Muhammad Sahimi

Muhammad Sahimi, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the NIOC Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California, is co-founder and editor of the website, Iran News & Middle East Reports.

Iran’s Nuclear Program and the New York Times

When the George W. Bush administration was preparing the public in 2001-2003 for the invasion of Iraq by selling it lies and exaggerations, it was greatly aided by the New York Times. The Times columnist Thomas Friedman was a forceful advocate of the invasion, promising that if Saddam Hussein’s regime is overthrown, Iraq will blossom … Continue reading “Iran’s Nuclear Program and the New York Times“

Destructive Western Middle East Policy Provides Fertile Ground for Islamic Radicals

The criminal attack by Islamic radicals on the offices of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo and murder of 17 people, including the magazine’s editor-in-chief, cartoonists, and other staff members, has shocked the world, and rightly so. There is no justification whatsoever for such a crime, even though the magazine had indeed published what many consider … Continue reading “Destructive Western Middle East Policy Provides Fertile Ground for Islamic Radicals”

If Nuclear Negotiations With Iran Fail, US Will Be Blamed

Nuclear negotiations between Iran and P5+1 – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany – have entered their critical stage. The original Geneva interim agreement expired last July, but both sides agreed to extend the deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement to November 24. Much progress has been made, but … Continue reading “If Nuclear Negotiations With Iran Fail, US Will Be Blamed”

Saudi Arabia and Israel Try To Derail Nuclear Negotiations With Iran by Terrorism

Ever since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran’s President on 14 June 2013 and promised that he will lead a government of "hope and prudence," the United States’ most important allies in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia and Israel – and their lobbies here have been doing their best to prevent any agreement between Iran … Continue reading “Saudi Arabia and Israel Try To Derail Nuclear Negotiations With Iran by Terrorism”

Israel’s ‘Dove’ and Hawk in its War against Iran

It has been abundantly clear to those who closely follow the political developments in the Middle East that, for at least two decades, Israeli politics has been moving continuously toward extreme, reactionary right. The left, and the center-left represented by the Labor Party, have been marginalized, and the relatively moderate elements of the old Likud … Continue reading “Israel’s ‘Dove’ and Hawk in its War against Iran”

David Albright and Company Call for Intensifying War on the Iranian People

The standoff between Iran and the Western powers led by the United States has created an entirely new "industry" in Washington, which consists of "pundits" on Iran, its political system, and its nuclear program. Some of them are not experts at all, as their "expertise" consists entirely of hollow rhetoric, great exaggerations about the "threat" … Continue reading “David Albright and Company Call for Intensifying War on the Iranian People”

AP, George Jahn, and the Fake Diagram for Iran’s Bomb

The War Party and Israel just do not give up on trying to provoke a war with Iran. Now that Benjamin Netanyahu is done killing the Palestinians in Gaza, including dozens of children, Mossad has apparently fed the public with yet another piece of fake "evidence," supposedly obtained through hacking of Iran’s computers, through its … Continue reading “AP, George Jahn, and the Fake Diagram for Iran’s Bomb”

Sanctions Will Kill Tens of Thousands of Iranians

When she was running for president in 2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened to “obliterate” Iran if it attacked Israel. Her opponent, Barack Obama, responded that Clinton’s threat was “too much like Bush.” Four years later Iran has not attacked Israel (and will not do so, unless attacked by Israel first), but President Obama is actually … Continue reading “Sanctions Will Kill Tens of Thousands of Iranians”

Don’t Remove the MEK From the Terrorist List

Since 1997, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), an Iranian opposition group, has been listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. The European Union followed suit and also listed the MEK as such, but as a result of intense lobbying and a deceptive campaign by the supporters of the MEK, the EU recently removed … Continue reading “Don’t Remove the MEK From the Terrorist List”

High Stakes for Upcoming Nuclear Negotiations With Iran

Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) plus Germany – will resume in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 21. Although Turkey, which together with Brazil signed an agreement with Iran last May to store a significant portion of Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) on … Continue reading “High Stakes for Upcoming Nuclear Negotiations With Iran”