Iran
Trump on Iran: Speaking loudly and carrying a small stick
For Western nations which want to enter the miasma that is Middle Eastern politics, Theodore Roosevelt's proverbial instruction to 'speak softly and carry a big stick' is not…
Trump’s high-risk Iran strategy
This week US President Donald Trump could announce that Iran is not complying with the 2015 nuclear deal, despite a number of US allies and officials - including some inside the…
The increasingly fragile Iran nuclear deal
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month, US President Donald Trump called into question Washington’s continue support of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran…
Saudi Arabia’s change of tack on Iraq
For too long, the Saudis have complained about the 'loss' of Iraq to Iranian influence without acknowledging that their almost complete refusal to establish ties with Baghdad…
Iranian politics nothing if not opaque
It is often difficult to make sense of Iranian electoral results.
On the one hand, presidential elections feature such a narrow range of choice (the 1600-plus would-be candidates…
Iranians vote to continue on the path of engagement
Some 40 million Iranians took to the polls on Friday to vote for the next President of the Islamic Republic, which represented an impressive 70% turnout rate. Commentators had…
Iran's growing security problem
As Iran heads into an election on Friday with the focus on the economy, it is easy to miss the rise in temperature in Iran’s regional security environment. In late April, nine…
Chabahar: The key to a strategic partnership between India and Iran?
Since Iran reached an agreement with India back in 2003 to develop a deep-water port and free-trade zone in Chabahar, on the Makran coast in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province,…
Tense times for the Iran nuclear deal
This week US President Donald Trump is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On the agenda will be Iran and, more specifically, the nuclear deal reached between…
Women and Iran’s elections: 'This is not the atmosphere for change'
In May this year Iranians will go to the polls twice: first to vote for their next president, and then for nearly 120,000 council members in the municipal election. Women, like…