As negotiations drag on, President Hassan Rouhani must defy rising hostility to a deal on Iran’s nuclear program from within the Islamic Republic and abroad.
EPA/Brendan McDermid
The mess in the Middle East is forcing states into actions that previously appeared unimaginable. Sworn enemies are suspending or at least compartmentalising grievances. The idea that an American secretary…
With instability plaguing the Middle East since the emergence of Islamic State (IS), Iran is once again faced with spiralling instability and Western military interventions just across its border. It also…
Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak both studied in the UK.
Wallace Woon/EPA
What do the prime ministers of Singapore, Malaysia and Finland have in common with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and King Abdullah II of Jordan? They…
Over it: Iranian president Hassan Rouhani (L) and his foreign minister Javad Zarif.
EPA/STR
Since Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran’s president in June 2013, relations between Iran and the United States have significantly improved – though they remain very fragile. To explain why, most analysts…
Shia militias have flocked to defend Baghdad.
EPA/Khider Abbas
Once again, Iran and the United States find themselves thrust into the heart of a Middle East crisis. As the Sunni ISIS militia rampages across Iraq, consolidating its hold on a large area of territory…
Hard sell: can Obama convince Americans to trust Iran?
EPA/Martin Simon/Pool
Charles Dudley Warner’s oft-quoted suggestion that “politics makes strange bedfellows” is never better illustrated than the prospect of a rapprochement between Iran and the United States. Stimulated by…
Flying high: John Kerry and Baroness Ashton after signing the deal.
Carolyn Kaster/AP/Press Association Images
The nuclear deal reached between the United States and Iran represents both a breakthrough and a risk for Barack Obama. A breakthrough because it stalls Iran’s progress towards nuclear weapons capability…
Iran and western powers have reached a deal that will lead to a temporary nuclear detente in the Middle East state.
EPA/Martial Trezzini
Elation and relief were palpable as weary diplomats from Iran and the P5+1 states emerged from a Geneva conference room on Sunday with a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The six month Iranian uranium…
New best friends? Catherine Ashton and Iran’s Javad Zarif in September.
European External Action Service
To gauge just how important a successful outcome to the latest round of nuclear negotiations with Iran is to the West – and how far the thaw with new president Hassan Rouhani has progressed – you only…
Is Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani proposing a new way forward in thawing the relations between his country and the United States?
EPA/Brendan McDermid
As the presidents of Iran and the United States converged on the United Nations headquarters in New York this week, optimism seemed to be in the air. Washington and Tehran have eyed each other icily ever…
The annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly always draws distinguished speakers, but their speeches rarely have much international impact. General Assembly speeches are heavy on rhetoric…