Who Will Fix Ahmadinejad’s Disastrous Foreign Policy?

On June 14, Iran will hold its long-awaited presidential elections. The vast majority of the 686 individuals who have registered to contest the elections will not appear on the ballot. The Guardian Council—Iran’s unelected 12-man vetting agency that determines who can run for any political office in the country—is likely to reject all but a very small number of the aspirants. The list of those cleared to run will be made available by the Council on May 18. In the last Iranian presidential ...

Read more »

Defense Diplomacy, Alive and Well

The Pentagon recently announced Washington’s approval of a new USD 10 billion arms sale that for the first time involves three of its Middle East allies: Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The arms deal came after “intensive defense shuttle diplomacy” over many months and “is one of the most significant and complex and comprehensive that we’ve seen,” senior Pentagon officials said at a media briefing, according to a transcript. Its price tag makes it second only t...

Read more »