Iran

One Step Forward in Geneva

By Catherine Putz

The latest P5+1 talks with Iran in Geneva have resulted in little tangible progress, but experts are optimistic about the potential for a deal when talks resume later this month.

No Agreement Reached in Geneva on Iran’s Nuclear Program

In Geneva, world powers and Iran failed to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Many Iranians blame the French foreign minister. Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin gave an in-depth interview on RT about the talks and the failed outcome.

An Iran Nuclear Agreement Could Help Afghanistan and South Asia

By Barbara Slavin

More is riding on negotiations in Geneva than just the world’s desire to keep Iran from building nuclear weapons.   An agreement between Iran, the United States and the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany could substantially improve the atmosphere for Iranian cooperation on regional issues, especially the upcoming major U.S. […]

Iran Task Force Launches New Issue Brief

The South Asia Center’s Iran Task Force launched its newest issue brief Iran, Afghanistan and South Asia: Resolving Regional Sources of Instability at an event on November 8. The event featured Fatemeh Aman, president of Global Media Trail and co-author of the issue brief; Laura Jean Palmer-Moloney, a senior research geographer with the US Army […]

This Week in South Asia: November 2-8

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week.

Protecting the East Coast from Iranian Missiles

By Ian Brzezinski

In the wake of the government shutdown’s interruption of fiscal 2014 budget deliberations, Congress still faces tough decisions about national defense priorities. One controversial issue that will resurface shortly is the need to protect the East Coast from the threat of Iran’s growing ballistic-missile capability. When it does so, Washington should avoid repeating what has been an unnecessarily bipolar debate […]

A Balancing Act for Iran End Game

By Nicholas Burns

While extremists in Congress were hijacking the government during the shutdown, State Department diplomats were pursuing much more productive work a world away in Geneva. With surprisingly little fanfare, American and Iranian negotiators launched long-awaited talks over Iran’s increasingly advanced nuclear program. They described their first meeting as “substantive and forward-looking.” In diplo-speak, that means […]

Syria & Sectarianism: Drivers (Part I)

By Jonathan Paris

The Arab Spring accentuated two long-standing developments in the region: political Islam and Sunni-Shia sectarianism. While the path of political Islam is less certain following Egypt’s hot summer, the rise of sectarianism, especially in Syria, continues unabated.

Why Russia Keeps Moving The Football On European Missile Defense: Politics

By Joan Johnson-Freese and Ralph Savelsberg, Breaking Defense

The Russian Foreign Ministry has continually insisted on legally binding guarantees that US missile defenses are not aimed at it and that would allow Russia access to sensitive aspects of the system.