Israel’s Iron Dome missile shield (File photo) For more than one reason, the US President Joe Biden’s call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday is hugely consequential. This has been Biden’s second phone conversation with Bennett in four weeks. On March 30 Biden called to express his “deepest condolences” following the terrorist attacks …
Vienna talks on Iran at crossroads
US President Eisenhower’s propaganda stunt ‘Atoms for Peace’ acquires new meaning as Iran uncovers the mystique of atom Coincidentally, it was on March 5 that Russia projected its latest demand for sanctions waiver in a written guarantee “at least” from President Joe Biden or at the very minimum from Secretary of State Antony Blinken in …
Russia hits back on “sanctions from hell”
An innocuous tweet from Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organisations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov earlier today in the afternoon said that he met with the EU Coordinator at the Vienna talks on Iran nuclear issue Enrique Mora and “raised a number of questions which need to be duly addressed now in order to ensure smooth …
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Iran Unbound. What it means.
Iran’s negotiator Ali Bagheri says nuclear deal ‘closer than ever’ The negotiations in Vienna over the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, are almost certainly close to an agreement. The surest sign is that crude oil futures were sharply lower in mid-morning Asian trade Feb. 17 despite bearish developments due to the rising …
US, Iran exchanging glances
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said his country’s dialogue with Saudi Arabia is “on the right track” While on a ‘farewell’ visit to Israel, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday in Jerusalem at a joint press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that negotiations in Vienna over the return to the …
Biden Doctrine appears in Persian Gulf
Iran’s Vice-President & head of the Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami (second from right) met International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi, Tehran, Sept 12, 2021 The incipient signs of a US retrenchment from Saudi Arabia have appeared in a series of moves in the past 2-3 weeks. On a parallel track, the Biden Administration …
Russia, China circle the wagons. Iran is in it.
10000 troops from PLA’s Western Theatre Command and Russia’s Eastern Military District wrapped up Zapad/Interaction-2021 exercises in Ningxia region, east of Xinjiang, August 13, 2021 The Tehran Times reported on Wednesday that Moscow has conveyed to Tehran that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has reached a consensus on Iran’s admission as a full member of the …
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A new dawn breaks in Tehran
On Thursday, Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi takes the oath of office in a ceremony in the Majlis in Tehran. This will be a defining moment in the Islamic Republic’s political history, since in many ways, the country is at the crossroads. The Islamic system continues to enjoy a broad social base but erosion is …
US airstrikes in Iraq, Syria: preemptive or provocative?
The US military carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, targeting operational and weapons storage facilities of Iran-backed militia Unusual for a Sunday, John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, rushed to clarify that the US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in the weekend targeted facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to launch attacks on American …
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Biden has a worthy interlocutor in Raisi
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani (L) meets the media with President-elect Ebrahim Raisi (R) in Tehran, June 19, 2021 This may seem a paradox but the truth is that the United States does not realise that Iran’s presidential election result — the resounding victory of the conservative head of the judiciary Ebrahim Raisi — can be …