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Israel vs. Iran: The Truth Slips Out
For decades, American voters have been inundated with news stories reporting supposed threats to Israel's security as if they were objective fact. Rarely do our mass media allow any questions about, much less objections to, the myth of Israel's insecurity. At least two questions are urgent now... -Ira Chernus, Common Dreams - 2/10/12
Harsher IAEA Report on Iranian Nuclear Program Expected Next Month
Leaked statements claim the report will allege an Iranian effort to develop a nuclear warhead for a ground-to-ground missile -Antiwar.com - 2/10/12
Is The Past The Future? The News Dissector Reports From and on Iran
The TV series House of Lies is about business but it could as easily be about government and foreign policy. In a recent episode, one of the management consultants pitches a company about the need to launch a new product. She recounts the story of the Polaroid Company known as the Apple of its day, widely admired for the cool design of its instant cameras. -Danny Schechter, Common Dreams - 2/8/12
Obama's Super-Bowl Fumble on Iran
Before President Barack Obama's interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, aired before the Super Bowl on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably hoped that, if Obama discussed Iran, he would give him the strong backing that Israeli leaders crave, freeing them to lash out at Iran -- militarily, if they so choose. -Ray McGovern, Common Dreams - 2/8/12
Blunt Instrument: Sanctions Don't Promote Democratic Change
Some scholars have found in sanctions limited success. A widely cited study by Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Jeffrey J. Schott, and Kimberly Ann Elliot holds that of 116 cases of sanctions since 1914, only 34 percent have been successful.1 Scrutiny of those cases, however, suggests an even lower rate. -Natasha Bahrami and Trita Parsi, Boston Review - 2/7/12
Am I Being Naive?
In the face of this well-orchestrated, nonstop, media frenzy, is it any surprise that over 50% of Americans, as the surveys show, would support a preemptive attack on Iran. -Kam Zarrabi - 2/6/12
It's time for a regional security framework for the Middle East
"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding," Einstein once said. A sober assessment reveals that the policies adopted to date towards the Middle East, by and large, are not conducive to regional stability, or capable of resolving some of the region's most thorny issues, from the Syrian crisis and the Arab-Israeli conflict to Iran's nuclear program. -Sam Sasan Shoamanesh - 2/5/12
Obama's Drift Toward War With Iran
In the last two years, the U.S. Congress has passed resolution after resolution condemning Iran, urging the president to do something hostile, and warning him against negotiations... Only great ingenuity and political talent could extricate an American president today. And while this was passing, how has Barack Obama been spending his time? -David Bromwich, Huffington Post - 2/4/12
Lawmakers, 'Experts' Spin Tales of Iranian Terror in Latin America
Through its ties with Venezuela and other nations in Latin America, Iran is building an anti-US alliance in the Western Hemisphere that poses a direct, imminent threat to the United States, an influential US lawmaker said Thursday. -Charles Davis, Antiwar - 2/4/12
Petition: "No To Military Strikes Against Iran"
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) invites citizens of the world to join a global campaign aimed at averting a colossal catastrophe in West Asia. - 2/3/12
An SOS from the people of Iran to the people of Israel: Two former top diplomats take a stand against war
In an interview earlier this month, former Iranian Ambassador to the U.S. and former Iranian Foreign Minister, Ardeshir Zahedi, vehemently opposed any military strikes against Iran -Sheda Vasseghi, WorldTribune - 2/3/12
How Obama became vulnerable on Iran
By downplaying his diplomacy, he undermines a peaceful solution and encourages the false charge of weakness -Trita Parsi, Salon - 2/3/12
Divining the Truth About Iran
Watching top U.S. intelligence officials present the annual "Worldwide Threat Assessment" before the Senate Intelligence Committee, I found myself wondering if they would depart from the key (if politically delicate) consensus judgment that Iran is NOT working on a nuclear weapon. -Ray McGovern, Antiwar - 2/2/12
The Ongoing War on Iran
The way in which the growing confrontation with Iran is being sold by the US, Israel and West European leaders is deeply dishonest. The manipulation of the media and public opinion through systematic threat exaggeration is similar to the drum beat of propaganda and disinformation about Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction that preceded the invasion in 2003. -Patrick Cockburn, Counterpunch - 2/2/12
Iran and the US: from words to war
Judging by recent rhetoric, and implied threats, from Washington, predictably echoed in London, anyone would think they wanted any excuse for a military conflict with Iran. -Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian - 2/2/12
Hawkish Group Report Pushes for Military Action Against Iran
A report released today from the neoconservative Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Project calls for stepped-up rhetoric and military actions against Iran. -Common Dreams - 2/2/12
Avoiding a 'Dumb War' With Iran
The media and the punditry have been deliberately misrepresenting facts to persuade the people of the United States to start another war, not unlike in the lead-up to the Iraq fiasco. -Philip Giraldi, Antiwar - 1/31/12
What You Can Do to Stop a Catastrophic War against Iran
The US, France and UK prodded by Israel are determined to replay their criminal and illegal invasion of Iraq in order to bring about a regime change in Iran this time under the false pretext of the non-existent nuclear weapons programme in the country. -CASMII - 1/30/12
February 4, 2012: Day of Mass Action to Stop War on Iran
The U.S. government is shaping public opinion to accept military intervention in Iran in the name of "national security." Fabricated stories that claim evidence of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons is being blasted through mainstream media and repeated by almost every mainstream politician. - 1/29/12
Do Israeli Leaders Really Think Iran Is an Existential Threat?
In sum, whatever you think about President Ahmadinejad (and I think he's pretty horrible), or about what he said or about the sincerity of his subsequent qualifications of what he said, for Barak to say Iran's "strategic goal" is Israel's annihilation is a bit misleading. -Robert Wright, Atlantic - 1/29/12
Growing Elite Opposition to Military Option Against Iran
Like the imminent prospect of one's hanging, to paraphrase the 18th century British essayist Dr. (Samuel) Johnson, the suddenly looming possibility of war can concentrate the mind wonderfully. -Jim Lobe, Antiwar - 1/28/12
London: Peace Coalition Campaign Against War On Iran
On Saturday, 28 January, from 2pm-4pm, the Stop the War Coalition is launching a campaign against a war on Iran at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. The protest will be joined by politicians, academics, students, trade unionists, aid workers, justice and peace groups and church representatives. - 1/27/12
Reflections on Obama's State Of The Union Address
Am I an incorrigible optimist? Perhaps I am. But, at least based on my track record, you'd better pray I am right this time, too! -Kam Zarrabi - 1/26/12
Featured Project: Reviving Iran's Image
The common international image of Iran is that of a backward country supporting terrorism, seeking weapons of mass destruction and violating human rights. This image in turn has fueled anti-Americanism, which has provided one of the pretexts for the political and diplomatic conundrums of the Islamic Republic. -AIC - 1/26/12
Photos: Clearing the Mine Fields in Dehloran, Iran
Iraq and Iran fought a war from September 1980 to August 1988, making it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. While the war ended in 1988 after much death and devastation, the cleaning of mine fields in Iran is still an ongoing operation. - 1/25/12
Key Reasons against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
The current US stand-off against Iran, like the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was instigated by the neoconservatives of the Bush Administration based on their doctrine of "maintaining US pre-eminence, thwarting rival powers and shaping the global security system according to US interests" -CASMII - 1/25/12
Preventing a Nuclear Iran, Peacefully
THE debate over how to handle Iran's nuclear program is notable for its gloom and doom. Many people assume that Israel must choose between letting Iran develop nuclear weapons or attacking before it gets the bomb. -NY Times - 1/25/12
False Flag
A series of CIA memos describes how Israeli Mossad agents posed as American spies to recruit members of the terrorist organization Jundallah to fight their covert war against Iran. -Mark Perry, Foreign Policy - 1/21/12
Neither War Nor Nuclear-Armed Iran
In his widely published op-ed entitled "Iran on the Warpath", former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer has correctly emphasized the consequences of a potential war on Iran. Not only the democracy movement in Iran itself but also the "Arab Spring" would come to an end, Fischer writes. -Dr. Mohssen Massarrat and Dr. Bahman Nirumand - 1/18/12
How Obama should talk to Iran
Just 13 minutes into his presidency, Barack Obama indirectly reached out to Iran in his inaugural address, offering America's hand of friendship if Tehran would unclench its fist. After eight years of the George W. Bush administration's ideological contempt for diplomacy with America's foes, it was a bold move born out of necessity, not desire. -Trita Parsi, Washington Post - 1/16/12
Iran: The Neocons Are At It Again
The same neocons who persuaded George W. Bush and crew to, in Ron Paul's inimitable words, "lie their way into invading Iraq" in 2003, are beating the drums of war more loudly these days to attack Iran. It is remarkable how many of these war-mongers are former draft dodgers who wanted other Americans to fight the war in Vietnam. -Ralph Nader - 1/13/12
No need to wage war against Iran
With tensions running high between the West and Iran over the latter's controversial nuclear program, it is becoming increasingly clear that the two sides of the conflict are on a deadly collision course. -Jalal Alavi - 1/10/12
Military Option is the Worst Possible Scenario
The forthcoming article in Foreign Affairs entitled, "Time to Attack Iran: Why a Strike Is the Least Bad Option" has had an impact upon the intellectual and policy-making atmosphere of the United States in recent days. -Kayhan Barzegar - 1/10/12
I Beg To Differ! Is Iran Really In The Crosshairs? I Think Not.
Ever since the establishment of the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iran thirty-two years ago, and especially since the harsh rhetoric spewed by George W. Bush during his State of the Union address in 2002, in which he portrayed the Islamic Republic as a member of the Axis of Evil, "containing" Iran and expending efforts toward a regime change by any means short of a direct military engagement with Iran have been the officially expressed policy of the Unites States. -Kam Zarrabi - 1/9/12
The US-Iran economic war
A key amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act signed by United States President Barack Obama on the last day of 2011 - when no one was paying attention - imposes sanctions on any countries or companies that buy Iranian oil and pay for it through Iran's central bank. -Pepe Escobar, Asia Times - 1/8/12
U.S. Announces Rescue Of Iran Sailors From Somalian Pirates
U.S. officials say a U.S. Navy ship has rescued 13 Iranians who were being held hostage by Somalian pirates in the Arabian Sea amid rising tensions between the Washington and Tehran. The Iranians were rescued on January 5 after the U.S. Navy says it received a distress call from an Iranian fishing vessel that had been boarded by pirates more than a month ago. - 1/7/12
Iran Welcomes US Rescue of Iranians Held by Pirates
Iran has welcomed the U.S. Navy's rescue of 13 Iranians who were held hostage by pirates in the Arabian Sea. The rescue was carried out Thursday by a U.S. Navy destroyer escorting the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, days after Iran warned U.S. warships not to return to the Persian Gulf. - 1/7/12
UN chief calls on Iran, U.S. to ease tension
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on both Iran and the United States to defuse the tension building up between them, according to Dawn.com. - 1/7/12
Trita Parsi: Reckless talk of war with Iran makes confrontation a probability
The temperature between the West and Iran has increased dramatically. Escalation by both sides coupled with a reckless discourse that has normalised the idea of war have created an environment where military confrontation is a rising probability. -Trita Parsi, Independent - 1/7/12
As US and Iran Confront Each other, where is the Diplomacy?
The war of words between Iran and the West has reached dangerous proportions, and it may easily get out of hand. It is clear that the majority of people in the West and in Iran do not wish the hostilities to develop into an open conflict, but events - and rhetoric - have a life of their own and have a tendency of getting out of control and leading to unintended consequences that would harm both sides. -Farhang Jahanpour - 1/6/12
Obama and Netanayu's Push for Attack on Iran
Gareth Porter: Well, first of all, it's important to understand that this whole idea of sanctions that are against the Iranian central bank, as well as the oil export sector of Iran, was really an idea that came directly from the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his American allies, extreme right wing pro-Israeli neoconservatives clustered around the organization called the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy. -TRNN - 1/6/12
Is Iran an Existential Threat or a Strategic One?
For more than a decade the United States and some European countries have imposed economic sanctions and threatened military operation against Iran with the goal of stopping its alleged nuclear weapons development program. -Nader Habibi - 1/3/12
Former Officials Call for President Obama to Reinvigorate Iran Diplomacy
A group of former government officials, diplomats, military officers, and nonproliferation experts issued a letter to President Obama calling for him to reinvigorate direct diplomatic engagement with Iran to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue - 12/20/11
Washington's Secret Wars
Following the widely reported Iranian government plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington and alarming new reports of civilian deaths in Syria, the White House has issued several findings to the intelligence community authorizing stepped-up covert action against both Damascus and Tehran. -Philip Giraldi, Veterans Today - 12/20/11
Attacking Iran and Pilotless Drones
The explosion that destroyed a missile base in Malard a few weeks ago could have been the result of a missile strike by an American or an Israeli pilotless drone. An attack like this is something that the Americans have practiced and mastered in Pakistan's Vaziristan region. -Farzaneh Roostaee - 12/19/11
Iranian captain launches international campaign to condemn aviation sanctions
Iranian Captain Hooshang Shahbazi, who landed an Iran Air Boeing 727 plane without its front landing gear at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport on October 18, has launched an international campaign to condemn sanctions imposed upon the sale of civilian aircraft and spare parts to Iran. - 12/17/11
The Winners And Losers Of The U.S.'S Latest Iran Sanctions
This week saw the furthering of draconian legislation against Iran that may end up benefiting U.S. adversaries more than hurting Iran's government. On Wednesday the House of Representatives passed the Iran Threat Reductions Act (H.R. 1905) and President Obama is expected to sign into law sanctions against Iran's Central Bank (Bank Markazi) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. -Jasmin Ramsey, lobelog - 12/17/11
Domestic politics drives US sanctions on Iran
Tougher sanctions and an anti-diplomacy approach to Iran can only lead to eventual military confrontation, writes the National Iranian American Council policy director -Public Service Europe - 12/16/11
Congress' Extreme Iran Sanctions
Today's vote by the House of Representatives to approve broad Iran sanctions (H.R. 1905) and an expected vote by both chambers to approve central bank sanctions as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), represent a major step in the wrong direction for the United States' Iran policy. -NIAC - 12/15/11
Outlawing diplomacy with Iran comes with dangerous repercussions
For a bill being sold as a last best alternative to military confrontation, H.R.1905 sets a destructive precedent that will silence our diplomats, endanger our troops, and dangerously intensify the danger of war with Iran. -Jamal Abdi, The Hill - 12/15/11
Fruits of Obloquy
A poem by Toney A. Schloss in protest to the sanctions against Iran - 12/14/11
Iran Remains The Main Target Of The Presidential Candidates' Televised Debates On Foreign Policy Issues
Since it is clear that a war with Iran would not be in anyone's interest, the hope is that the charade of threats and saber rattling will continue to appease the gullible public and allow Israel to reap the rich harvest with the blessing of American taxpayers, and this way, avoid an expensive and counterproductive new military involvement with potentially catastrophic global blowbacks. -Kam Zarrabi - 12/13/11
"We Are Many" to tell the story of the biggest protest in history!
Producer-Director: Amir Amirani, Executive Producer: Taghi Amirani -- We Are Many is a documentary about the never-before-told story of the biggest protest in history, on 15 February 2003, and its legacy, through the Arab Spring to the Occupy Movement. The day that saw an estimated 30 million people in over 700 cities around the world, gave birth to a new global social movement. - 12/13/11
Once again, war is prime time and journalism's role is taboo
On 22 May 2007, the Guardian's front page announced: "Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq." The writer, Simon Tisdall, claimed that Iran had secret plans to defeat American troops in Iraq, which included "forging ties with al-Qaida elements". -John Pilger - 12/12/11
War on Iran has already begun. Act before it threatens all of us
They don't give up. After a decade of blood-drenched failure in Afghanistan and Iraq, violent destabilisation of Pakistan and Yemen, the devastation of Lebanon and slaughter in Libya, you might hope the US and its friends had had their fill of invasion and intervention in the Muslim world. -Seumas Milne, Guardian - 12/10/11
Is war with Iran inevitable?
Former UK foreign minister Malcolm Rifkind fears Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons. Not so, says campaigner Abbas Edalat, who thinks western hawks want war -Guardian - 12/10/11
Joint Letter Calls for Congress to Oppose Legal Restrictions on Iran Diplomacy
We urge you to oppose the provision restricting contact with Iranian officials in the Iran sanctions bill H.R. 1905 and to work with your colleagues to remove it from the bill when it comes to the House floor. - 12/9/11
A Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Middle East: An Obligation Imposed by the "Arab Spring" and the Israel-Iran Conflict
With the war drums on Iran sounding again and the Arab Revolts following an arduous path, the question of a sustainable perspective for a conflict-ridden region remains to be dealt with. After all, the lack of both security and cooperation is an enduring malady plaguing the region. -Ali Fathollah-Nejad - 12/9/11
Stop the War Campaign Against Iran!
A diplomatic, economic and military noose is being steadily but firmly tightened around the Islamic Republic of Iran which paves the way for a full scale Western military assault against the country headed by the US and UK and prodded by Israel. -CASMII - 12/8/11
THE IRAN JOB: Journey of An American Professional Basketball Player to Iran
THE IRAN JOB follows American basketball player Kevin Sheppard as he accepts a job to play in one of the world's most feared countries: Iran. With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries to separate sports from politics, only to find that politics is impossible to escape in Iran. - 12/4/11
NIAC Statement on Iran Sanctions Vote in Senate
NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi issued the following statement regarding the Senate's passage today of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would impose U.S. sanctions on foreign countries and institutions that conduct transactions with the Central Bank of Iran: - 12/3/11
War Will Hurt The Genuine Social Movement Of The Iranian people: A Statement By A Group Of Activists Inside Iran
Wars have been the most terrifying phenomena people have confronted since the distant past. In our society, millions of Iranians have been living under the ominous shadow of the eight-year war with Iraq. - 11/29/11
In Defense of Diplomacy
Unfortunately, Congress is taking up dangerous legislation which appears to be designed to make the risk of war more likely. The bill takes the unprecedented step of effectively preventing any kind of U.S. diplomatic contact with Iran. -Nation of Change - 11/26/11
IRAN AND THE I.A.E.A.
I've been reporting on Iran and the bomb for The New Yorker for the past decade, with a focus on the repeated inability of the best and the brightest of the Joint Special Operations Command to find definitive evidence of a nuclear-weapons production program in Iran. -Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker - 11/26/11
The Problem is Simple
Iranian decisions makers must accept that these are hard times and that the country must be saved from the dangers it faces and thus leave their opponents free. Mouths will not remain silent forever. Shut mouths cannot protect the national interest. -Massoud Behnoud, Rooz - 11/25/11
NIAC Launches Sanctions Campaign Page
As new broad sanctions efforts ratchet up in Congress and the Obama Administration, NIAC has launched a sanctions campaign page to provide informational materials and up to the minute updates on the status of the new sanctions proposals. - 11/25/11
Iranian and South Korean artists to promote culture of peace
A group of Iranian and South Korean artists will be gathering in Masuleh in northern Iran to create artworks with the central theme of a culture of peace for ten days beginning on November 23. - 11/22/11
110 Iranian activists condemn military threats against Iran
The Iranian activists write: "Military intervention is merely an excuse for undemocratic rulers to use the murky waters of war to achieve their ends and to once again exacerbate the oppression of the people's movement and their rightful demands because of critical and extraordinary conditions." - 11/21/11
Former IAEA Inspector: Misleading Iran Report Proves Nothing
So, first of all, the debate about the Iranian program seems to fall more or less into two camps. One camp says they're seeking knowledge, but there's no evidence--and, again, there's a demand by this camp for actual evidence, rather than just sort of speculation--there's no evidence of a active weapons program. -TRNN - 11/17/11
Iranian Activists Call for Suspension of Uranium Enrichment To Prevent War
More than 150 Iranian political and student activists and intellectuals abroad have called on that country to temporarily suspend uranium enrichment to build confidence and halt any military aspects of the country's nuclear program. - 11/16/11
Number of Iranian Students in U.S. Jumps 19%
The Institute of International Education reported Monday that the number Iranian students studying in the U.S. increased 19% in 2010/11 to just over 5,600. Iran has joined the leading 25 places of origin, moving up to position 22. - 11/15/11
A Nuclear-Armed Iran: A Blessing In Disguise
The increasing intensity of steps currently underway to create the groundwork in the public domain to initiate a war with Iran is strangely taking the back seat to Penn State sex scandal and Mat Lauer's globetrotting adventures. All this, while the media hype about Iran's nuclear ambitions and the West's reaction could lead to a global catastrophe more horrendous than Vietnam. Remember, it's Veterans Day! -Kam Zarrabi - 11/14/11
IAEA reports on Iran: Mr. Amano and Regime Change
In an interview with Spiegel Online on April 19, 2011, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was asked if he was deceived by the US and its allies when investigating their allegations against Iran's nuclear program. He answered: "the Americans and the Europeans withheld important documents and information from us. They weren't interested in a compromise with the government in Tehran, but regime change-by any means necessary." -Sasan Fayazmanesh - 11/14/11
Iranian Reformist Leader Condemns Foreign Threats
Former president Mohammad Khatami says any aggression against Iran by foreign forces will be countered by Iranians of all political persuasions. - 11/14/11
Congress Playing Dangerous Game on Iran Sanctions
Are Congress and the White House on a collision course over Iran? That's looking increasingly likely, as Congressional proponents of the "nuclear option" of sanctions - sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) - try to force President Obama to pull the trigger. -David Elliott - 11/11/11
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