President Obama has placed a greater emphasis on the need for a regional approach to Afghanistan. Leading experts analyze what a regional strategy would mean in practice through the eyes of key states, including Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and India, and what it could mean for U.S. policy.
Despite Iran's vast energy reserves, widespread economic malaise has been the greatest source of popular discontent and the chief Achilles heel of the Islamic Republic.
Although there is no precedent for a preventive UN Security Council resolution, it should be more effective in making clear to Iran the negative consequences of its actions than any post facto curative measure.
Last March, Barack Obama extended a hand to the Iranian government on the occasion of Nowruz, the country's New Year. This year, he should speak straight to the people.
Confronted with structural weaknesses, external shocks, and the Ahmadinejad administration's gross mismanagement of the economy, Iran is facing its bleakest economic prospects in nearly two decades.
The current discussion in the UN Security Council regarding a fourth sanctions resolution against Iran is a result of Iran's inability to convince the international community of its peaceful nuclear intentions.
Tehran faces both international and domestic challenges, as the Obama administration’s policy of engagement demonstrates Iran’s intransigence to the international community and the regime struggles to deal with a growing opposition movement.
After a year of stalled negotiations which have demonstrated the intransigence of the Iranian regime, the Obama administration is now attempting to unite the international community behind sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The IAEA announcement that Iran may be working towards a nuclear warhead plays into growing international concerns that Iran is becoming a military dictatorship, with the influence of the Revolutionary Guards eclipsing that of the clergy.
The Obama administration, thwarted in its attempts to engage Iran in serious negotiations on its nuclear ambitions, must now unite the international community behind targeted sanctions that will refrain from undermining Iran’s opposition movement.
















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