Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Spotlight Europe of January 2009 highlights the interrelationship between a number of conflicts which ravage the Greater Middle East and the fact that the only solution is a long term, comprehensive one. The paper contains two revealing charts, one setting out the interests of the key regional actors, and the other listing the [...]

Iran is one big enigma.  Having lived three years in Iran, one lesson I learned was not to try to analyse Iranian behaviour in order to determine policy or motivation.  You have to try to feel what is in mind because Iranian thinking differs fundamentally from western thinking.  Having been part of Iranian negotiating teams [...]

Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN, has warned that Iran must meet U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks on its nuclear programme. Hopefully, this continuation of the previous administration’s closing policy will not prevent the talks beginning.  She told reporters that, “The dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in [...]

I commend the Insitute for Strategic Studies’ Chaillot Paper 111, written ny Marcin Zaborowski.  This publication of 126 pages gives a clear and readable account of George W Bush’s legacy and provides an indication of where American foreign policy may next be heading.  I’ve encapsulated below the key elements.     America’s grand strategy changed during [...]

That inveterate diplomat, Hans Blix, said during an European Policy Centre debate with Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh on “Iran and non-proliferation” that the worst a diplomat can inflict on another country is humiliation. Humiliation is precisely what Western policy has inflicted on China (18-20th centuries), Iran (20th & 21st centuries), Russia (since 1989) and the [...]

In May 2003, the Iranian Foreign Ministry, with the approval of the leadership, sent to the United States through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, a proposal for the settlement of all outstanding problems.  The Ministry asked in return for “full access to peaceful nuclear technology”, accepting tight IAEA conditions.  The proposal also held out the [...]

Listening to two Israeli Knesset members, Dani Yatom and Isaac Ben-Israel, talking about the Iranian nuclear threat brought into stark focus that there is not a lot of time left to avert a potential disaster.  According to the Israelis, Iran could have a nuclear weapon with delivery mechanism within one year; others say that the [...]

Dear Minister You explained on 18 December why we must not take the pressure of Iran.  I too am totally opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, but regret that you do not appear to be taking into account Iran’s experience of the West.  You say: “Since 2002, the international community has striven to resolve our differences [...]