By James A. Lyons
By arming the rebels, we're aiding al Qaeda
The United States and its Western allies see a chance for a breakthrough on containing Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program with Hasan Rowhani, who won Iran's presidential election last week.
The surprising victory of a reformist candidate in Iran's presidential election has put Israel in a difficult position as it tries to halt the Iranian nuclear program: With Hasan Rowhani likely to enjoy an international honeymoon, Israel could have a hard time rallying support for new sanctions — or possible military action — against its archfoe, even as it says the clock is ticking on Tehran's march toward nuclear weapons.
With the Iranian presidential election to be held this Friday, the clerical regime's ayatollahs are begging people to vote, fearing worldwide scorn without substantial voter participation.
With the Iranian presidential election to be held this Friday, the clerical regime’s ayatollahs are begging people to vote, fearing worldwide scorn without substantial voter participation.
Iran's June 14 elections are expected to produce a president loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and do nothing to improve prospects for an end to its nuclear standoff with the West or support for President Bashar Assad's embattled regime in Syria.
Mehr News, one of Iran's many semi-official news outlets, managed to leak the list of eight presidential finalists a day early. And Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the two surviving founding members of the Islamic republic, a pillar of the Islamic Revolution, was not among them.
A key House panel pushed through legislation Wednesday calling on the Obama administration to significantly broaden U.S. sanctions on Iran, just as the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency released a report saying the Islamic republic's nuclear program had made measurable advances.
As Washington surveys the landscape of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, it becomes clear that the ensuing chaos resembles something closer to a long, harsh winter than a hopeful beginning.
Shortly after Israeli warplanes struck inside Syria to take out Iranian missiles intended for Hezbollah, Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said, "The attack carried out by the Zionist regime will shorten this fake regime's life."
Intelligent and confident, Parisa, 23, is from what could be loosely termed a middle-class family and has a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Islamic Azad University. On weekends, she sells her body for profit on the streets of North Tehran.
Iran is teetering on the brink of political chaos in the wake of last week's news that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was arrested, questioned and warned to shut up by the heads of the Islamic regime's security forces before being released seven hours later.
Iran has kicked off a campaign to recruit volunteer fighters to join the Syrian regime and help President Bashar Assad battle rebel uprisings.
On the second day of President Obama's historic trip to Israel, the tension that had marked his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to thaw, even as Mr. Obama called on Israel's people and leaders to compromise in order to attain peace and security.
Iran's leading cleric vowed to take out Tel Aviv and Haifa if Israel ever dared launch at attack on the Islamic republic.
As the world focuses on the passing of Hugo Chavez and the impact of his socialist policies on oil-rich Venezuela, halfway around the globe a different kind of leader has been quietly transforming his country into a prosperous and reliable partner of the West.
"The more the pressure on Iran increases, the greater is the chance of stopping the Iranian nuclear program, which remains the greatest threat to world peace," he said. "Iran will be judged by its actions. If it continues to insist on developing its nuclear program, the answer needs to be very clear — stopping the nuclear program by any means."
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Iranians to make the presidential election this year an epic event, and his mouthpiece clerics have in recent days come out promoting such a turnout.
