Lebanese media outlet quotes diplomats claiming Hezbollah will only act defensively in Syria after fight for Al-Zabadani ends.
By Ynet
Roi Kais
While Syria, Russia and Iran solidify their military relationships, embattled President Bashar Assad may be about to lose another key ally in his fight against rebel groups including the Islamic State, according to Lebanese reports on Monday.
Washington (AFP) – US Republicans said Tuesday they were introducing legislation that would use frozen Iranian assets to pay American victims of Iranian terrorism before billions of dollars are returned to Tehran as part of the nuclear deal.
“Silence on Tehran’s abysmal human rights record is and must not an option.
By Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
Whether one supports the nuclear deal with Iran or not, one must accept that it is the new reality in which further Western policies toward Iran will have to operate.
Don’t Worry About the Nuclear Deal, Worry About the Elections
By Akbar Ganji
In late February 2016, Iran will see two important elections. One is for the Assembly of Experts, a constitutional body. The other is for the Majlis, Iran’s parliament. As Iran prepares for the vote, the power struggle between the hardliners and the moderates and reformists is intensifying. This showdown, even more than the discussions about the Iran deal, will shape Iranian politics in the years and decades to come.
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan
The inside story of the Obama administration’s Iran diplomacy
They made 69 trips across the Atlantic together and celebrated nearly everyone’s birthday at least once overseas, far from their own families. Sleep-deprived and sometimes giddy, the U.S. team negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran imagined which Hollywood star would play them if the movie were ever made: They cast Ted Danson as Secretary of State John Kerry, Javier Bardem as Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, and Meryl Streep as State Department negotiator Wendy Sherman. Along the way, they suffered no shortage of casualties: Sherman broke her nose in Vienna when she crashed into a glass door late at night running to brief Kerry on a secure phone, and her pinky finger rushing from one classified briefing to another. Kerry, incensed after Iranian backtracking in May, slammed his hand on a table, sending a pen flying across the room at an Iranian deputy foreign minister, and then shattered his leg in three places after he slammed his bike into a curb the next day, frustrated and distracted.
Stratfor Analysis
Summary
Iran is preparing to formally open up its economy to Western investment, a prospect that has drawn the attention of the world’s biggest oil companies. But Tehran may have more difficulty reviving its oil and natural gas sector than it hopes. On Sept. 24, the organizers of the Iran Oil and Gas Summit announced that the event would be delayed until February 2016. Originally set for Dec. 14-16, the London conference is important because it will officially mark the start of Iran’s economic reintegration with the rest of the international community. At the summit, Iran plans to unveil the final draft of its new petroleum contract, which is expected to lay out significantly more attractive investment terms for international oil companies than seen in previous models.
The Islamic Republic’s domestic politics may see subtle but significant change
By Farideh Farhi
After 36 years and several failed attempts to establish a direct and sustainable diplomatic channel between the U.S. and Iran, the success of the recent international talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the impact of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s domestic politics should not be underestimated. The agreement will no doubt help those who want more conciliatory external relations and a more open political and cultural domestic environment.
By Gaurav Agnihotri
On July 14, 2015 the P5+1 and Iran clinched a landmark deal that would curb Tehran’s nuclear program and, in exchange, would lift the economic sanctions against it. But these sanctions would be lifted only as and when Iran implements all the terms and conditions that were set in the pact. Although the Iranian sanctions will probably only start to be lifted by spring next year, there is one nation particularly eager to see sanctions removed: South Africa.
By ROBERT WINDREM
The NSA will probably spy on foreign leaders like Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the UN General Assembly in New York this kwee, applying a “full court press” that includes intercepting cellphone calls and bugging hotel rooms, former intelligence analysts told NBC News.
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