Sanctions and Symmetry in the Iran Negotiations

by Paul R. Pillar Notwithstanding the obvious asymmetries in soon-to-resume nuclear negotiations with Iran (it’s Iran’s nuclear program, not the U.S. one, that is being restricted; it’s the United States, not Iran, that is sanctioning someone else’s economy) the perceptual… Continue Reading

Ex-IAEA Chief Warns on Using Unverified Intel to Pressure Iran

by Gareth Porter In a critique of the handling of the Iran file by the International Atomic Energy Agency, former IAEA Director General Han Blix has called for greater skepticism about the intelligence documents and reports alleging Iranian nuclear weapons… Continue Reading

The IAEA Faces a Major Credibility Test

by Robert Kelley On December 11, the spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that his agency was, as Gareth Porter asserted on this website earlier this month, not interested in accepting a recent invitation by Iran to… Continue Reading

Israeli Nukes Meets Atomic Irony in the Middle East

by Paul R. Pillar The stated rationale for the United States casting on Tuesday one of the very lonely votes it sometimes casts at the United Nations General Assembly, on matters on which almost the entire world sees things differently,… Continue Reading

Iran Military Option: An Increasingly Daunting Challenge

by Wayne White Although the Obama administration appears to be currently focused on resisting calls to increase sanctions on Iran while negotiations over its nuclear program are in session, the far more dangerous “military option” is alive and well in… Continue Reading