“Iraq Calls for GCC, Iran and Iraq to Sign Counterterror Pact,” Defence News, November 7, 2015.
Tag: Peaceful Settlement
Why Bridging the Iran-Saudi Divide Is Vital for Peace in Syria and the Region
Archrivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are experiencing their first regional talks in Vienna on the Syrian conflict. Since assuming office in August 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has initiated several overtures to Saudi Arabia, attempting to mend what has steadily devolved into a dangerously adversarial relationship in the years since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Rouhani, who called for better ties with Saudi Arabia shortly after his inauguration, made his first diplomatic outreach to Saudi Arabia at a critical juncture. He dispatched his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to visit several of the Arab Persian Gulf states shortly after the November 2013 interim nuclear deal was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations.
“Why Bridging the Iran-Saudi Divide Is Vital for Peace in Syria and the Region,” Hossein Mousavian, The Huffington Post, October 30, 2015.
Dim prospects for US-Iranian rapprochement in Syria
Dim prospects for US-Iranian rapprochement in Syria
It took more than four years, 250,000 lives and millions of refugees, but for the first time, all of the major players will sit down at the same table and discuss a road map to end the civil war in Syria.
“Dim prospects for US-Iranian rapprochement in Syria,” Deutsche Welle, October 29, 2015.
Why Iran doesn’t want to stay in Yemen
Why Iran doesn’t want to stay in Yemen
he Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, commonly known as the Houthis, has always extended a very special respect for the Islamic Republic of Iran. While not as deep as portrayed in Western media, ties between Iran and Ansar Allah go back in time. Indeed, the founder of the Yemeni movement — Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the brother of current leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi — traveled to Tehran as far back as 1986, in the heyday of the Iran-Iraq War.
“Why Iran doesn’t want to stay in Yemen,” Al Monitor, October 27, 2015.
Why Iran Doesn’t Trust America — And What Can Be Done to Change That
During his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama accused Iran of using “violent proxies to advance its interests,” which he claimed served to “fuel sectarian conflict” in the region. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shot back during his speech, decrying what he said were “baseless accusations” against Iran and calling for the United States to halt its “dangerous policies in defense of its regional allies who only cultivate the seeds of division and extremism.”
Obama and Rouhani’s comments highlight a broader issue underlying the troubled U.S.-Iran relationship. In the West, many commentators often portray Iran’s leaders as being unreasonably suspicious about the intentions of outside powers, particularly the United States. Often dovetailing with this mentality is that Iran is irrationally and innately aggressive. While President Obama’s remarks at the UNGA reflect this black-and-white thinking about Iran to a degree, other high-level U.S. officials have been far more brazen in their dishonest condemnations of Iran. For instance, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, remarkably proclaimed in a March 2015 interview that “Iran and radical Islamist extremists” have opposed the United States simply because they “do not like our way of life.”
“Why Iran Doesn’t Trust America — And What Can Be Done to Change That,” Hossein Mousavian, The Huffington Post, October 5, 2015.
Russia Entry Adds New Fuel to Syria War
“Russia Entry Adds New Fuel to Syria War,” Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2015.
Diplomat Hossein Mousavian Optimistic About Joint Future Of Iran And The West (Audio)
“Diplomat Hossein Mousavian Optimistic About Joint Future Of Iran And The West,” Sarah Hurd, KGOU (NPR), September 18, 2015. (Audio)
Should Congress Approve the Iran Deal?
The Iran nuclear deal represents the most comprehensive international agreement ever reached in the area of nuclear nonproliferation. The confidence-building measures it elicits from Iran in order to ensure that its nuclear program will remain peaceful—ranging from intrusive inspections to novel verification mechanisms—are the most powerful of their kind that a Nuclear Nonproliferation member-state has agreed to. If the objective was to certify Iran’s compliance with NPT and block all possible paths toward a bomb, then this agreement represents the maximum that could have been achieved.
“Should Congress Approve the Iran Deal?” Hossein Mousavian, Foreign affairs, September 7, 2015.
It’s Time for Republicans to Abandon Their Short-Sighted Approach to Iran
Republican intransigence over the Iran nuclear deal has proven to be futile, with Democratic senators successfully filibustering a Republican motion of disapproval last Thursday. However, this has not prevented the GOP from pursuing other inventive ways to derail this landmark diplomatic achievement. Sadly, the main consequence of dead-end Republican revanchism over the Iran deal is that it has reinforced highly insular mindsets — characterized by an “us-against-them” mentality — with respect to Iran.
In no circumstance has black and white moralizing ever given an accurate depiction of reality, least of all in regards to modern day Iran — a society far more complex and pluralistic than what many Westerners believe. By constantly shouting crude slogans denigrating Iran and spinning a spider’s web of misinformation about the country, Iran deal obstructionists are in fact acting in ways wholly counterproductive to the cause of international peace and security.
“It’s Time for Republicans to Abandon Their Short-Sighted Approach to Iran,” Hossein Mousavian, The Huffington Post, September 14, 2015.
