Iran

As the new government headed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu takes charge in Jerusalem, it seems that there are no easy solutions to what Israel perceives to be its central strategic question – how to effectively stop the Iranian nuclear quest. Israel’s leaders across the political spectrum have long maintained that a nuclear capable Iran, coupled with the rhetoric against Israel emanating from Tehran and its help to groups like the Hezbollah and the Hamas, constitutes an existential threat.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• April 08, 2009
• IDSA Comments

North East Asia’s fragile peace is being threatened by North Korea’s planned launch between 4 and 8 April over Japanese territory of a communication satellite. The US and its allies suspect the planned satellite launch to be a long-range ballistic missile test. The prevailing uneasy peace is accentuated by the fact that both a ballistic missile and a satellite launcher operate on very similar technology.

• Pranamita Baruah , Rajaram Panda
• April 02, 2009
• IDSA Comments

US President Barack Obama’s landmark appeal to the Iranian people for a shift away from decades of confrontation was a significant move in the right direction. Obama’s videotaped message on March 20, 2009 (on the occasion of Nowruz) stated that “the US wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations but it comes with real responsibilities...” Obama’s offers came 30 years after the US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• March 30, 2009
• IDSA Comments

One year ago, in February 2008, Iran launched a sounding rocket into outer space to mark the opening of its first space centre. This rocket essentially belonged to the ‘category’ of instrument-carrying crafts. Such crafts are designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during their sub-orbital flight. Within a year, on 3 February 2009, Iran successfully launched its first domestically manufactured satellite "Omid" (Hope), which was carried into space by the home-built Safir-2 space rocket.

• Ajey Lele
• February 20, 2009
• IDSA Comments

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• November 2008
• Strategic Analysis

If anybody thought that a change of talk in the Bush administration’s Iran policy would be enough to induce the “isolated” Tehran to give up its intransigence and toe the western line, the July 19 meeting proved him or her wrong. Before the Geneva meeting between Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the US sent feelers to Tehran.

• Stanly Johny
• July 25, 2008
• IDSA Comments

National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan’s announcement at an international seminar that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be converting what was originally meant to be a refuelling stop into an official stop-over in New Delhi on his way home from Sri Lanka generated much speculation about the reasons for and timing of the visit.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• May 02, 2008
• IDSA Comments

While WMD hold the centre stage of international politics, its victims often suffer from neglect and insensitivity. Dr. Shehriyar Khateri, a physician, works determinedly for the cause of chemical weapons… Continue reading Interview of Dr. Shehriyar Khateri

• Monalisa Joshi
• April - June 2008
• CBW Magazine

The United Nations Security Council imposed the third set of economic and trade sanctions against Iran on March 3, 2008 for refusing to halt its nuclear programme. Resolution 1803, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, was backed by 14 of the Council’s 15 members; Indonesia abstained. The sanctions were targeted against 13 individuals and 12 companies with links to Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes. One of the 13 individuals targeted is Brig. Gen.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• April 16, 2008
• IDSA Comments

In an interesting development, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) invited Iran for the first time last month to attend its summit meeting held in Doha. The GCC was established in 1981 to foster multilateral co-operation in the Persian Gulf, but had adopted an exclusionary policy vis-à-vis Iran though the latter was an important actor in regional politics and economy. The invitation to Iran seems to point to a GCC initiative to overcome differences and act together for the larger good of the region.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• January 23, 2008
• IDSA Comments