The race to replace Iran’s deeply polarizing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, officially opened last week with the registration of prospective candidates, and already the campaign promises an utterly fascinating ride through the unpredictable politics of the Islamic Republic. The shock and awe surrounding the last-minute decision by Iran’s iconic former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, More »

Iran’s religious leadership criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday after pictures released Sunday showed a tearful Ahmadinejad hugging Hugo Chavez’s mother during the deceased Venezuelan leader’s funeral. The incident marked the second time in less than a week that the ayatollahs, Iran’s religious leaders, criticized Ahmadinejad for un-Islamic behavior. The religious leaders also took More »

Sanctions against Iran were imposed with the aim of bringing Tehran to the negotiating table. That they have on some occasions, but have they helped broker an actual agreement? Unfortunately, the sides today are as far apart as they have ever been, and continued negotiations without progress will at best maintain the status quo, More »

Israel did not bomb Iran last year. Why should it happen this year? Because it did not happen last year. The Iranians are proceeding apace with their nuclear program. The Americans are determined to stop them. Sanctions are biting, but the diplomatic process produced nothing visible in 2012. Knowledgeable observers believe there is no “zone More »

In light of continuing pressure from abroad and mounting economic and political problems at home, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is preparing for the possibility of a generous compromise offer from President Barack Obama that would allow Iran to end the risk of military strikes on its nuclear facilities. The Supreme Leader seems to have realized More »

Asia specialists will not openly admit it, but they hate the Middle East. To them, the Middle East is the great distraction that keeps people from focusing on what’s really important – their own area in the Western Pacific. The media are primarily to blame, according to this narrative. The media love sudden drama, even More »

The conventional wisdom is that American presidents who win a second term are less bound by domestic electoral considerations that may impose constraints on their foreign policy. But in his second term, President Barack Obama is unlikely to take any bold initiatives in the Middle East. Indeed, he is far more likely not only More »

With President Barack Obama’s re-election, many people across the Middle East are contemplating what this region might expect from his second term. Over the next four years, Obama will likely continue the policy directions set in his first term: by completing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, for example, and reaching out to global players like More »

The week began with the collapse of the cease-fire in Syria and many more reported deaths. The U.S. calls for stronger leadership in the Syrian opposition. With the docking of Iranian military ships in Sudan, analysts scrutinize their relationship. Despite new laws banning demonstrations, protestors take to the streets of Bahrain.  A series of More »

Protests, then calm began the week in Lebanon with the funeral of Wissam al Hassan. The last of the debates between the U.S. presidential candidates focused on the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran. An estimated three million pilgrims made their Hajj to Mecca this week. Israel and Hamas traded firepower before settling into More »

Regardless of who is elected on November 6, Iran’s nuclear program is going to be one of the most important challenges the next U.S. president is going to have to confront. Unless Iran’s leaders shift course and suddenly decide to suspend their ongoing enrichment of uranium, the continuing progress of the Iranian nuclear program More »

As someone who writes and lectures about women and gender in Islam, I am often asked if women had any role in the making of the Islamic tradition. Happily, the answer is always yes. There were in fact many prominent women in the early history of Islam. At the top of the list would have More »

Tension has increased again in the Persian Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, after one policeman was killed and a second seriously injured by a homemade bomb during a clash with Shi’ite demonstrators in a village outside the capital, Manama. These latest casualties in Bahrain, in the troubles that More »

October 11, 2012, marks the United Nation’s first-ever observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. According to the U.N., selected as this year’s theme was “Ending Child Marriage.” Organizers say it was chosen because the practice is seen as a phenomenon that violates millions of girls’ rights, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their More »

This week in the Middle East, fighting continues in Syria and tension develops on the Syria-Turkey border after a deadly attack that killed five Turkish civilians on Wednesday. In Egypt, women protest against the Muslim Brotherhood, demanding rights, and President Mohamed Morsi visited former President Anwar Sadat’s tomb. In Israel, many celebrated the Jewish More »

The value of Iran’s currency, the rial, has plunged, losing nearly a third of its value. Protesters upset about the downturn in the economy are caught up in clashes with the police, resulting in many shop closures in the Iranian capital’s main market. Voice of America’s Susan Yackee spoke with Hooshang Amirahmadi, a professor with More »

- Ahmadinejad blames world powers for troubles around the globe - An eyewitness observation about hopes for the future in Syria - The Libyan president tells NBC: the attack was terrorism - Some Tunisians fear their freedoms are under threat - Egypt’s president speaks of the challenges facing his government and the region    More »

Violence and calls for calm continued throughout the region in response to the Internet video ridiculing Islam and the Prophet Muhammed. Muslim and Coptic leaders stood shoulder to shoulder urging peace between the religions. Services were held in Tripoli, Libya to remember Ambassador Stevens and the three other Americans killed in the most violent More »

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s speech to his party’s convention in Tampa, Florida, went some way toward painting a clearer picture of Romney as a person and what his plans are for the economy, should he be elected on November 6. Analysts say the speech was lacking in detail when it came to foreign policy, More »