IRAN: Nuclear Capability After 2013, Says U.S. Intelligence

Iran is unlikely to be able to produce the highly enriched uranium (HEU) necessary for a nuclear weapon until at least 2013, according to a U.S. government intelligence estimate made public Thursday.

IRAQ: Shi’a Unity Deal Explodes U.S. Proxy War Myth

The agreement announced Monday between Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and a Shi’a resistance group called the "League of the Righteous" (Asa'ib al-Haq) formally ended the group’s armed opposition to the regime in return for the release of its leader and eight other Shi’a detainees. This deals a final blow to the U.S. military’s narrative of an Iranian "proxy war" in Iraq.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad Sworn in Amid Protests

When incumbent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived at parliament by helicopter to take the presidential oath in front of the members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the setting resembled a country under military rule.

IRAN: Mourners for Neda's '40th' Undeterred

In line with the Shia tradition of paying respects to the dead, tens of thousands of Iranians went to Behesht Zahra cemetery on Thursday to mourn the death of Neda Agha Soltan – an iconic victim of post-election violence in Iran.

MIDEAST: As U.S. Winds Down, Iraq Tilts Toward Iran

A raid by Iraqi security forces on a camp of Iranian dissidents is widely seen as a sign that Iraqi authorities are establishing their independence as the U.S. occupation winds down – and tilting instead towards Iran.

IRAN: Victims’ Families Share Stories, Defying Pressure

It has become common these days to hear about the killing of young Iranians at the hands of Iran's security forces and Basij militia. So many families have come forward with heart-wrenching tales about the deaths of their children in prison or during peaceful protests, it is difficult to keep count.

US-IRAN: Waiting for the Dust to Settle

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is stuck between a rock and a hard place in its Iran policy. On the one hand, the recent unrest will take time to percolate into a reformed Islamic Republic. On the other, time is in short supply if the U.S. hopes to stop Iran progress toward a nuclear weapons capability.

POLITICS: Lines Are Drawn in Iran

With the historical Friday Prayer sermon given by former president and current chair of the Council of Experts and Expediency Discernment Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Jul. 17, and the riposte by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei three days later, lines have been drawn in unprecedented ways in Iran.

IRAN: More Cracks in Political and Clerical Elites

Five weeks after the disputed presidential elections, and four days after former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivered a controversial speech at the Friday Prayers in Tehran in which he sided with the opposition and challenged the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, the rift between the ruling elites has widened, with some in the conservative camp taking a critical stance against the ostensibly re-elected president.

MIDEAST: Report Urges Continued U.S. Diplomatic Push

The U.S. should proceed cautiously in its engagement strategy with Iran, while moving quickly toward final-status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a new report by a team of veteran diplomats and Middle East policymakers.

IRAN: Opposition Shows Life Around Friday Prayer

Amid a flurry of anticipation and speculation, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani led Friday prayers in Tehran this week.

US-IRAN: To Deal or Not to Deal, That Is the Question

In 2007, after eight months of detention in Iran – four in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin prison – Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari returned to the U.S. and held a press conference at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, where she directs the Middle East Programme.

U.S.: Clinton Seeks “Multi-Partner World”, Warns Iran on Time

In her first comprehensive policy address since becoming secretary of state nearly six months ago, Hillary Clinton Wednesday called for a "multi-partner'' - as opposed to a "multi-polar" - world" and defended President Barack Obama's policy of engagement with adversaries, including Iran.

FILM: Graphically Condemning a “Barbaric and Horrific Punishment”

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh's latest feature film "The Stoning of Soraya M." begins with a car radio blaring the successes of Iran's 1979 Revolution.

IRAN: Tale of Sohrab Arabi Raises Fears About the Missing

After a 26-day search, Parvin Fahimi finally discovered that her son Sohrab Arabi, 19, had been gunned down during the peaceful protest march from Tehran's Enghelab (Revolution) Square to Azadi (Freedom) Square on Jun. 15.

POLITICS: Behind Detainee Release, a U.S.-Iraqi Conflict on Iran

The release Friday of five Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two and a half years highlights the long-simmering conflict between the U.S. and Iraqi views of Iranian policy in Iraq and of the role of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) there.

IRAN: Protests Erupt on Student Massacre Anniversary

Tehran's relatively tranquil week ended with large protests commemorating the tenth anniversary of attacks on the dormitories of Tehran University in 1999, making Thursday yet another significant day in the short post-election history of protests since Jun. 12.

POLITICS: Is the Non-Aligned Movement Still Relevant?

When the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) holds its triennial summit meeting in the Red Sea coastal town of Sharm el-Sheikh next week, Cuba will formally hand over the chairmanship of one of the world's largest single political groups to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

U.S.: Obama Discredits 'Green Light' for Israeli Attack on Iran

Seeking to end speculation about whether his administration had eased its opposition to an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday insisted that Washington's position remained unchanged.

IRAN: Censors Fail to Silence Cyber-Activists

To mark the tenth anniversary of Iran's student uprising in 1999 amid the continued rejection by many voters of the results of the disputed Jun. 12 election, student activists issued a national call to protest last week.

IRAN: Picnicking Outside Evin Prison

Outside the gates of Tehran's notorious Evin prison, hundreds wait impatiently – some with blankets spread out in the parking lot on the street below, making time for dinner.