Iran

Concern over corruption by successive governments has become a “powderkeg”

Trump to Keep Troops in Iraq as Spies on Iran, but determined to withdraw From Syria, Afghanistan

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump spoke on foreign policy Sunday on “Face The Nation,” further explaining his thinking on US troops in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. He seems to have made it clear that the US troop presence in Iraq is not, as advertised, to help Baghdad mop up ISIL remnants but rather to […]

Feminism

Paradoxes of Women and Iran’s Islamic Republic: More Education but a hundred Glass Ceilings

AFP

If a woman is successful in a line of work like this, she’s fought very hard

Featured

Turkey, NATO ally, Rejects US “Coup Attempt” in Venezuela

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is no surprise that Iran should be supporting the Venezuelan government of Maduro, given that both typically take anti-imperialist stands. What is astonishing is that NATO member Turkey has piled on the criticism, along with the Turkish press. It is s sign of US-Turkish relations being at their nadir. […]

Iran

Facebook takes Down Vast Iran-Led Manipulation Campaign

Glenn Chapman

The operation dating back to as early as 2010 had 262 pages, 356 accounts

Donald Trump

Could Trump Really Launch a War With Iran?

Conn M. Hallinan

This time around, the U.S. is pretty much alone.

European Union

Europe declares independence of Trump, Creates Channel for Iran Trade

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In what French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called “an important geo-political gesture,” France, Germany and the UK have swung into action with the backing of the European Union to set up a mechanism, called Instex, which will permit European firms and banks to continue to trade with Iran without […]

Featured

Trump Explodes at CIA over Iran: “Naive and Passive,” “Go Back to School!”

Juan Cole

Coats: “We continue to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities.”

Iran

40 Years on, is Iran a Status Quo Power or a Threat to ME Regional Security?

Ali Abootalebi

(Informed Comment) – The US-Iranian relations remain conflictual forty years after the revolution and with an uncertain future. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that Poland will host an international conference on Iran in February has angered Iranian officials, prompting foreign minister Javad Zarif’s tweeting the upcoming summit as America’s anti-Iran “circus.” Secretary […]