November 10th, 2009 by Daniel

There is now some confusion about the status of three American hikers arrested in Iran. They are either “charged with” or “accused of” spying, depending on how one Persian word is translated, writes Arash Aramesh.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei claims “the foreign policy apparatus in Iran has frozen” as he seeks to forge an agreement on nuclear programs in negotiations that some fear have not included human rights issues. Iran’s delay on a nuclear deal is not, as some have supposed, due to a lack of unity among its elite, writes Meir Javedanfar for The Guardian. Gary Sick laughs at the irony of opposition journalists now accusing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of meeting with CIA agents after Ahmadinejad has prosecuted dissidents on false charges of collusion with the CIA. The American Spectator published an interview with Michael Ledeen, who accuses President Obama of wanting to ignore Iranian protestors to preserve chances of a deal with Iran. In another article, Ledeen argues that Iran is on the cusp of revolution. Michael Allen surveys comparisons of Iran today and East Germany in 1989.

In the new edition of insideIRAN, Hossein Askari argues that Iran’s economic instability cannot be blamed on sanctions, but is the result of domestic policies. Shane M. explores the Green Movement’s religious roots. That movement, along with international observers, needs Obama to take a stand, writes Geneive Abdo.

Posted in Iran, Reform, Secularism, US foreign policy, sanctions |