M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi

In a surprise move the Iranian parliament (Majles) approved 18 of the 21 nominees including that of a woman proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as members of his cabinet. Although Ahmadinejad had nominated three women candidates, parliament approved only one, that of Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as the health minister. This is the first time that a woman has acquired a ministerial position in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Marzieh Vahid is a gynaecologist and obstetrician by profession.

• Published: September 11, 2009
• IDSA Comments

US President Barack Obama’s landmark appeal to the Iranian people for a shift away from decades of confrontation was a significant move in the right direction. Obama’s videotaped message on March 20, 2009 (on the occasion of Nowruz) stated that “the US wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations but it comes with real responsibilities...” Obama’s offers came 30 years after the US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran.

• Published: March 30, 2009
• IDSA Comments

• Published: November 2008
• Strategic Analysis

The United Nations Security Council imposed the third set of economic and trade sanctions against Iran on March 3, 2008 for refusing to halt its nuclear programme. Resolution 1803, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, was backed by 14 of the Council’s 15 members; Indonesia abstained. The sanctions were targeted against 13 individuals and 12 companies with links to Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes. One of the 13 individuals targeted is Brig. Gen.

• Published: April 16, 2008
• IDSA Comments

In an interesting development, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) invited Iran for the first time last month to attend its summit meeting held in Doha. The GCC was established in 1981 to foster multilateral co-operation in the Persian Gulf, but had adopted an exclusionary policy vis-à-vis Iran though the latter was an important actor in regional politics and economy. The invitation to Iran seems to point to a GCC initiative to overcome differences and act together for the larger good of the region.

• Published: January 23, 2008
• IDSA Comments

The United States imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran on October 25, 2007 to complement its efforts towards getting a third set of sanctions through the UNSC.

• Published: November 29, 2007
• IDSA Comments

On September 16, 2007, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced the completion of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, adding that it was "sealed by the UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)". On September 20, Reza Aqazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in reference to his talks with Sergei Kiriyenko, the director of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said that they "discussed the pending issues of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant".

• Published: October 19, 2007
• IDSA Comments