Trita Parsi

Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump at the White House and push the U.S. to withdraw from the nuclear accord with Iran. Netanyahu will present an argument that Trump already has come to accept: America’s adherence to the nuclear deal cannot solely depend on Iran’s compliance with the agreement, but … Continue reading “Netanyahu Is Meeting Trump To Push For War With Iran”

Conciliatory noises from Tehran over the nuclear issue have left Washington and Brussels baffled and unconvinced of Iran’s intentions. Having grown accustomed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s uncompromising language, Tehran’s new tone has raised more suspicion than hope among cynics in Western capitals. At a lunch with a dozen U.S. journalists in New York last week, … Continue reading “Reading Solana in Tehran”

The P5+1 – the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany – will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment program and enter negotiations. There is little doubt that Tehran will reject the offer since it crosses its red line – … Continue reading “Can P5+1 Offer Break Iran Nuclear Stalemate?”

It is by now almost routine. With recurring frequency, US leaders tour the Middle East depicting Iran as the region’s greatest threat. As such, President George W. Bush’s visit to the Middle East this week has historic precedent. But while the message often fell on receptive ears in the past, regional players today have misgivings … Continue reading “Will Naval Incident Undermine Bush’s Iran Message?”

with Emily Blout Last night, Congress dealt a severe blow to the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. By re-appropriating the infamous Iran “Democracy” Fund, Congress showed blatant disregard for the well being and the wishes of Iranian pro-democracy activists. The $60 million awarded Tuesday as part of the giant FY08 appropriations package is a … Continue reading “Denying Iran’s Democrats”

The US National Intelligence Estimate’s assertion that Iran currently does not have a nuclear weapons program has caused much frustration in Israel. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh referred to the report as a lie at a recent breakfast in New York, and Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer reportedly “doesn’t buy” its findings. Though the report aggravates … Continue reading “Is Iran NIE a Blessing in Disguise for Israel?”

The George W. Bush administration has seemingly taken advantage of the congressional recess to escalate tensions with Iran. Earlier in August, the State Department revealed plans to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a global terrorist organization. On Tuesday, in a speech to U.S. war veterans in Nevada, President Bush raised the temperature … Continue reading “Bush Indictment of Iran Tops Usual Rhetoric”

The White House’s decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization could deal a double blow to efforts to utilize diplomacy with Iran to stabilize Iraq. Not only does the designation risk undermining the important yet limited talks between the United States and Iran in Baghdad, but it may also negatively … Continue reading “Terror Label for Guard Corp Entrenches US-Iran Enmity”

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s call for cross-border raids into Iran appears to be the culmination of a two-week long campaign by proponents of war to put the military option center-stage in the U.S. debate over Iran once more. The immediate effect of re-igniting the let’s-bomb-Iran discussions is the undercutting of the recently initiated U.S.-Iran talks … Continue reading “Neocons Hope Bluster Will Undercut Iran Talks”

As the dispute over Iran’s seizure of British sailors continues to twist and turn, what may have been an isolated incident at the outset is quickly developing into yet another move in the geopolitical chess game between the West and Iran. The incident took place on March 23 in a disputed waterway between Iraq and … Continue reading “Dueling for Leverage in the Persian Gulf”