Middle East
Publisher: WSJ
7 Nov 2014
Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran’s Khamenei About Fighting Islamic State
President Barack Obama secretly wrote to Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the middle of last month and described a shared interest in fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, according to people briefed on the correspondence. The letter appeared aimed both at buttressing the campaign against Islamic State and nudging Iran s religious leader closer to a nuclear deal.
Iran Proposes an Axis Against Islamic State to Iraq as an Alternative to the U.S. Coalition
Al-Zaman [The Times of Baghdad] reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has proposed to visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi an anti-ISIL axis including Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq that would be led by Iran, as an alternative to the US-led coalition proposed by President Barack Obama. In essence, this is the same kind of support Iran offers Bashar al-Assad in Syria against ISIL and al-Qaeda affiliates there (as well as against the Free Syrian Army)
Publisher: The Guardian
14 Oct 2014
Qassem Suleimani photo makeover reveals Iran’s new publicity strategy
Professional pictures of the Quds commander Suleimani are part of Iranian promotion of its support of Iraq forces against Isis. Suleimani and the Iraqi militias he commands have played a key role in halting Isis. But neither he nor any other Iranian official has been invited to Tuesday's strategy meeting in Washington between the US president, Barack Obama, and military chiefs from 20 western and Arab countries, which aimed to draw up a plan to defeat the militants. The crisis in Iraq may have created a temporary alignment between the US and Iran, bitter enemies for the last 35 years, but they remain firmly at odds over Syria, where Tehran s loyal support has been crucial in bolstering Bashar al-Assad.
Publisher: The Guardian
13 Oct 2014
Iran could pose a greater threat than Isis, says Andrew Nikolic
The Liberal backbencher and former army commander Andrew Nikolic, Australian politician and MP has warned that Iran presents a potentially worse threat than Islamic State (Isis), one that may require an urgent military response. Nilolic said that as Australia joined the international coalition to fight Isis, "the time for action on Iran is now much closer than it has ever been".
Publisher: NYTimes
25 Sep 2014
Iran’s President Says West’s Blunders Helped ISIS Rise
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran delivered a searing indictment of Western and Arab states on Thursday in his annual speech to the United Nations, blaming them for sowing the seeds of extremism in the Middle East with "strategic blunders" that have given rise to the Islamic State and other violent jihadist groups. "Certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hands of madmen, who now spare no one," Mr. Rouhani said, adding that "all those who have played a role in founding and supporting these terror groups must acknowledge their errors" and apologize.
Publisher: NYTimes
24 Sep 2014
Iranian President Praises Cooperation in New York
In two days of back-to-back interviews, speeches and meetings in New York this week, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has gone to some lengths to sound much like President Obama in describing the need to defeat Islamic radicals and to seize what may well be a last opportunity over the next two months to reach an accord with the West over Iran s nuclear program.
Publisher: Fox News
22 Sep 2014
Concern over US concessions as Iran seeks to leverage ISIS issue in nuke talks
Republican lawmakers are raising alarm that Secretary of State John Kerry is putting too much on the table in talks over Iran's nuclear program -- as Tehran reportedly tries to leverage its cooperation in the Islamic State crisis in return for nuclear concessions from the U.S. and its allies. The White House denies that any such trade-off is in the works.
Publisher: The Washington Post
15 Sep 2014
Iran won’t team with U.S. against Islamic State
Publisher: Huffington Post
7 Sep 2014
Henry Kissinger: Iran ‘A Bigger Problem Than ISIS’
In an interview with NPR that was released on Saturday, Kissinger explained that because Iran has a stronger footing in the Middle East, it has a greater opportunity to create an empire. "The borders of the settlement of 1919-'20 are essentially collapsing," he said. "That gives Iran a very powerful level from a strategic point of view.
Publisher: rudaw
26 Aug 2014
Iran Overestimated Role in IS Fight
What we now know is that Iran was the first country to send weapons and artillery to stop the extremists advance into Makhmur. But why Iran? And why weren t Iranian Kurds allowed initially to join the fight against the Islamist militants? Why is the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - which was hiding in the mountains until it joined the fight against the extremists - roaming freely around Iraqi Kurdistan now?