Tag: Terrorism

Articles, Publications

Hope From Iran, but Not If There’s an Attack

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In the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, Iran and the United States engaged and cooperated directly in the war on terror. This partnership in Afghanistan resulted in the fall of the Taliban and Al Qaeda there, forming a representative government based on democratic principles. This experience can serve as a blueprint for a new collaboration on Syria.

The implications of this cooperation will not be limited to the Syrian crisis and instead would be vital for the security and stability of the whole region. Multiple crisis in the Middle East require broader management for the time, and therefore, crisis management of this and other crises would be a useful path for regional collaboration between Tehran and Washington under the United Nation’s charter.

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“Hope From Iran, but Not If There’s an Attack,” Hossein Mousavian, the New York Times, September 4, 2013.

Articles, Publications

Sectarian War, the Major Threat to the Middle East

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In the coming years, one of the most important security challenges for the Middle East will be the emerging sectarian and civil war in Syria spilling over into Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. While a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear file is a must, the UN Security Council and regional countries should consider “sectarian war” the most imminent threat to the peace and security of the Middle East, with potentially disastrous consequences for the world. No country in the Middle East would be safe from the repercussions of a sectarian war. Delaying measures to mitigate the sectarian crisis facing the region will risk making its resolution impossible in the future.

“Sectarian War, the Major Threat to the Middle East,” Hossein Mousavian, Asharq Al Awsat, August 10, 2013.

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Essays, Publications

La questione nucleare vista da Teheran: ipotesi di negoziato (Italian)

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Dopo un decennio di stallo sulla questione nucleare, per trovare una soluzione è necessario avere ben chiare le cause di fondo dell’attuale crisi e l’eredità della storia. Prima della rivoluzione islamica del 1979, i paesi occidentali – e in particolare gli Stati Uniti – mantenevano ottimi rapporti con l’Iran e facevano a gara per aggiudicarsi i redditizi progetti di nuclearizzazione del paese, gettando così le basi per lo sviluppo della sua potenza atomica. In quel periodo, l’Occidente sosteneva che la tecnologia nucleare era di fondamentale importanza per Teheran. Nel 1976, il presidente Gerald Ford firmò una direttiva che consentiva all’Iran di acquisire la tecnologia necessaria a sviluppare un ciclo nucleare completo. Nel documento si legge: “L’introduzione dell’energia nucleare provvederà al crescente fabbisogno energetico dell’economia iraniana e renderà le riserve petrolifere del paese disponibili per l’esportazione o la trasformazione in prodotti petrolchimici”.

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“La questione nucleare vista da Teheran: ipotesi di negoziato,” Hossein Mousavian, Aspenia, issue no. 60, pgs. 62-70. Published by the Aspen Institute, March 2013, (Italian).

Articles, Publications

Ten consequences of US covert war against Iran

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Washington believed that covert action against Iran’s nuclear facilities would be more effective and less risky than an all-out war, which could force Tehran to retaliate across the region and divert its current peaceful nuclear programme toward weaponisation. In fact, Mark Fitzpatrick, former deputy assistant secretary of state for non-proliferation said: “Industrial sabotage is a way to stop the programme, without military action, without fingerprints on the operation, and really, it is ideal, if it works.”

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“Ten consequences of US covert war against Iran,” Hossein Mousavian, Gulf News, May 11, 2013.

Articles, Publications

Five Reasons the US Should Stay Out Of Syria

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The Syria war and the Iranian nuclear standoff dominate the international agenda, with an urgent need to find a viable solution. The visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to Damascus and Amman last week revealed that Iran too is giving Syria priority. Salehi met with King Abdullah II of Jordan on May 7 en route to Damascus for meetings with officials there, including President Bashar al-Assad, emphasizing the need for national “Syrian-Syrian” talks to bring an end to the civil war ravaging the Muslim country. Simultaneously, the US Secretary of State John Kerry, looking to put an end to Russian support for Assad in Syria, was met with a cool reception in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin kept Kerry waiting three hours before their meeting at the Kremlin and continuously fiddled with his pen as the top US diplomat spoke about the ongoing crisis in Syria.

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“Five Reasons the US Should Stay Out Of Syria,” Hossein Mousavian, Al-Monitor, May 10, 2013.

Articles, Publications

A Seven-Point Plan to Prevent The Collapse of Syria

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Since March 2011, 70,000 Syrian civilians, military, government officials and opposition forces have been killed, 3 million have been displaced and 1.1 million Syrians have become refugees — plunging the country into turmoil and placing the security of the whole region at risk. The Syrian instability is dragging the country toward the throes of all out civil war, sectarian war and ultimately disintegration. If no immediate and robust actions are taken, this process could set into motion a chain of events that would pose a grave threat to the stability of the entire Middle East and beyond.

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“A Seven-Point Plan to Prevent The Collapse of Syria”, Hossein Mousavian, Al-Monitor, April 7, 2013.

Articles, Publications

Strategic engagement: Iran, Iraq and the GCC

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The Gulf is facing new challenges in an array of issues, such as: Arab awakening in the Middle East and North Africa, Arab-Israeli conflict on the peace process, extremism, the widening gap between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on the crisis in Syria and tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Relations between Iran and its Arab neighbors in the Gulf have historically been strained under the rule of both the Pahlavi monarchy and the Islamic Republic. Since 1980 and the GCC support of Iraq’s invasion of Iran (1980-88), relations experienced the most hostile era. How to build trust between Iran and the GCC has remained one of the most critical issues facing the region.

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“Strategic engagement: Iran, Iraq and the GCC”, Hossein Mousavian, Gulf News, March 24, 2013.

Essays, Publications

An Opportunity for a U.S.–Iran Paradigm Shift

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America as a superpower has had a longstanding interest in the Middle East, and thus is no stranger to the region. Unfortunately, the continuing U.S. domination in the Middle East with its flawed policies is creating strategic imbalances in the region and fueling intra-/regional tensions with serious implications for the overall peace and security of the region. The flawed U.S. polices in the Middle East are already leading to its total alienation from the region’s people. A recent poll the first of its kind in the region, conducted in twelve Arab countries covering 84 percent of the population of the Arab world shows 93.75 percent of the people look at the Unites States and Israel as the major threat to their interests.1 Growing anti-/Americanism in the Arab world is no secret.

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Hossein Mousavian, “An Opportunity for a U.S.–Iran Paradigm Shift.” The Washington Quarterly 36, no. 1 (pgs. 129-144). Published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington (12/2012).