Iran

From its base in Pakistan’s Baluchistan, Jundallah has had opportunities to forge cooperative ties not only with the ISI but also with the Taliban as well as with the intelligence services of countries interested in stoking anti-Iranian activism.

• Balaji Chandramohan
• November 06, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The draft deal is envisaged as a test of Iran’s intentions, and from the Iranian point of view as a test of Western countries’ assurance to facilitate its peaceful nuclear programme.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• November 05, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The ramifications of an end to dollar-based oil trade would extend far beyond the oil market and would herald the beginning of a new international political order.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• October 14, 2009
• IDSA Comments

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.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• September 11, 2009
• IDSA Comments

Iran has unfortunately witnessed a deep political upheaval in the wake of recent Presidential elections leading to vertical polarization among its ruling elite between two major factions, one led by President Ahmadinejad and supported by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the other by opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi backed by big personalities and former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hashemi Rafsanjani. The conflict between the two elite factions is internally driven and one that is difficult to discern fully.

• P. Stobdan
• August 25, 2009
• IDSA Comments

The recent clashes that occurred between the Uighur Muslims and the Han Chinese workers in a toy factory and the subsequent spread of violence throughout the Xinjiang Uighur region have elicited strong responses from around the world. The clashes led to the death of over 184 people and left hundreds injured. The issue has also drawn world attention for the way it has been handled by the Chinese government.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• July 24, 2009
• IDSA Comments

As the new government headed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu takes charge in Jerusalem, it seems that there are no easy solutions to what Israel perceives to be its central strategic question – how to effectively stop the Iranian nuclear quest. Israel’s leaders across the political spectrum have long maintained that a nuclear capable Iran, coupled with the rhetoric against Israel emanating from Tehran and its help to groups like the Hezbollah and the Hamas, constitutes an existential threat.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• April 08, 2009
• IDSA Comments

North East Asia’s fragile peace is being threatened by North Korea’s planned launch between 4 and 8 April over Japanese territory of a communication satellite. The US and its allies suspect the planned satellite launch to be a long-range ballistic missile test. The prevailing uneasy peace is accentuated by the fact that both a ballistic missile and a satellite launcher operate on very similar technology.

• Pranamita Baruah , Rajaram Panda
• April 02, 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.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• March 30, 2009
• IDSA Comments

One year ago, in February 2008, Iran launched a sounding rocket into outer space to mark the opening of its first space centre. This rocket essentially belonged to the ‘category’ of instrument-carrying crafts. Such crafts are designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during their sub-orbital flight. Within a year, on 3 February 2009, Iran successfully launched its first domestically manufactured satellite "Omid" (Hope), which was carried into space by the home-built Safir-2 space rocket.

• Ajey Lele
• February 20, 2009
• IDSA Comments