Iran’s Guardian Council Chooses Candidates for Presidential Election
Iran's Guardian Council announced the list of approved candidates for Iran's June presidential election. The council approved eight candidates, six of which are "ultraconservatives" loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The approved candidates include Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear ...
Upcoming Event: Iran’s Presidential Election and U.S. Policy
Join POMED for our upcoming event, "Iran's Presidential Election and U.S. Policy," on Friday, May 24 from 10-11:30am at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Choate Room. The panel will include Nazila Fathi, former NYT Tehran correspondent; Ambassador John Limbert, former Deputy Secretary of State for Iran; Mariam Memarsadeghi of Tavaana E-Learning Institute for Iranian Civil Society; and Stephen McInerney, executive director of POMED. Click here to RSVP, and see below for ...
POMED Notes: “The Rise of Islamism: Its Impact on Religious Minorities”
On Wednesday, May 15, the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom held a panel titled, “The Rise of Islamism: Its Impact on Religious Minorities” to discuss Islamist radicalization in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Panelists included former Pakistani parliamentarian Farahnaz Ispahi; Professor of Iranian, Central Eurasian, and Islamic Studies at Indiana University Jamsheed Choksy; and Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism Stephen Schwartz. Nina Shea, Hudson ...
May 16, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islamist movements, Political Islam, Sectarianism
POMED Notes – “U.S. Policy Toward Iran”
On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing titled "U.S. Policy Toward Iran." Wendy Sherman, State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and David Cohen, Treasury Department Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, testified. Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In Chairman Menendez's opening statement, he said the United States needs to "double ...
May 15, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Elections, Freedom, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iran, US foreign policy
Controversial Iranian Leaders Register as Presidential Candidates
Candidate registration for Iran's upcoming presidential election closed Saturday as two controversial figures, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, registered to appear on the ballot in June. Mashaei, a close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani, ...
Brief: Reform Politics & Iran’s June Presidential Election
POMED has released its latest policy brief, "Reform Politics and Iran's June Presidential Election," by Farideh Farhi. As the Islamic Republic of Iran approaches its eleventh presidential election, the conflicting impulses that have shaped its 34-year life are once again manifest. ...
Video of the Day: Iran’s Pre-Election Crackdown on Journalists
This video from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran examines the crackdown on journalists leading up to Iran's June elections.
Political Infighting, Voter Apathy Precede Iran’s Elections
Iranian politicians and clerics have increased their vocal criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a continuation of recent public infighting. In a variety of media outlets, they have blamed Ahmadinejad rather than international sanctions for the poor state ...
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Report
In April, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued its annual report covering February 2012 through January 2013. From the MENA region, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were listed as "Countries of Particular Concern" and Bahrain and Turkey were ...
May 1, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Egypt, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
POMED Launches Iran Weekly Update
The Project on Middle East Democracy is excited to announce the launch of its newest weekly publication, The Iran Weekly Update. This newsletter will bring together information from the week in Iran from a variety of sources, highlighting relevant debates ...
State Department Human Rights Country Report: Iran
In its annual report on the status of human rights in Iran, the State Department determined that the country's most egregious rights violations were "the government’s severe limitations on citizens’ right to peacefully change their government through free ...
POMED Notes – FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing
The United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs questioned Secretary of State John Kerry at the FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing on Thursday. Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In Senator Leahy's opening statement, submitted for the record, he said that, "We do not want a Democratic foreign policy or a Republican ...
April 21, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
April 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Political transition, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
POMED Notes: “The Arab Awakening and the New Sectarian Divide”
On Wednesday, April 10th, The Brookings Institution held an event titled “The Arab Awakening and the New Sectarian Divide.” It featured Geneive Abdo, Middle East/Southwest Asia Fellow at The Stimson Center and Nonresident Fellow at Brookings, and Kristin Smith Diwan, Assistant Professor of Middle East Politics at American University. Daniel Byman, Research Director and Senior Fellow at Brookings’ Saban Center for Middle East Policy, moderated the event. For full event notes ...
April 10, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Conflict, Event Notes, Iran, Lebanon, Political transition, Sectarianism
Maliki Asserts Partnership with U.S., Faces Criticism at Home
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated that "The United States has not 'lost' Iraq." He described a "strong partnership" with the U.S. "on political, security and economic levels," and noted that "Iraq is not ...
Iranian Coalitions Vie for Power Ahead of Elections
In the New York Times, Thomas Erdbrink describes a presidential power struggle as Iran prepares for elections this summer. Tensions are rising between outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his supporters and a traditionalist coalition that includes members of ...
Congressmen Urge Iraq to Ground Iranian Flights
Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) are expected to send a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today expressing their concern with Iranian arms shipments across Iraq en route to Syria. Robert Ford, the U.S. ...
March 22, 2013
Category: Congress, Diplomacy, Featured, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Obama to the Middle East: Implications and Expectations”
Ahead of President Obama's upcoming trip to Israel and Jordan, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy held a policy forum titled "Obama to the Middle East: Implications and Expectations" on Tuesday, March 18, 2013. It featured Ambassador Dennis Ross, Counselor to the Washington Institute and former National Security Council member under President Obama, Michael Singh, Managing Director at the Washington Institute, and David Makovsky, Director of Project on the ...
March 18, 2013
Category: Diplomacy, Egypt, Human Rights, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Syria, US foreign policy
U.N. Expert: “Worsening” Human Rights in Iran
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, reported an increase in the degree of human rights violations in Iran. Three months away from the country's next presidential ...
March 13, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Elections, Featured, Human Rights, Iran, Journalism, UN Human Rights Council
POMED Notes: “The Rise and Fall of Iran in Arab and Muslim Eyes: A New Poll”
On Tuesday, March 5, the Wilson Center hosted an event centered on the publication of the e-book Looking at Iran: How 20 Arab & Muslim Nations View Iran and Its Policies by Zogby Research Services. James Zogby laid out his findings in a keynote address, and then participated in a panel discussion with Tom Gjelten, Haleh Esfandiari, Hisham Melhem, Barbara Slavin, and Marc Lynch. The panel delved into Iran’s declining ...