The term “proxy war” has experienced a new popularity in stories on the Middle East. Various news sources began using the term to describe the conflict in Yemen immediately, as if on cue, after Saudi Arabia launched its bombing campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen...
Houthi Arms Bonanza Came From Saleh, Not Iran
As the Saudi bombing campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen continues, notwithstanding a temporary pause, the corporate media narrative about the conflict in Yemen is organized decisively around the idea that it is a proxy war between Iran on one side and the Saudis...
Iran Won Upfront Sanctions Relief, but With Potential Snags
The framework agreement reached on Thursday night clearly gives the P5+1 a combination of constraints on Irans nuclear program that should reassure all but the most bellicose opponents of diplomacy. It also provides the basis for at least a minimum of sanctions...
Iran Demands Lifting of Sanctions for ‘Irreversible’ Moves, Says Insider
As the P5+1 and Iran agree to continue talks on a possible joint statement past a midnight deadline into Wednesday, the most contentious issue in Lausanne still appears to be how and when sanctions on Iran will be lifted. Virtually all the details of the...
Sanctions and the Fate of the Nuclear Talks
With the agreed deadline for reaching a “political framework” for a final comprehensive nuclear agreement only a few days away, the fate of the negotiations now hang on closing the gap between the P5+1 and Iran on removing sanctions. The issues associated with Iran’s...
The Real Story Behind the Republicans’ Iran Letter
The “open letter” from Senator Tom Cotton and 46 other Republican Senators to the leadership of Iran, which even Republicans themselves admit was aimed at encouraging Iranian opponents of the nuclear negotiations to argue that the United States cannot be counted on to...
The Long History of Israel Gaming the ‘Iranian Threat’
Western news media has feasted on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s talk and the reactions to it as a rare political spectacle rich in personalities in conflict. But the real story of Netanyahu’s speech is that he is continuing a long tradition in Israeli politics of...
How US Diplomatic Strategy Gave Netanyahu Leverage
The latest public spat between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government centers on Israeli leaks of details of the U.S. negotiating position in the Iran nuclear talks and the U.S. consequently reducing its consultation with Israel on the talks. Washington...
The Real Problem of ‘Getting to Yes’ With Iran
Talking to reporters Monday, President Obama asked rhetorically, “[D]oes Iran have the political will and desire to get a deal done?” Iran “should be able to get to yes,” Obama said. “But we don’t know if that is going to happen. They have their...
The Nisman Murder and the AMIA Terror Bombing: A Tangled Thread
The evidence already available about Argentine Prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s death from a gunshot to the head creates a strong presumption that he was murdered. He was about to present publicly his accusation that President Christina Fernández de Kirchner and her...


