At last night’s debate for those with a real shot at the nomination, there was an inverse proportion between the putative Republican presidential candidates’ places in the polls and the detail of information they offered about the US military. Most of the jaw-jaw — for that’s all it is at this stage in the race… Keep reading →

It is now clear that differences in negotiations between Iran and six major powers led by the United States remain intractable, despite the conciliatory words and much friendlier atmosphere which have reigned in recent months. When the two sides met in Vienna last week for a first round of hard-core haggling after months of laying… Keep reading →

The outlines of a possible nuclear deal with Iran are now clear. What isn’t known is whether Iran will actually agree to the terms of the six major powers with which it negotiates – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France. In the latest round of talks this week in Vienna, both sides are… Keep reading →

Talks this week in Vienna to win guarantees that Iran won’t seek nuclear weapons were workmanlike and “drilled down into details,” diplomats said. But the crisis in Ukraine threatened to change the strategic landscape that has made the negotiations possible. The Russian envoy to the seven-party talks in Vienna said Wednesday that Russia might take… 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 →

GENEVA: Nuclear talks between Iran and a US-led grouping of six world powers are “hard … very hard,” a senior US administration official said here Wednesday as the two sides resumed attempts to strike a deal in the crisis over whether the Islamic Republic seeks nuclear weapons. The official said an agreement is still possible… Keep reading →

MOSCOW: Russia, Iran’s main remaining big-power friend, was disappointed in the results of multilateral talks with the Islamic Republic in Moscow last week. It had expected movement towards a compromise on disputed Iranian nuclear work that would have allowed the high-level negotiation to continue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. In an exclusive interview,… Keep reading →