Iran

Is US-Australia Nuclear Sub Deal a Proliferation Danger, and does it Justify Iran’s Civilian Enrichment Program?

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey at Politico raise a crucial question about the AUKUS alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia that involves providing Australia with nuclear submarines. Is it a form of proliferation and does it provide justification for Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program? Nuclear submarines […]

Human Rights

Hacked Videos Force The Unthinkable In Iran: Official Admission Of Abuses At Evin Prison

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

( RFE/RL ) – Former inmates, their families, and human rights activists have long complained of mistreatment and torture at Evin prison, a notorious facility in Tehran that is a primary site for political detainees. Regular detainees, as well as surviving political prisoners and other perceived enemies of Iran’s postrevolutionary regime, have alleged torture and […]

Afghanistan

Top 6 International Winners and Losers from Taliban Reassertion in Afghanistan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the establishment of a Taliban government in the entirety of Afghanistan has dire implications for Afghans, especially women, urban people, Hazara Shiites, and generally non-fundamentalists. It also has implications outside the country. Here is a quick scorecard of the drawbacks and benefits […]

censorship

Iranians Fear Turning Into Another ‘North Korea’ If Draconian Internet Censorship Bill Passes

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL ) – Iranians are warning of public anger and drawing parallels with the world’s most oppressive regimes as legislation makes its way through the country’s parliament that could intensify online censorship and further restrict Internet access. Iranian authorities already block tens of thousands of websites and regularly throttle or cut Internet connectivity during […]

Featured

Dear CIA Director Burns: Don’t Listen to the Israelis on Iran– They just want you to fight a war for them

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jonathan Lis at Haaretz reports that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is lobbying the US to get on a war footing with Iran. The Israelis will try to convince CIA director William Burns of their position on Iran in his meetings there on Wednesday. Lis makes 3 […]

Featured

Trump’s Tehran Poison Pill: US Trade Embargo provokes Iranian Attacks in Gulf, Making Return to Nuclear Deal Harder

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The BBC reports that a bitumen tanker, the MV Asphalt Princess, was boarded by nine men on Tuesday and hijacked. It cites unnamed “analysts,” presumably MI6, to the effect that the hijacking was the work of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The MV Asphalt Princess, owned by the United Arab […]

Iran

Discussions of Iran’s Nuclear Enrichment ignore Israel’s Atom Bomb Arsenal: What if Iran’s Program is a Deterrent to War?

John Hickman

Mt. Berry, Ga. (Special to Informed Comment) – According to the latest news coverage, Iran-U.S. negotiations to revive the 2015 JCPOA are in trouble. The main sticking points involve a guarantee demanded by Tehran that Washington will not abandon the deal at some future date as it did in 2018 under the previous administration and […]

Dissent

Iran: Deadly Repression of Khuzestan Protests: Hundreds Arrested; At Least 9 Deaths, Including a Child (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – The rising death toll and mass arrests raise grave concerns about the Iranian authorities’ response to recent protests in Khuzestan and other provinces, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release peaceful protesters, provide information about deaths, and allow an independent international investigation into […]

Dissent

‘Hopeless And Dissatisfied’: Growing Anger At Iranian Officials As Khuzestan Water Protests Spread

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami | – ( RFE/RL) – Analysts say economic desperation and growing frustration in Iranian society have led to angry demonstrations around the country that began with people protesting water shortages in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. “If the society wasn’t hopeless, it wouldn’t take to the streets. It wouldn’t […]