Shayan Ghajar
Anyone who expected massive demonstrations in the streets of Tehran on the one-year anniversary of the controversial election that brought millions of Iranians into the streets to protest in numbers unseen since 1979, will be sorely disappointed. Tehran’s streets, by all accounts, are largely empty of overt signs of resistance. Police numbers are overwhelming, as multiple videos purportedly taken June 12 show, and protests remained sporadic, small in numbers, and primarily confined to universities. Tehran police claimed the arrest of 91 demonstrators, according to the Iranian Student News Agency, a government-affiliated news site. more»
Shayan Ghajar
The bloodshed resulting from a clash between Israeli Defense Forces and pro-Palestine activists in international waters is nothing short of a diplomatic miracle for Iran.
The violence, which left at least 9 activists dead, immediately precipitated unprecedented tension between former allies Israel and Turkey, as the majority of activists killed or arrested in the altercation are Turkish citizens. Turkish-Israeli tension is also further straining relationships between the two nations and the United States, which has had numerous diplomatic disagreements with both Turkey and Israel in recent weeks regarding the Peace Process, nuclear proliferation, and Iran.
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Shayan Ghajar
Now that Iran has formally sent a letter of declaration to the IAEA regarding the Tehran Declaration brokered by Turkey and Brazil, the negative reactions from Western states have intensified. The letter, from Ali Akbar Salehi, a vice president of the Islamic Republic as well as its nuclear chief, outlined Iran’s main goals in the Declaration Monday as well as affirming its commitment to deposit 1200kg of low-enriched uranium (LEU) into Turkey’s safekeeping. more»
Shayan Ghajar
Iran’s press agencies are universally celebrating the widely reported deal between Iran, Brazil, and Turkey to hold exchanges of Iran’s enriched uranium on Turkish soil. State- owned or affiliated news services, ranging from the Islamic Republic News Agency to PressTV and Fars News, all laud the deal as an effective compromise between the West’s anxieties about Iran’s nuclear program and Iran’s insistence upon its rights according to the NPT. Iran’s exuberance also stems from the diplomatic victory the deal represents, which complicates the West’s push for sanctions by indicating, at least symbolically, and perhaps substantively,a willingness to compromise. On the other hand, reactions from Europe and the United States have been utterly dismissive, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton submitting proposals for sanctions to the U.N. Security Council Tuesday morning. more»
Shayan Ghajar
Many commentators characterized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference yesterday as “confrontational,” angry and defiant, saying Ahmadinejad used the occasion to “lash out” at the West. In almost any other speech by the controversial Iranian president, these descriptions would certainly ring true. Yesterday’s speech, however, was anything but bombastic when compared to previous rhetoric against the West. In fact, Iran viewed it as nothing short of conciliatory. more»
