Posts tagged : "U.S. foreign policy"

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Four Things that Iran’s Rouhani Needs to Rectify Before it’s Too Late

Four Things that Iran’s Rouhani Needs to Rectify Before it’s Too Late

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: The United States is run by a businessman turned politician who is unwavering in his ignorance about many essentials including respect for multilateralism and concern for the value of human life outside the US borders. It’s difficult to convince Donald Trump to be mindful of the suffering of ordinary Iranian citizens while imposing new sanctions on the Middle East nation or instruct him to read 109 pages of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear deal) to figure out that long before announcing the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the agreement, he started violating its letter and spirit through his unhelpful public statements about the JCPOA being a badly...

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‘Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal will increase tensions with Europe’: Q&A with Prof. Alexander H. Montgomery

‘Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal will increase tensions with Europe’: Q&A with Prof. Alexander H. Montgomery

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: As the Iranian people brace for the next round of economic sanctions by the United States to be introduced in early November, debate about the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from the landmark July 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers continues in the international media. These days, a great deal of the mainstream media coverage of the Middle East goes to Iran and every new development pertaining to Iran is somehow linked by experts and pundits to the U.S. sanctions and the departure of the United States from the nuclear deal, be it the imminent suspension of British Airways and Air France flights to Tehran or the introduction of an assistance package by the European...

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Trump Sanctions: The Latest Disappointment for the Advocates of Iran-US Reconciliation

Trump Sanctions: The Latest Disappointment for the Advocates of Iran-US Reconciliation

Kourosh Ziabari - Foreign Policy Blogs: When President Donald Trump announced on 8th May that the United States would not be a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran deal, anymore, it was easily predictable that new tensions between Tehran and Washington will emerge soon. It didn’t take long for the European Union to voice its regret over President Trump’s decision and say in an unequivocal manner that Trump’s unilateralism won’t mark the premature death of the Iran deal, signed and sealed only three years ago.   Britain, France and Germany issued a statement in which they reiterated their continued commitment to the JCPOA as long as Iran abides by its nuclear commitments. They said...

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This Is Why Trump Pulled Out of the Iran Deal

This Is Why Trump Pulled Out of the Iran Deal

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal was one of his most controversial foreign policy decisions. As one of his campaign promises it was not unexpected, but the unilateral decertification of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has multiplied the workload of international diplomats who are working hard to salvage the accord. President Trump’s decision may originate from his hostility toward Barack Obama and his achievements, as well as Trump’s apocalyptic views toward Iran and the Muslim world. Whatever the reason, a robust international agreement has been dismantled by the US government and the long-term outcomes will be disappointing. Peter Kuznick, professor of...

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Will the US and Iran Engage in Dialogue?

Will the US and Iran Engage in Dialogue?

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Iran and the US have been at odds since the 1979 revolution. They have had no diplomatic relations since April 7, 1980. One event that marked the revolution was the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students attacked the compound and took 99 people hostage, including 66 Americans. The episode came to be known as the Iran hostage crisis and lasted 444 days. As tensions soared between the two governments, US President Jimmy Carter said he would “not yield to blackmail” and resorted to different options to rescue the hostages. Although diplomacy failed to solve the crisis in a timely fashion, the victims were released in 1981 as Ronald Reagan was being...

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Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy is Similar to the Way he Approaches Reality Television: Q&A with Perry Cammack

Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy is Similar to the Way he Approaches Reality Television: Q&A with Perry Cammack

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: Many journalists, academicians and foreign policy experts raised concerns about Donald Trump’s lack of political and foreign policy experience during the presidential campaign. Were their concerns justified? Perry Cammack (@perrycammack), a fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says President Trump has “a singular genius for self-promotion” and his approach to foreign policy represents his approach to “Manhattan real estate or reality television.” The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, popularly known as the Iran deal, is a multilateral accord between Iran and the European Union represented by France, Germany and the United...

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Iran and the U.S. are Deeply Suspicious of Each Other: Q&A with General Arlen Jameson

Iran and the U.S. are Deeply Suspicious of Each Other: Q&A with General Arlen Jameson

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington will de-certify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, popularly known as the Iran deal. The withdrawal of the United States from the agreement and President Trump’s promise to impose harsh sanctions on Iran has further complicated Iran-U.S. relations, resulted in more stress on Iran’s economy and as a result, caused public discontent in Iran with the government of President Hassan Rouhani who had promised improvements in the economy and a resolution to the nuclear dispute. Retired Lt. General Arlen D. Jameson, the former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Strategic Command, says the decision by President Trump to...

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Iran’s Woes: America Can Actually “Do a Damn Thing”

Iran’s Woes: America Can Actually “Do a Damn Thing”

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: During the tumultuous days of Iran’s revolution in 1979, the leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, used a statement in reference to the perceived United States intervention in Iranian affairs by saying that “America cannot do a damn thing.” Iran’s revolution was hugely anti-Western and the height of its antagonism to the West was reflected in the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979, in what came to be known as the Iran hostage crisis, and laid the groundwork for the severing of bilateral ties between Tehran and Washington. The “revolutionary” Iranians believed that the sovereignty and independence of the nation was compromised under King...

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Racism in America cannot be reduced to Trumpism as a phenomenon: Omid Safi

Racism in America cannot be reduced to Trumpism as a phenomenon: Omid Safi

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: The foreign policy of Trump administration is similarly highly controversial and questionable. He finds himself in a new skirmish with another country every couple of days, while traveling internationally to expand the limits of the United States' influence and strength The different aspects of the U.S. President Donald Trump's presidency are being debated by the U.S. and international media these days intensely. CNN's Brian Stelter has recently talked about a "credibility crisis" Trump's White House is grappling with, saying that despite the pledges he made during the campaign season, he is telling lies to his constituency on a daily basis. For millions of Americans who voted for Trump in the 2016 polls,...

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How Iranians see Trump’s hit to the Iran Deal

How Iranians see Trump’s hit to the Iran Deal

Kourosh Ziabari - Gateway House: United States President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally decertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran Deal – was no surprise to Iranians and the international community. Withdrawal from it was one of the strange promises Trump had made during his presidential campaign, matching in eccentricity his Muslim ban, the Wall project along with the border with Mexico and the decision to negotiate with North Korea directly. Earlier this week, Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech toughened the U.S. stance on Iran. Some of the “sweeping changes” that the U.S. has sought include Iran’s agreeing to pull out of the Syrian war, reducing its...

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Interview: It is largely hypocritical to speak of U.S. concern for human rights

Interview: It is largely hypocritical to speak of U.S. concern for human rights

Kourosh Ziabari - ODVV: A feminist activist and professor of sociology says it is largely hypocritical to speak of the United States' concern for human rights, whether nationally, within the U.S., or internationally, especially when it comes to Arabs or Muslims in general. Prof Nahla Abdo believes the approach taken by the U.S. administration to the Middle East as a "troubled region" is predicated on interventionist attitudes, which largely characterize the U.S. foreign policy. "Any attempts by any Middle Eastern country to defy the U.S. and Israeli interests in the region is punished by military invasion, devastation, destruction and massacres," Nahla Abdo said. Nahla Abdo is a Professor of Sociology at Carleton University,...

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Trump’s Withdrawal from the Iran Deal: Q&A with Ambassador Tara Sonenshine

Trump’s Withdrawal from the Iran Deal: Q&A with Ambassador Tara Sonenshine

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: To diplomats, ambassadors and officials of the Obama administration, President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions are incomprehensible, radical and unexpected as they are to many citizens across the world. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal was one of his eyebrow-raising moves. Tara Sonenshine, who was the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under President Obama, says the decision by President Trump to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is a public diplomacy nightmare. Ambassador Sonenshine is one of the many Obama administration diplomats who believe that President Trump has devalued “America’s word.” “You don’t...

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