Posts tagged : "Iran’s nuclear program"

Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: Mário Nobre Lopes Soares is the 17th President of Portugal who served two terms in office from 1986 to 1996. He was also the nation’s Prime Minister from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985. At the time when the former dictator António de Oliveira Salazar was ruling Portugal, Soares diligently fought him and the dictator’s secret police PIDE that arrested him 12 times and expelled him to different countries. Soares is endowed with the highest-ranking military order of Portugal titled “Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit” which was created by King Afonso V in 1459. Mario Soares’s father João Lopes Soares was a minister, anti-fascist republican...

Kourosh Ziabari - Press TV: The Geneva interim accord over Iran’s nuclear program signed on November 24 last year was a landmark development in the course of Iran’s relations with other countries, especially the United States, with which it directly negotiated at a high-level for the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. According to the agreement known as the Joint Plan of Action, Iran will voluntarily limit certain portions of its nuclear activities, in return for relief from some of the sanctions imposed against Iran in the recent years, including the petrochemical and automobile industry sanctions. The P5+1 group(Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States) have also agreed to release $4.2...

Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: Following the election of the moderate politician Hassan Rouhani as the Iranian President in the June 14, 2013 elections, the European countries have become more willing to interact with Iran on equal footings and based on mutual respect. In the recent months and following President Rouhani’s elections, several high-ranking European delegations and dignitaries have traveled to Iran, and it’s expected that more Western officials, including diplomats, politicians and lawmakers will be coming to Iran in the near future. The former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema was one of the dignitaries who traveled to Iran in December last year to hold meetings with senior Iranian officials, academicians...

Kourosh Ziabari: Prominent Iranian academician believes that even if Iran gets access to nuclear weapons, it will not spark an arms race in the Middle East, because the Arab states of the region have long lived with the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East that is a reactionary, expansionistic and occupying regime. “The usual argument presented by the Israeli and US officials, including many times by President Obama himself, that the Arab States fear an arms race in the Middle East if Iran acquires nuclear weapons has never made any sense. The Middle East has lived for many decades with a nuclear armed power in its midst, Israel, a power that is most belligerent, expansionist, and warmongering. Yet, despite this fact,...

Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: Former Spanish foreign minister Ana Palacio believes that the controversy surrounding Iran’s nuclear program should be solved through dialog and negotiations, and that a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear standoff would be in everybody’s best interests. Palacio, who was the Spanish foreign minister under Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from July 2002 to March 2004, said that despite the fact that Spain has been a traditional ally of the United States, her government “never subscribed to the ‘axis of evil’ approach.” “I arranged and conducted a state visit of King Juan Carlos to Syria and of President Khatami to Spain. I strongly believe that exchange, even a critical exchange, is...

Kourosh Ziabari - Iran Review: After Iran reached an interim agreement with the six world powers on November 24, 2013 over its nuclear activities and accepted to put certain limitations on portions of its nuclear program in return for relief from some of the economic sanctions it has been undergoing for almost a decade, the whole world began to embrace the deal with euphoria and enthusiasm. Even the most pessimistic opponents of a possible Iran-U.S. rapprochement and those who believed that Iran cannot sign a deal with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany commented on the interim accord positively and affirmatively. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the interim accord the “beginnings of...

Angela Davis - Radio Voice of Russia: "The US should ease the sanctions because, first of all, these sanctions are harming the daily lives of the ordinary Iranian citizens. And according to many legal experts and many specialists these sanctions are a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention, they are an act war because they harm the ordinary citizens and paralyze their daily lives," Kourosh Ziabari, Iran-based journalist with a long record of covering Iranian issues. Can you tell me, what are your expectations for this current round of talks in Geneva with Iran and the group of six? Shall we really expect any breakthrough results? Of course, since President Rouhani took office earlier this year, he promised to actually take up...

Kourosh Ziabari: Prominent Iranian university professor and author believes that the United States and its European partners should try to win the lost confidence of the Iranian people and government, and treat Iran’s nuclear case equally with all the world nations that are developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Prof. Nader Bagherzadeh also says that with removal of the cruel anti-Iran sanctions following the implementation of the Geneva interim agreement and the final comprehensive deal between Tehran and the six world powers, Iran’s economy will considerably grow and make progress. “If the final agreement is completed and ratified, without sacrificing Iran’s rights as a sovereign nation to pursue all aspects of a...

Kourosh Ziabari: Despite the deal-breaking interventions of the French government in the latest round of talks between Iran and the six world powers to find a solution for Iran’s nuclear standoff, international observers are still hopeful that the talks today can yield significant results, satisfying the both sides and putting an end to the decade-long conflicts and disputes. According to the prominent London-based Iranian university professor and author, Iran’s nuclear program has been used by the United States and its allies to put pressure on Iran and scuttle its political and scientific progress. Prof. Abbas Edalat believes that the United States should abandon its policy of carrot and stick and engage in a constructive dialog...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: On November 20, the tranquil Swiss city of Geneva began to host a historic meeting and once again became the epicenter of international attention to a momentous accord which has prompted a wave of euphoria and happiness across the world. Although the interim accord between Iran and the six world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program in Geneva has sparked some criticism among a number of skeptic media outlets and lawmakers in Iran who are not optimistic about the promises made by the United States and its European allies, it seems that virtually everybody in Iran is happy about the historic agreement that is seen as a first step that can bring to an end the decade-long controversy over...

  Kourosh Ziabari - Tehran Times: According to the prominent American public intellectual and author, the Israeli regime fears an imminent agreement between Iran and the six world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program because the Tel Aviv leaders think international attention will be diverted toward the occupation of the Palestinian territories once Iran’s nuclear dispute is solved. “The Israelis have used the issue of Iran’s nuclear program very effectively as a scare tactic, as a way of bracing their position in U.S. politics and diverting attention away from their occupation of Palestinian territory,” said Prof. John Tirman in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times. Prof. John Tirman is a foreign policy expert and...

Kourosh Ziabari: The normalization of relations between Iran and the United States and the recommencement of talks between the two countries to find a diplomatically viable and sustainable resolution to the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program is one of the sensitive issues which the public around the world, leaders, politicians and mass media in different countries are paying a great amount of attention to. Iranians are relatively mistrustful in the United States and its policies, citing the long history of Washington’s interference in their country’s internal affairs and its efforts to destabilize Iran. However, there is some optimism that these differences may be solved if the United States shows goodwill and takes action to...