Iran’s Theocracy Is on the Brink
Iran has a peculiar habit of surprising Americans. It has done so again with the protests engulfing its major cities. The demonstrations began over economic grievances and quickly transformed int...
Persians
The Kurdish test
In a just world, the Kurds would have a state of their own. Their culture is ancient. They speak a distinctive language. They have a homeland, Kurdistan, ruled for centuries by Arabs, Turks and P...
Op-eds
Trump throws a Hail Mary pass against Iran
President Trump has finally decertified his predecessor's nuclear agreement with Iran. Twice before, in April and July, Trump certified, per the requirement in the 2015 Iran Nuclear Review A...
Op-eds
Perfect Partners
When he won the election, Donald Trump—along with his national security adviser Michael Flynn, his all-purpose counselor Stephen Bannon, and, perhaps, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner—wa...
Op-eds
Iranian Kurds Join the Fight
Co-written by Jonathan Spyer The instability that has swept over the Middle East over the past half-decade has its winners and its losers. For the most part, the much-...
Op-eds
How Barack is like Ike
The Islamic Republic of Iran is, according to no less an authority than the U.S. government, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, suicide-bombed U....
Op-eds
The New Axis Of Evil At War In Syria
The Iranian-Russian alliance now operating in Syria must fill Bashar Assad with great hope for his own survival. It has all the trappings of a carefully planned strategic assault on the enemies o...
Op-eds
If the Iranians Are So Smart, How Come the Place Is a Wreck?
I’m sick and tired of hearing about the Iranians’ brilliance, about what fabulous negotiators they are, about what great game players they are (some say, fals...
Op-eds
Produce the Fatwa
In his annual statement marking the Persian new year, President Obama said he beli...
Op-eds
Khamenei Spits in Our Face Again—and We Pay for the Pleasure
He did it again, as we should have expected. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walked us right up to the finish line, spat on us, and walked away. Months and months of secret an...
Op-eds
The Man And The Myth
Urbi et Orbi, the city and the world, Tehran and the globe. In his turban and clerical robe, softly speaking of peace, Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, resembles a spiritual guide mor...
Op-eds
Middle East Future Shock
Almost a hundred years ago, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the last in a succession of Islamic caliphates stretching back more than a millennium, transformed the Middle East – first, i...
Op-eds
Radioactive Regime
The list is long of Occidentals who’ve fallen for Persia. This isn’t surprising. Compared with Arab lands save Egypt, Iran has a longer history—Hegel described the Persians as &...
Op-eds
Iran’s Chickens Coming Home to Roast. Or Not…
Anyone who has spent much time eating Persian food knows how important chicken is, whether it’s roast chicken, chicken with pomegranate sauce and walnuts, or chicken kebab. So a chicken sho...
Op-eds
The Case for Palestinian Nationalism
If only Palestinians were making it seriously.
Op-eds
The Terrorists’ War in Iraq Continues
President Obama’s announcement that U.S. military forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year has been accompanied by a renewed wave of terrorist attacks. In particular, Ansar...
Op-eds
The One-Way War
Last week, federal authorities arrested Mansoor Arbabsiar for his involvement in a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States and bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies. Arbabsiar&...
Op-eds
Iran’s Two-Front War
While you were busy wondering if Obama could manage the hurricane, the Azeris erupted against the regime. When they riot in Azerbaijan, it’s a big deal. The Azeris are &mdash...
Op-eds
Ataturk, the Arab Spring and Europe’s Fall
The father of Turkey looked to Europe. Why would anyone do that today?
Op-eds
The Great Alawite Hope
Belief in Bashar al-Assad was always misplaced. Now it’s time for change.