POLITICS: Obama’s New Iran Envoy Met With Scepticism

The appointment of Dennis Ross as a special advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has found a cool reaction in Tehran and some U.S. policy circles.

POLITICS-US: Christian Zionist’s Crusade Bears Fruit

During a recent appearance on the Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" programme, Mike Evans accused former President Jimmy Carter of everything from helping overthrow the Shah of Iran to causing the Russians to invade Afghanistan and provoking the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.

US-ISRAEL: Storm Clouds Ahead?

After eight years of the closest possible relations, the United States and Israel may be headed for a period of increasing strain, particularly given the likelihood that whatever Israeli government emerges from last week's election will be more hawkish than its predecessor.

POLITICS-US: Intel Estimate Muddied Iran’s Nuclear Intent

President Barack Obama and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair did not appear to be on the same page this week when they talked about Iran's nuclear intentions. Obama referred in his news conference to Iran's "development of a nuclear weapon or their pursuit of a nuclear weapon", but Blair said "we do not know whether Iran currently intends to develop nuclear weapons".

US-IRAN: Hoping for a Spontaneous Regime Change

With the new U.S. administration comfortably situated and setting political goals and policies, looming Iranian elections cast a long shadow over one of its thorniest issues: how to deal with the Islamic Republic.

POLITICS: Israel, Iran, Pakistan World’s Least Popular Nations

Israel, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan are widely seen as exerting the most negative influence on world affairs, according to the latest in a series of annual global surveys by the BBC's World Service on popular perceptions of the world's most powerful or newsworthy nations.

U.S.-IRAN: The More Things Change…

"We are not satisfied with [U.S. President Barack] Obama's actions since they have not been in line with claims of change - although we are not without hope either."

US-IRAN: Nobel Laureate Calls for Direct Diplomacy

Almost exactly 30 years ago the U.S.-backed dictator, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, fled his country, never to return. Shortly after his departure and the subsequent collapse of the monarchy, the Islamic Republic of Iran was born.

POLITICS-US: Is Gates Undermining Another Opening to Iran?

When U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates accused Iran of "subversive activity" in Latin America Tuesday, it raised the question whether he is trying to discourage President Barack Obama from abandoning the hard line policy of coercive diplomacy toward Iran he has favoured for nearly three decades.

UAE/US: ‘Civilian Nuclear Deal Hint to Iran’

The civilian nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States may fulfill the former's long-term desire to develop alternative energy sources and the latter's intention to promote a model for peaceful nuclear energy that sends a hint to Iran.

Q&A: "U.S. and Iran Share an Equal Monopoly on Violence"

"Obama is going to have continuous pressure from Israel to attack Iran and, in some way, their nuclear facilities, and this is going to be tied up with Gaza and Lebanon," according to Robert Baer, a former top Central Intelligence Agency operative and the author of "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower."

MIDEAST: Tehran Opts for "Moral Support" in Gaza War

Although the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli leaders have depicted the ongoing crisis in Gaza as part of a larger struggle against Iran and its "proxies", Tehran's involvement with the Palestinians is rather limited.

Q&A: "I Feared I Could Be Killed in the Mayhem"

A few days after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Iranian authorities to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, she told IPS in a telephone interview from Tehran that police stood by and watched as her house was attacked by a mob.

IRAN: ''I Want to Present a Different View of the Women in My Country''

The U.S. government's calls for civil society to work for "regime change" in Iran has increased pressure on activists on the ground who are engaged in a peaceful process of improving their society and addressing social problems, according to Sussan Tahmasebi, a prominent women's right activist in Iran who has not been allowed to leave the country for the past two years.

MIDEAST: Israeli Attack Seen as Complicating Obama’s Plans

Israel’s massive three-day aerial assault on Gaza is likely to complicate President-elect Barack Obama’s hopes of aggressively pursuing Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations, and risk inflicting greater damage to Washington’s standing in the Arab world, according to most analysts here.

BOOKS-US: Dick Cheney, Master Bureaucrat

While lazier caricatures have always cast Vice-President Dick Cheney as the puppet-master pulling George W. Bush’s strings, it is the image of Cheney as master bureaucrat that provides the real key to understanding his power.

ECONOMY-IRAN: From Bad to Worse?

As the price of crude oil continued its tumble to less than 35 dollars a barrel Friday, Iranian economists are warning that the fourth-largest oil producer in the world will enter an even deeper crisis should the price remain low, with many also blaming the government's economic policies.

SPECIAL SERIES: Iran's Regional Power Rooted in Shi'a Ties

As Barack Obama's national security team assesses the challenge of Iran's role in the Middle East, it confronts a paradox: Iran is seen as having ambitions of regional hegemony, but it lacks the military power normally associated with such a role.

SPECIAL SERIES: Is a U.S.-Iran Deal on the Middle East Possible?

Would a negotiated agreement between Iran and the Barack Obama administration be feasible if Obama sent the right signals? The answer one gets from Iranian officials and think tank analysts is, "Yes, but..."

SPECIAL SERIES: Economy, Ties with West Are Key to Iran Polls

The main issue in Iran's June 2009 presidential election is certain to be the country's economic woes, but both candidates will be linking the economy to the issue of relations between Iran and the West, according to Iranian politicians and political analysts.

Q&A: “Prison Made Me Even More Determined”

Abdolfattah Soltani has received the Nuremberg annual human rights award in appreciation of more than a decade defending individuals who have been prosecuted for their political and religious beliefs.