Supporters of the Obama administration Iran deal have had a rough couple weeks. The bipartisan passage of the Corker-Mendez bill (the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015) out of the Foreign Relations Committee, conveyed in no uncertain terms that Congress is concerned enough about this deal to insist it have a voice. It also raises the question: how… Keep reading →

    Iran’s decision to accept and implement the nuclear deal struck in November has undercut the US Congress’s drive for new sanctions designed to increase the pressure on the Islamic Republic. President Barack Obama said the deal should be given a chance to work and that sanctions could alienate Iran and torpedo the diplomacy. Congress, so… Keep reading →

The nuclear deal reached with Iran in Geneva opens a new era in US-Iranian relations, even if the agreement is a tentative one. For the first time since Iran’s secret nuclear work was discovered in 2002, the two nations have outlined a way to allay fears the Islamic Republic is building nuclear weapons. The Geneva agreement… Keep reading →

UPDATE The United States and its five negotiating partners can’t decide how far to go in trying to entice Iran and time presses as Iran continues to amass significant nuclear stockpiles and capabilities. The Russians would like to offer sanctions relief, which is what the Iranians want. This would be in return for Iran ceasing… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Iran is at a crucial point in its nuclear negotiations with the United States and five other world powers. What it does on the diplomatic front and what it does with its disputed nuclear program are vacillating between the hardline and the conciliatory. This comes as the United States looks post-election for a fresh… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The news reports over the weekend that an agreement had been reached for direct Iran-US talks over Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons is one case where there is less than meets the eye. Even if the news does come on the eve of a crucial debate between US President Barack Obama and his… Keep reading →

Iran has significantly increased the amount of uranium it is enriching at a level close to weapon-grade and is sanitizing a site where it is suspected of doing bomb-related experiments, according to a classified UN nuclear watchdog report released Thursday and obtained by Breaking Defense. Iran continues to block inspectors from the International Atomic Energy… Keep reading →

Talks with Iran on its nuclear work have continued but little progress has been made. A diplomat close to the lower-level meeting of technical experts in Istanbul last Tuesday told me “a large gap” remains between the positions of Iran and the six nations negotiating with it – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany… Keep reading →