Accepting an American-Iranian Dialogue
July 24th, 2008 by Sarah
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi makes his first official visit to Washington and warns that Israel would not rule out any course of action regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Meanwhile, Aluf Benn at Haaretz derides the Bush administration for drastically shifting its policy toward Iran, but ultimately recommends that “instead of making the mistake of holding on to the false hope that Bush will actually order the bombing of Iran, Israelis should start looking at the positive aspects of an American-Iranian dialogue, while insisting that Israel’s vital interests not be undermined.”
Posted in Iran, Israel, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »
Negotiations With Iran
July 23rd, 2008 by Sarah
Farideh Farhi at Informed Comment interprets the comments made by Iran’s nuclear negotiation Saeed Jalili. “I had to read this statement at least 10 times to realize that he is doing his best to say that Iran wants to continue talks with the six countries present at Geneva without telling the Iranian public that in order to do this Iran has to accept the freeze for freeze formula.”
Farhi suggests that the reason for Jalili’s obfuscation is because “Ahmadinejad’s administration has turned the issue of Iran’s right to enrichment into such a national spectacle that Jalili has to worry about his moves being perceived by his hard-line audience as a retreat, rather than a mere sensible or even shrewd compromise at a time of great opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Craig Chamberlain at The Conservative Voice believes that the current negotiations with Iran are futile, and “will be seen as a sign of fear and weakness on our end. Iran will not abandon its plans until it is forced to do so.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Implications of the Opening Steps for a Diplomatic Path Between the United States and Iran”
July 22nd, 2008 by Adam
On Tuesday, the Center for Strategic & International Studies held a discussion regarding the recent developments in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and what implications these developments could have on U.S. policy. Panelists included Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, Gen. Brent Scowcroft (Ret.), former National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, and David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist for the Washington Post. Bob Schieffer, CBS News’ Chief Washington Correspondent and host of Face the Nation served as moderator.
For POMED’s complete notes on this discussion, click here.
Posted in DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Event Notes, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »
A Bush Policy Shift?
July 22nd, 2008 by Sarah
At National Interest Online Barbara Slavin reviews President Bush’s recent decision to send Undersecretary of State Bill Burns to participate in talks with Iran, alongside the P5+1. Either “President Bush believes diplomacy will not work but realizes he must at least go through the motions to avoid criticism that he is rushing to war,” or “with the situation in Iraq somewhat stabilized and Western economic sanctions beginning to bite in Iran, the administration believes it has sufficient leverage to negotiate and that Iran is receptive to a deal.”
Iran currently has 2 weeks to formally respond to the incentive package.
The Economist asserts its own interpretation. “Having Mr Burns in Geneva, it is hoped, will underline the seriousness of the offer to negotiate, but also Iran’s need to choose.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »
A Frozen Freeze-for-Freeze
July 21st, 2008 by Sarah
Paul Richter and Borzou Daragahi in the L.A. Times report that Iran has refused to say whether it would suspend its uranium enrichment program as a precondition to negotiations over its nuclear program. Iran has been given a 2-week deadline to provide its final answer.
Michael Rubin in the Wall Street Journal argues that “diplomacy is not wrong, but President Bush’s reversal [by sending a U.S. representative to talk with Iran] is diplomatic malpractice on a Carter-esque level that is breathing new life into a failing regime.” Additionally, Rubin argues that “Washington is signaling to Tehran that it need not adhere to three current U.N. Security Council resolutions. Rather than reinforce diplomacy, the White House reveals that its red lines are illusionary.”
An editorial in the Arab News, however, suggests that even if Iran eventually refuses to accept the incentives package, “the very fact that Iran and the US got together at one table for the first time concerning the nuclear issue represents a huge turnaround for both sides and provides distinct signs that a collision course is being averted.”
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls on Iran to either halt its nuclear program or face stronger sanctions. “We stand ready to lead in taking firmer sanctions and will ask the whole international community to join us.”
Posted in Diplomacy, EU, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »
My, How Times Have Changed
July 18th, 2008 by Amanda
The Bush Administration has attempted a near about face in its diplomatic relations with Iran, according to a New York Times editorial. While its policy has shifted away from the “dangerous fantasy of bombing away Iran’s nuclear ambitions” to engaging in talks in Tehran for the first time in 30 years, Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly wonders why more people aren’t getting as excited as he is about the historical move.
Adam Blickstein at Democracy Arsenal noticed. He discusses the latest policy actions as well as speculation over US ambitions to “establish a US interest section -a halfway house to setting up a full embassy.” Meanwhile, FP Passport discovers the positive outcomes of roundball diplomacy.
Well-timed is the release of a new book by Thomas Powers entitled Iran: The Threat. He posits that “the United States appears to have lost its capacity to think clearly” with regard to its war with Iran rhetoric.
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »
Iran’s Response to Incentive Offer is Leaked
July 17th, 2008 by Sarah
A leaked Iranian letter, responding to the P5+1 incentives package, indicates that while Iran is not interested in talks aimed toward Iran foregoing its nuclear program, the country is interested in negotiating a broader peace and security deal.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon warns that Iran’s ballistic missiles could reach Eastern and Southern Europe and Guy Faulconbridge at Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia allegedly has offered a lucrative arms contract to Russia if it curtails its cooperation with Iran. Moscow has denied that the offer was connected to relations with Iran.
Posted in EU, Iran, Military, Saudi Arabia | Comment »
Sanctioning Iran
July 17th, 2008 by Sarah
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) announce bipartisan Iran sanctions legislation that would “authorize states and local governments to divest from companies that do business with Iran’s oil and gas sectors and cut off shipment through other countries of sanctioned technology.”
Olivier Guitta at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies argues that specific sanctions against Iran’s energy sector could be the most powerful tool to avert military escalation. “An international export ban of refined petroleum products to Iran, coupled with an embargo on the 2.5 million barrels per day (3 percent of world consumption) that Iran exports” could plunge Iran “in a deep economic and social hole that could jeopardize the regime.”
Posted in Iran, Oil, US foreign policy | Comment »
Bolton In The WSJ
July 16th, 2008 by Sarah
Many are discussing John Bolton’s piece in the Wall Street Journal yesterday calling for the U.S. to lend support to Israel “before, during, and after a strike on Iran.”
Matthew Yglesias questions Bolton’s assertion that bombing Iran would delay them from obtaining nuclear weapons and asks whether a U.S. or Israeli attack would serve to strengthen Iranian domestic support to build a nuclear weapon and lead foreign nations to be more sympathetic towards Iran.
Justin Logan at Cato@Liberty also questions Bolton’s recommendations, but notes that he is open to debate.This is an awfully, awfully thin reed on which to base a case for starting another unprovoked war in the Middle East.”
Posted in Iran, Israel, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »
New Developments on Iran
July 16th, 2008 by Sarah
Matthew Lee at AP reports that “in a break with past Bush administration policy, a top U.S. diplomat will for the first time join colleagues from other world powers at a weekend meeting with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.”
This morning, the New York Times reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says Iran refuses to stop its nuclear program as a precondition of talks, as demanded by the P5+1 before formal talks on the incentive package offered to Tehran. “In relation to negotiations … we have very clearly defined red lines.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran | Comment »
Possible Attacks on Iran?
July 15th, 2008 by Sarah
Today, Fars News Agency (Iran) reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is interested in having direct talks, without preconditions, with the U.S. “if they come to us on equal footing.”
In regard to a possible Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran, Gwynne Dyer at Arab News is skeptical and argues that Iran “clearly concluded that all the American and Israeli threats to attack them are mere bluff.” Dyer believes Iran’s recent missile testing is merely a cost-free strategy to strengthen Iran’s support domestically.
Meanwhile, an editorial in The Jordan Times recommends that “diplomacy must be given more time to work out a solution to the crisis, especially when there are signs that the Iranian authorities will blink first.”
However John Bolton argues in the Wall Street Journal that “instead of debating how much longer to continue five years of failed diplomacy, we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible. At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel’s path, and facilitate its efforts where we can.”
In regard to using Afghanistan as a possible launching pad for such an attack, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, states that “Afghanistan would never like its soil to be used against another country,” emphasizing his desire to remain on good terms with both Iran and the United States.
Posted in Afghanistan, Diplomacy, Iran, Israel, Military | Comment »
2008: “Unilateral Cowboy Summitry”
July 15th, 2008 by Matt
At Prospects for Peace, Daniel Levy gets a little riled up by the McCain campaign’s phraseology “unilateral cowboy summitry”, which they have consistently been applying to Barack Obama’s strategy for negotiations with Iran. Levy criticizes the phrase word-for-word, then analyzes each campaign’s policy prescriptions for Iran–and explains why this is an issue that Obama can win.
Posted in Election 08, Iran, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
Syria’s Diplomatic Move
July 14th, 2008 by Sarah
Hussein Shariatmadari warns Syria of the negative impact that peace with Israel will have on relations with Tehran.
Meanwhile, Tony Barber in the Financial Times noted that the inaugural session of the Mediterranean Union was the first time an Israeli and a Syrian leader had been seated in the same room.
At the session, Syria announced that it would open an embassy in Beirut and Lebanon an embassy in Damascus for the first time since Lebanese independence in 1943. “Such a step would imply Syrian acceptance of the sovereignty of Lebanon.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Syria | Comment »
Recommendations on a Response to Iran
July 14th, 2008 by Sarah
Debates continue to focus on Iran after its missile testing last week.
Via Jim Kouri at The Conservative Voice, Riki Ellison of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance warns that Iran’s recent missile testing is unequivocally a “Clear and Present Danger” to the U.S. and its allies. Ellison argues that “missile defense…can stabilize and offer valuable positioning for diplomatic efforts to ease down the intensity and work for a solution.”
Meanwhile, Babu Ranganathan at The Conservative Voice argues that Iran will not attack Israel because the fallout on Palestinians and neighboring Arab populations is not in Iran’s strategic interests. Instead, Ranganathan recommends shifting U.S. attention to the “real culprit” in the region: Pakistan.
At Foreign Policy Passport, Blake Hounshell castigates an article about an Iranian threat by Uzi Mahnaimi in The Times of London as alarmist. Instead, Hounshell recommends an article by Jim Hoagland who argues that although a military option may still be on the table, “it has been pushed beyond reach under almost all circumstances.”
And in a recently issued report by the RAND Corporation, Keith Crane recommends a long-term U.S. policy that “should be crafted with the goals of fostering conditions for a more democratic Iranian society, weakening the ability of the Iranian government to crack down on dissenters, and penalizing the Iranian government for policies that harm the United States.”
To read the full report, click here.
Posted in Iran, Israel, Military, US foreign policy | Comment »
BBG Responds to Iran Democracy Programming Criticism
July 14th, 2008 by Stephen
Last week, POMED posted a link to this article by Jason Leopold at the Public Record, criticizing programs funded by the State Department’s Iran Democracy Fund as lacking transparency and undermining true reform efforts in Iran.
Since then, we received the following email from the Broadcasting Board of Governors as a response to Leopold’s piece:
We offer a correction to Jason Leopold’s July 11 article, “State Department’s Iran Democracy Fund Shrouded in Secrecy.”
The piece reports that: “Congress has appropriated more than $120 million to fund the project. The State Department has spent most of the money on the U.S.-backed Radio Farda, Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe, and to broadcast Persian programs into Iran via VOA satellite television.”
In fact, these broadcasts are funded through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the independent federal agency that oversees U.S. international broadcasting. While broadcasting to Iran was part of the Administration’s FY 2006 State Department supplemental request to support democracy in Iran, Congress appropriated $36.1 million directly to the BBG to enhance existing programming of the Voice of America and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda to Iran. The BBG is fully accountable to the Congress for the expenditure of these funds.
The article also states that: “The State Department has said it intends to spend $1.2 million of those funds to launch Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Azerbaijani in an effort to address the lack of objective and comprehensive news and information for Azerbaijanis, the largest ethnic minority group in Iran.” This is not correct. The BBG’s pending budget request with the Congress for FY 2009 asks for funding to begin programming to the large Azeri-speaking population of Iran.
Appreciate your help setting the record straight.
Sincerely,
Letitia King
Director
Office of Public Affairs
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Posted in Foreign Aid, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »
2008: Iranian Missile Test Reaction
July 11th, 2008 by Matt
Both the New York Times and Reuters picked up on the Iran policy exchange that opened up in response to Iran’s missile test exercises of the past couple days. Both campaigns released statements on the tests (McCain’s here, Obama’s quoted here), as the debate reached back into tactics for engagement or containment, as well as toward the terrorist status of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard force. CFR’s Campaign 2008 blog also has a good roundup, with links to interviews with McCain and Obama on MSNBC and Good Morning America, respectively.
Posted in Election 08, Iran, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
Thinking Smart About Iran
July 11th, 2008 by Adam
From the newly revamped website of Middle East Progress comes Jon Alterman’s article urging a new American policy towards Iran. Alterman suggests we take a sober look at Iran as they are only a regional power, are more hostile than irrational, and have shown they can be deterred. He concludes that without engagement their will be no improvement in U.S.-Iran relations unless the U.S. attempts, “…a way out of our impasse with Iran that is short of war and short of surrender.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
POMED Notes: Understanding Khamenei: The Writings of Iran’s Supreme Leader
July 10th, 2008 by Adam
On Thursday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted a discussion with Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of Reading Khamenei: The Worldview of Iran’s Most Powerful Leader. The discussion focused on the political, philosophical, and religious worldview of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Sadjadpour was interviewed by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post.
For POMED’s complete notes on the discussion, click here.
Posted in Event Notes, Events, Iran | Comment »
Controversial Funds for Democracy Promotion in Iran
July 10th, 2008 by Adam
At the Public Record, Jason Leopold examines the State Department’s controversial “Democracy Program” to promote democracy, civil society, and human rights inside Iran. Leopold asserts that the money has been shrouded in secrecy with some of the money going to Iranian exile organizations in order to establish relationships with opposition groups. He also argues that the money is not having its desired effect as civil society and human rights organizations have rejected the funds as they believe it will taint their ability to bring change from within. Furthermore, such funds are described as having heightened Tehran’s insecurity and allowing them to justify crackdowns on opponents by citing foreign subversion.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Iran, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
POMED Notes: U.S. Policy Toward Iran
July 9th, 2008 by Adam
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the current status of America’s policy towards Iran, and the future of that relationship. Topics ranged from the on-going nuclear negotiations to Iraq to human rights and democratic reform. The only witness was The Honorable William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the State Department. Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) delivered opening remarks.
For POMED’s complete notes on this hearing, click here.
Posted in Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Hearing Notes, Iran, Multilateralism, US foreign policy | Comment »
