Posts Tagged ‘Nuclear program’

|Guest Column| No Surprises at Iranian Nuclear Talks

Posted: June 28, 2012 in Guest Opinions, Iranian Nuclear Issue, Israel, Middle East
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By Uri Marantz

The latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the West has once again failed to deliver concrete results, resolutions (of even the most minimally binding nature) or serious agreement of any kind; besides of course, agreeing to reschedule previously scheduled meetings for a future-but-as-of-yet-undefined date in time.  The West in this case refers to the P5+1, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) plus Germany (or the EU3+3, named after another Iranian negotiating bloc in the mid-2000s).

This patently predictable turn of events, this lack of progress on a potentially globally destabilizing hot-button political issue, has not surprised a single analyst or political expert on Iranian nuclear affairs.  Western-Iranian nuclear negotiations have become almost as endlessly protracted and hopelessly intractable as Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations; to paraphrase the Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz, these nuclear negotiations have become the only continuation of politics by other means.

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Video: The Middle East in Transition – Iran and its Nuclear Project (Hebrew University)

Posted: March 9, 2012 in Iranian Nuclear Issue, Middle East
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As part of the Hebrew University’s annual “The Middle East in Transition,” scholars discuss the Iranian nuclear program and what it means to Israel. The discussion raises interesting questions regarding Israeli rhetoric on the Iranian nuclear issue and its negative impact on Israeli society and national interest.

The speakers include:

Dr. Soli Shahvar (University of Haifa): Towards the “Great Civilization”: The Shah, the Iranian Nuclear Program, and the West, 1956-1979

Dr. Ephraim Kam (Institute for National Security Studies): A Military Operation Against Iran: Is It a Viable Option?

Prof. Shlomo Aronson (Hebrew University of Jerusalem): The Iranian Bomb: Is it an Existential Threat to Israel?

Video: Foreign Affairs LIVE: Time to Attack Iran? A Debate

Posted: March 9, 2012 in Iranian Nuclear Issue, Middle East
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Here’s a debate between two Foreign Affairs’ contributors Colin Kahl and Matthew Kroenig on whether or not the United States should attack Iran. Both raise interesting points that should factor into any American decision on using military means to “solve” the Iranian nuclear issue.

You can access both Colin Kahl’s article “Not Time to Attack Iran” and Matthew Kroenig’s “Time to Attack Iran” on the Foreign Affairs website.

Video: Iran and the Bomb

Posted: March 8, 2012 in Iranian Nuclear Issue, Middle East
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A documentary by Journeyman Pictures explaining the complexities and competing narratives of the Iranian Nuclear Issue. One of the featured sources, Israeli investigative reporter Ronen Bergman, is the author of “The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Power.”

Still the Master of Global terror?

Posted: March 3, 2012 in Iranian Nuclear Issue, Middle East
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Perhaps it is all a coincidence; the attacks on Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia and a failed bomb plot in Thailand by Iranian nationals. Add to this the tensions between Iran, Israel and the West, the presence of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Straits of Hormuz and Iran’s latest nuclear advancements, perhaps it’s not a coincidence at all.

The past few weeks have seen a rapid escalation in rhetoric and action between Iran and the U.S. lead Western alliance. The latter is hoping to contain Iran’s nuclear progress through the use of sanctions and political pressure. Iran’s response, particularly their threat to close off the Straits of Hormuz, has many commentators believing that Western sanctions are starting to bite.

Despite such grave threats by a regime known for its mastery of vitriolic rhetoric, the Islamic Republic of Iran has rarely confronted their adversaries directly. Iran’s preference has always been to use its various proxies to inflict damage at a low cost to itself. This is true mostly with regards to its regional competitor Israel. Through groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories, Iran has been able to punish Israel indirectly with little cost. Some cite the recent attacks as responses to suspected Israeli assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists. The most recent attacks also coincided with the anniversary of Israel’s assassination of former Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyah, which would strengthen the case that these attacks were carried out with some level of Iranian compliance. Hezbollah for their part deny any involvement. If Tehran is ruled as the perpetrator, it would not be the first time the regime has targeted Israeli interests abroad; the most popular case being the Israeli embassy bombings in Argentina.

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