Sectarian tension in Iraq is putting stress on the strategic partnership between Shia-dominated Iran and predominantly Sunni Syria. The ability of Tehran and Damascus to harmonize their diverging national interests could have profound implications for Middle East security, as well as international efforts to clamp down on Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's government has characterized an international plan designed to resolve a crisis revolving around the country's nuclear research program as a "step forward." At the same time, Iranian leaders stress that they will not be rushed into responding to the proposed incentive package.
Iran's government has characterized an international plan designed to resolve a crisis revolving around the country's nuclear research program as a "step forward." At the same time, Iranian leaders stress that they will not be rushed into responding to the proposed incentive package.
As I disembarked from my flight at Tehran I recalled my previous visit to Iran in 2000, when Iranian immigration officials at Mehrabad Airport were rather frosty. Entering Iran on this occasion proved far more straightforward than that visit, as the immigration official handed back my passport with a smile and wished me a pleasant stay.
After seeing a significant erosion of Syrian influence in Beirut, underscored by the recent Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon, Iranian leaders are working vigorously to preserve Tehran's geopolitical position in the Middle East.
Azerbaijan is counting on the development of the Caspian Basin's energy resources to secure its economic future. Yet a deadlock among Caspian littoral states on a Caspian Sea territorial agreement is viewed as a major obstacle to the development of regional energy exports.
The Moscow hostage crisis appears to have reinforced Russian President Vladimir Putin's intent to crush Chechen separatism. Despite signs of war-weariness among the Russian population, Putin appears ready to shun negotiations and prolong Russia's military campaign in Chechnya.
Iranian-Russian relations are approaching a reckoning point. In recent months, Moscow has striven to remain on good terms with both the United States and Iran, two countries whose own bilateral relations have been marked by growing hostility.
