Middle East Politics.Net » Iran http://middleeastpolitics.net Facts, News, Trends, Analysis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Dubai’s Unique Role in the ME http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/dubais-unique-role-in-the-me/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/dubais-unique-role-in-the-me/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:38:32 +0000 davidhulme http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=4093 Juan Cole’s blog has a guest writer today, Jim Crane, author of City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism. A paragraph from the guest blog notes, “In short, Dubai is an open city, a Hong Kong-style trading entrepôt with all the spies, smugglers and schemers inherent in that role. It just happens to service the world’s most dangerous region.”

David Hulme

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/dubais-unique-role-in-the-me/feed/ 0 Turkey and Water to Iraq and Syria http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/turkey-and-water-to-iraq-and-syria/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/turkey-and-water-to-iraq-and-syria/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:33:29 +0000 davidhulme http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=4089 September 4, 2009 Turkey had a change of mind on how much water it could release to its neighbors, Iraq and Syria.

David Hulme

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/09/08/turkey-and-water-to-iraq-and-syria/feed/ 0 Middle East Peace Through Jerusalem or Tehran? http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/01/16/middle-east-peace-through-jerusalem-or-teheran/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2009/01/16/middle-east-peace-through-jerusalem-or-teheran/#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:00:15 +0000 davidhulme http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=4026 Ethan Bronner is Jerusalem bureau chief for the The Times. Here he reviews a new collection of scholarly essays on how to resolve the ME’s various critical problems. The authors, who work in two ME think tanks deal in “nuance and realism, despite small lapses.” The two policy research groups also have close relations to the incoming Obama administration. The road to peace may lie not so much through Jerusalem, but through Tehran.

David Hulme

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December 5th, as President Bush prepares to leave office he will undoubtedly be forced to reflect on his handling of many issues and countries during his presidency. In his speech today, he accused both Syria and Iran of supporting terrorism and voiced his displeasure with how long it has taken for democratic principles to be enacted within the Middle East. He then touched upon many of the issues within the region citing the Israeli-Palestine conflict as the most “vexing”  problem within the region, but inspite of all these conflicts, it is in his view a more peaceful and democratic region.

Samuel Anene

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/06/bush-acuses-syria-and-iran-in-speech/feed/ 0 Iran’s President Concedes Oil Price Drop Hurting http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/irans-president-concedes-economy-hurting-over-oil/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/irans-president-concedes-economy-hurting-over-oil/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:20:42 +0000 bjrussel http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3514 President Ahmadinejad has publicly conceded that the continued drop in oil prices is hurting the economy.  This admission comes at a difficult time–close to next year’s election, and when his approval ratings have already declined. Oil prices have plummeted and the effect this has had on Iran, whose main export is oil, is a serious matter.  Outside economists have stated that Iran needs oil to sell at $90 a barrel in order to balance its current budget.  Ahmadinejad stated that next year’s budget had been set expecting prices to be $50-60 a barrel, but due to the continued drop (now below $50 from a high of $147) the budget will have to be altered.  A budget financed by oil at $30-35 a barrel will have to cut a significant proportion of state programs.  The President had previously ignored the growing unemployment and inflation rates, lambasting the United States for “exporting financial problems to the rest of the world.” Although Ahmadinejad claims that he has no control over the global price of oil, his rivals are criticizing him for squandering the huge oil proceeds from the previously high prices; rather than using them to buffer the economy during tough times as these.  Which programs will have to be cut has not been made clear, but it is believed that the President might seek to cease subsidies which keep the price of fuel low.  Because Iran has no refineries of its own, it is forced to import $350 million worth of fuel per month. This action, however, is widely unpopular.

Bridget Russell

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/irans-president-concedes-economy-hurting-over-oil/feed/ 0 Hezbollah and Next Elections in Lebanon http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/hezbollah-says-it-will-win-majority-in-elections/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/hezbollah-says-it-will-win-majority-in-elections/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:48:07 +0000 Samantha Foley http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3507 Hezbollah’s statements that they plan to take over the Lebanese government in the upcoming election, includes talk about how they will govern the country under a national unity government and work closely with Sunni-led coalitions as well. They think they will be able to grab the majority in the Legislature in the 2009 elections and put a complete stranglehold on the other minorities. Hezbollah has veto power in the current government system that was formed in July after a political crisis that almost led Lebanon into a civil war. So what is in store for Lebanon if Hezbollah takes control? Surely the Western-supported political parties will lose there control and the fate of Lebanon will be uncertain.

Samantha Foley

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/04/hezbollah-says-it-will-win-majority-in-elections/feed/ 0 Iran Publicly Announces 18,000 Registered HIV-Positive Citizens http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/iran-publicly-announces-18000-registered-hiv-positive-citizens/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/iran-publicly-announces-18000-registered-hiv-positive-citizens/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:02:28 +0000 stevencc http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3343 The Iranian government rarely discloses information that it perceives would draw international criticism, but it announced yesterday that the country has a total of 18,320 people who have tested positive for HIV. That figure represents all those who have been tested; however, the UN AIDS Agency estimates that number to be far higher, including 86,000 people or 0.1% of the total population.  The Iranian government is worried that this number will soon rise as a result of the majority of young people that make up the population.  Officials cited that approximately 69% of the HIV cases occurred as a result of illegal drug use and the other 30% were the result of sexual conduct.  In recent years, the government has been increasing efforts to provide education about AIDS and HIV and encouraging young people not to have sexual relations outside of marriage.  Booklets have been distributed in high schools to teach preventative measures to the epidemic and the government has stepped up efforts to emphasize religion and family values.

Steven Craig

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/03/iran-publicly-announces-18000-registered-hiv-positive-citizens/feed/ 0 Iranian Navy Begins Exercises in Oman Sea http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/iranian-navy-begins-exercises-in-oman-sea/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/iranian-navy-begins-exercises-in-oman-sea/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:57:59 +0000 stevencc http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3335 The Iranian Navy has begun military exercises in the Oman Sea in an effort to ensure readiness against its purported enemies and also as a posturing action to the international community.  The Iranian media has stated that “more than 60 destroyers, light and heavy submarines, helicopters, aircraft, and reconnaissance drones were tested in the maneuver.”  As Iran continues to strain relations abroad with the advancement of its nuclear program, it is important for the nation to ensure its military is capable of dealing with a possible military confrontation. The exercises have been named “Unity 87″ and are supposed to “cover more than 50,000 square kilometers in the southern part of Chahbahar and would be carried out in four stages.”  A strong Iranian navy would be critical to countering possible military actions against the country, as the United States would likely use the Persian Gulf for a staging area in the event of an attack.  The Islamic nation obliquely referred to the United States and Israel as potential enemies that could intervene if Iran continues its nuclear programs.

Steven Craig

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/iranian-navy-begins-exercises-in-oman-sea/feed/ 0 Iran’s Underground Rappers Wear Symbol of Islamic Revolution http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/irans-underground-rap-artists-take-to-wearing-symbol-of-islamic-revolution/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/irans-underground-rap-artists-take-to-wearing-symbol-of-islamic-revolution/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:55:12 +0000 bjrussel http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3339 The chafiyeh, the white-and-black scarf worn by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and loyal adherents of the Iranian revolution for nearly 30 years, has taken on a new meaning in Iran these days.  It is the newest fashion craze in Iran’s underground rap scene. Young Iranians who have taken up an interest in western pop–satanic music to the regime–have begun wearing the holy symbol of the Islamic revolution at shows and in video clips.   But it is not just the rappers that have taken up this new fashion trend, although it is the most ironic, due to the government’s recent campaign against the genre. Advertisements also show it on models as a regular accessory. Young men and women in the streets wear it casually without regard for its history.  The scarf gained its holy place in the Islamic Republic during the Iran-Iraq war and it took on varied uses–as burial shrouds, make-shift gas masks, and handcuffs.  However, its newer uses have relegated it to an artifact of Iranian pop culture rather than Islamic history.

Bridget Russell

]]> http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/irans-underground-rap-artists-take-to-wearing-symbol-of-islamic-revolution/feed/ 0 Iran Proposes Nuclear Plants with Arab Countries http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/iran-proposes-nuclear-plants-with-arab-countries/ http://middleeastpolitics.net/2008/12/02/iran-proposes-nuclear-plants-with-arab-countries/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:42:21 +0000 bjrussel http://middleeastpolitics.net/?p=3328 Sunday, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, stated that Iran is going to offer to build joint light-water nuclear power plants with its Arab neighbors. These states have been historically suspicious of Persian military might–suspicions that have been aroused anew with the development of Tehran’s nuclear program. In reaction to the internationally controversial program, many Arab countries announced plans to develop their own nuclear projects. This proposal therefore hopes to alleviate Arab fears and in the process no doubt strengthen Iran’s claim that its nuclear energy will be used for peaceful purposes only. Russia is assisting Iran in the construction of its nuclear power plant, scheduled to open in 2009.

Bridget Russell

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