and menace. A non-relationship has locked itself in stereotypes as American threats (“the military option must be kept on the table”) and…
All her friends are leaving
Perhaps hardline Zionists are losing their influence in the age of Obama. Maybe. The rhetoric is shifting but facts on the ground? Diehard Zionists, such as Jerusalem Post deputy managing editor Caroline B. Glick, demands that likely next Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, only talk about violence, bombing and massacres: In the age of Honest…
Welcome to reality, world
Writing in the Asia Times, M K Bhadrakumar explains the ways in which Iran is slowly but surely being brought back into the international community and rightly assuming its place as a leading power: Anyone familiar with the complex ways in which Persians express their heart’s desire will agree Ahmadinejad’s response within hours of Obama’s…