by Dish Staff Davar Ardalan pays tribute to the great Iranian poet Simin Behbahani, who died this week at the age of 87: For millions of Iranians all over the world, Behbahani represented the invincible power of the Iranian psyche. Her words were piercing and fierce, lamenting on the lack of freedom of expression through the … Continue reading The Lioness Of Iran
Walt imagines what it might produce: When trying to make their case, in short, both sides tend to focus solely on the downside. But what about the potential benefits of a successful negotiation? To judge the pros and cons of diplomacy properly, we have to consider not just the downside of failure, but also the potential upside of … Continue reading A Better Relationship With Iran
In what strikes me as another death-knell for neoconservatism, Ken Pollack, a key supporter of the Iraq military intervention, draws the line at Iran. He wants a real deal on nukes or containment – and his arguments are solid (of course, I’ve made them myself for years now). First off, a mere air-strike wouldn’t do much … Continue reading Obama’s Moment Of Truth With Iran
More tweets from the celebration in Iran, going into the wee hours: #Rouhani: I will try to improve peace in the world by engagement — Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) June 15, 2013 White House:We congratulate the Iranian people 4 their participation in the political process & their courage in making their voices heard — Bahman Kalbasi … Continue reading Green To Purple
An Iranian reader writes in with an argument as to why the Green Movement should get out the vote tomorrow: I’m trying to convince absolutely everyone I know to vote. I know there is a lot of discouragement and people think their vote won’t make any difference, but I think that’s the wrong mentality. First … Continue reading Something Is Happening In Iran?
With Friday’s “selection” fast approaching, Barbara Slavin points out that, “if Iranian elections are supposed to follow a script, [some] of the actors seem to have forgotten their lines.” In particular she notes how much sanctions-related criticism has been directed at Saeed Jalili, the country’s top nuclear negotiator and the candidate widely considered to be … Continue reading Iran Non-Election Update: The Final Week
Mohsen Milani walks through the Ayatollah’s plan to prevent another uprising this election season, which includes preempting dissent and ensuring voter turnout: [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei has made a concerted effort this time around to discredit potential protesters before they take to the streets. The Revolutionary Guards and security forceshave launched a propaganda campaign to link … Continue reading Gearing Up For The Green Movement
brightcove.createExperiences(); During the Iranian uprising of 2009, the Dish continuously clashed with Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, the most well-known skeptics of the Green Movement. The husband and wife team continue to blog at Going to Tehran. Watch their previous videos here, here, here, here, here and here. In an excerpt from their new book, they touched on Western … Continue reading Ask The Leveretts Anything: Will Iran Stay A Theocracy?
brightcove.createExperiences(); During the Iranian uprising of 2009, the Dish continuously clashed with Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, the most well-known skeptics of the Green Movement. The husband and wife team continue to blog at Going to Tehran, in addition to Flynt’s role as Penn State Professor of International Affairs and Hillary’s role as Professorial Lecturer at American … Continue reading Ask The Leveretts Anything: How Should Obama Deal With Iran?
During the Iranian uprising of 2009, the Dish continuously clashed with Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, the most well-known skeptics of the Green Movement. The husband and wife team continue to blog at The Race for Iran, in addition to Flynt’s role as Penn State Professor of International Affairs and Hillary’s role as Professorial Lecturer at American University and CEO of the political risk consultancy, Stratega. In a 2010 post, the Leveretts addressed the status of women in Iran: In watching the Leveretts account of Ahmadinejad’s Iran, I learned a great deal about the Islamic Republic’s fiscal policy and constitutional arrangements but, hoping to find at least one mention of the mass immiseration constantly forced on its citizenry, I was out of luck. Iran is a country where torture is commonplace to the point of banality, where dissidents are routinely imprisoned, where protesters are shot and beaten, where the Internet is heavily monitored, where corruption runs rampant, and where the regime espouses the kind of antisemitic rhetoric we normally associate with the 15th century.
The Dish 