Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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An Iranian boy stands among Shi’ite Muslim worshippers attending the weekly Friday prayer on May 16, 2014, at the university of the Iranian capital, Tehran. (AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE)

Bigger is Better

by Arash Aramesh | May 24, 2014 | Majalla Blogs

Not too long ago, Iranian state television aired a documentary on what it said was an “exemplary family” and a “special home.” The family’s home was simple, as one would expect in a rural village in northwestern Iran. The family’s income, like that of most other...

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) welcomes Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as they meet in Moscow’s Kremlin, on January 16, 2014. (SERGEI KARPUKHIN/AFP)

A Russian Monkey Wrench in the Works?

by Arash Aramesh | Mar 15, 2014 | Majalla Blogs

The crisis in Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula may affect the talks between Iran and the P5+1, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. One possibility is that Russia may act as a “spoiler” in the talks with Iran should the United States...

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In this photo released by the official website of the Iranian supreme leader’s office, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, foreground right, attends a graduation ceremony of a group of Revolutionary Guard members, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader)

A Complex Problem

by Arash Aramesh | Jun 3, 2013 | Majalla Blogs

Just a couple weeks before Iran’s presidential election, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his allies in Iran’s military/security complex managed to suppress even some of the most loyal regime actors in order to tighten their hold on power in Iran. The Guardian...

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Iranian air force commanders saluting Khamenei during a meeting in Tehran on February 7, 2013. Source: AFP Photo/HO/Iranian Supreme Leaders Website

Khamenei Will Not Bend

by Arash Aramesh | Apr 8, 2013 | Majalla Blogs

International sanctions against the regime in Tehran have not been perfect, but they have worked. The government is starved for cash, and based on recent statements made by high-ranking security officials, the Islamic Republic now fears uprisings not just in urban,...

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Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh (R) discusses with a member of the Iranian delegation during the Board of Governors meeting at the UN atomic agency headquarters in Vienna, Austria on March 6, 2013. (ALEXANDER KLEIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Keeping the Pressure on Tehran

by Arash Aramesh | Mar 9, 2013 | Majalla Blogs

President Barack Obama’s reelection brought new hope to the possibility of reaching a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. Secretary of State John Kerry has repeatedly asserted the United States’ willingness to return to the negotiating table, but only if...