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Sascha Lohmann: The ever increasing use of sanctions against Iran reveals their actual function as a policy substitute. An engagement strategy based on concrete reciprocity should be used to fill this strategic void.
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Johnny West: The West has bemoaned the lack of democracy in the Arab world for decades. Now, as the slaughter continues in Syria, it is time for the West to back its values with action. The recent US ban on purchasing Syrian oil has a good chance of debilitating the Assad regime. Europe must do the same.
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Jeremy Wysakowski-Walters: The EU should embrace Belarus and use positive tactics to attempt to “convert” ordinary Belarusians, many of whom are still loyal to President Lukashenko. Sanctions do not work and will only reinforce his position.
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Nabi Sonboli: Iran and the transatlantic partners have many common interests which should be built upon: Peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as stability in the greater Middle East. The nuclear issue should be separated from these in order to build trust.
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Memo 27: The only way to overcome the deadlock on Iran’s nuclear program is to engage constructively with the existing regime. Progress will only be made when both sides admit their past failures and engage in genuine ‘concrete reciprocity’.
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Memo 26: The character of the Iranian State is such that rapprochement with the West is impossible. Therefore, a systematic policy of undermining the regime is the only way to stop the nuclear program and prevent a military confrontation.
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Alexander Pyka: War rhetoric and demands for the suspension of the Iranian nuclear program clearly do not work. It is time to make concessions to Tehran in order to move forward and prevent the accession of another country into the nuclear weapons club.
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Sascha Lohmann: A system of ‘concrete reciprocity’ is required between the Transatlantic partners and Tehran. Moreover, the psychological dimension and the domestic factors of Iranian nuclear politics also have to be taken into consideration.
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Ivan Kalburov: For the last 40 years Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has been tantalizing the world. Although he appears to have changed his ways in the past decade, he uses the same old despotic tricks, only dressing as a sheep when necessary. This has been most obvious in the way foreign prisoners have been treated.
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Fabian Martin Lieschke: Iran’s nuclear strategy – one that allows it to buy time and improve its negotiating position – seems to be working. The US policy shift has come too late - Iran has already wrapped Germany, Russia and China around its little finger. The next US President will be faced with a tough choice.
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Philip Gordon: China does not want to jeopardize its energy deals with Tehran which are essential for its economic development. But this is a short-sighted perspective which overlooks the risks the Iranian nuclear program represents for China itself. It is time for China to think strategically about Iran.
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Fabian Martin Lieschke: President Bush’s effort to unite the EU-3 behind an American proposal for harsher measures on Iran may be undermined by German domestic politics.
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Samantha Ferrell: Combating Human Trafficking requires systematic worldwide action. In a rapidly globalizing world, organized crime groups are operating transnationally. Unless there is an increased effort on the part of international agencies, the US, and the EU, to coordinate efforts, human trafficking will only continue to expand.
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Hans-Ulrich Klose: We need a new philosophy of deterrence against Iran. A tough containment policy, including Russia, and strong defense of Israel could bring about a changed security architecture in the Middle East that might finally include Tehran.
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Global Must Read Articles
The impact of Western sanctions on Iran goes further than “market plays, fire sales and opportunism” for India and China. ++ The long term role Iran plays in their energy security policies has been missed. ++ Iran has sought to lock both countries into 25-year contracts for its oil. ++ Ideological positions may factor domestically in India and China but they are an outgrowth of energy interests.
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South Sudan will celebrate its independence as the world’s newest nation Saturday. ++ But after the confetti drops, it will immediately become one of its most underdeveloped countries. A fifty-year civil war with the north has killed millions, and ongoing skirmishes in border regions threaten to weaken the new state. ++ Despite deep hatreds between south and north, though, there are also
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A number of states from Latin America and Asia have engaged in currency devaluations of late in order to help their export businesses. ++ Sanctions are also used for political purposes, as in the case of Iran. ++ Now a Chinese move sent “shivers around Asia and into the Pentagon,” as Beijing curtailed the sale of rare-materials to Japan’s high-tech industry. ++ This trade spate
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Iran’s defiance over its nuclear program has remained a major concern for key international players over the past months. ++ Now, countries like Japan, UAE, and South Korea have also started taking measures to make Iran give up its nuclear ambitions. ++ The IAEA, however, is alarmed
over Iran’s “slow but steady production of low-enriched uranium”, which if continued would be
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“Sanctions are a sign of a failed policy.” ++ The Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, currently under consideration in the United States Congress, targets Iran’s civilian economy and will likely accomplish little in reshaping Iran’s behavior. ++ Sanctions do have their place, but only within a context of a broader policy of engagement and pressure. ++ Continuing to rely on
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The Obama administration is currently working on new UN sanctions designed to cut off funding to Iranian nuclear and missile activities, as well as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s vast network of companies. ++ Chinese participation is a crucial component to any sanctions regime, yet so far, US overtures to Beijing to sign onto its sanctions campaign have been met with little success. ++
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Ahmadinejad’s regime is unlikely to back down from its nuclear ambitions. ++ The Obama administration is taking steps to put pressure on Iran by imposing sanctions through the Treasury Dept., the State Dept., and Congress. ++ “France, among other European governments, has been talking tough about the need for sanctions that bite; a U.S.-backed gasoline embargo would put that resolve
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The US and the EU must take a coordinated approach when trying to bring around reform in “Europe’s last dictatorship,” Belarus, which will be a slow and tough process. ++ The US should consider lifting sanctions only on the basis of strict conditionality. ++ Belarus must be pressured to have more independent media, to investigate the cases of missing dissidents, and to end the practice of jailing
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Dialogue between the US and Syria is alive even though President Barack Obama renewed sanctions on Damascus, which were due to expire. ++ Syria immediately dismissed it as a routine procedure. ++ The key to removing sanctions is peace between the Arab world and Israel which should be approached at a regional level, otherwise war could break out within two years. ++ Only Obama will be able to make
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Despite Mugabe still being in power after losing the election last year, there are some reformers holding ministerial offices. ++ It is vital that the US and Europe provide aid to such reform figures while at the same time keeping in check the few that support the decadent Mr. Mugabe. ++ The provision of humanitarian aid might offer Zimbabwe the opportunity to use its own funds through which to
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Obama used television to address the people and government of Iran. ++ The President invited Iran into the “community of nations” but reminded them that rights come with responsibilities. ++ Iran replied by saying that actions speak louder than words. ++ Given a tempestuous bilateral relation such words are unlikely to make a breakthrough. ++ Obama can foster some diplomatic ties by
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Obama decided to send two high level US officials to visit Syria and participate in “preliminary conversations.” ++ The decision is a complete shift from the Bush attitude. ++ It comes as a pleasant surprise to those who believe that the US should support Syria-Israel talks and use it as a stabilizer in the region, luring Syria away from Iran and into American arms. ++ Syria is also
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Improving relations with Iran might not be as smooth as expected for Obama. ++ Under Russia’s new security strategy, to be adopted end of February, Russia is on the way to making Iran its new strategic partner. ++ An increase in the number of nuclear engineers being sent to Tehran to work with Iranians is one of several indicators of the rapprochement. ++ This may well remove any incentive for
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Yesterday, German entrepreneurs met to discuss how to intensify business with Iran. ++ Bank Melli’s connection to Tehran’s nuclear program has given the EU reason to freeze assets of Iran’s largest bank, but Germany refuses to go “beyond the relatively soft UN trade restrictions.” ++ In view of rising exports, Germany has become the largest European exporter to Iran.
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A petro-emboldened Russia is becoming resurgent in the Middle East. ++ With US power waning, Russia is seeking to fill the vacuum. ++ And they’re being well-received, as “autocratic and wealth-loving Russians” have more in common with the conservative majority of the region than “the US, with its pop culture and liberal democracy.” ++ Russia’s desire for a bloc
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US sanctions on Iran have caused an influx of Iranian trade with nearby Dubai. ++ Visits to the UAE by US officials have resulted in drastically fewer business licenses for Iranians there. ++ This policy has hurt many Iranians who are at odds with their government; “it is affecting only the people, not the government sector.” ++ US officials hope Iranians will place the blame on their own
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Dubai seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place: Iran and the US. ++ Recently Dubai has served as a critical trading partner allowing Iran to circumnavigate sanctions imposed by the US. ++ Dubai re-exports many goods it receives from the US to Iran, including computer circuitry that was used in IEDs in Iraq against American forces. ++ With Iran refusing to halt its nuclear program, Dubai
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Despite the call for sanctions on Russia from Poland and the three Baltic states, the only agreement the EU made was to postpone talks about a partnership agreement with Moscow. ++ Medvedev praised the EU’s decision to reject sanctioning Russia, but was disappointed about the EU’s inability to understand Russia’s motives in the Caucasus war. ++ The US welcomed the EU’s decision to boost efforts
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The US should use alternative means to accelerate Russia’s withdrawal from Georgia and to stabilize the country. ++ In addition to humanitarian aid, it could initiate a large reconstruction operation to ensure the vitality of Georgia’s economy during the Russian occupation. ++ Also, the corrupt oligarchs around Putin could be undoubtedly pressured if US agencies pursue corrupt practices of
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Since the first use of sanctions against Italy in 1935, suspending trade with corrupt regimes has proven to make the poor poorer and the evil richer. ++ Even with supposed success, sanctions were either accompanied by other internal problems (South Africa) or imposed upon a cooperative government (England). ++ In contrast, sanctions against regimes such as Mugabe’s are only levied to boost
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Britain’s foreign secretary argues that if the new “dual-track approach” regarding Iran’s nuclear aspirations fails, it is the Iranian’s own fault. ++ Convinced that the region and the world need a cooperative, sanction-free Iran, the West is offering generous incentives, including assistance for a civilian-based nuclear energy program, in return for Iran’s
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Attacking Iran would be disastrous, many civilians would die, the nuclear program would subsist, and Israel’s involvement would create a serious backlash in the region. ++ Iran’s threats toward Israel give reason for concern but sanctions and diplomatic incentives - both endorsed by Obama and McCain - should be favored over military action. ++ If the UN does not authorize applying punitive
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While Iran’s nuclear program frustrates the West and demonstrates “the limits of American power,” feelings of satisfaction and success unite Iranians. ++ Western incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment - such as commercial contracts - are unimaginative and defective. ++ Since Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions won’t ebb, the US and its EU Allies should encourage a plan that trades
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In the wake of the US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, the EU should continue with their diplomatic approach, despite US calls for more unilateral sanctions, says Volker Perthes of the SWP. Such an approach should be based on a broad international consensus, clearly communicating that the issue is proliferation and not the nature of the Iranian regime, and come with an earnest offer of
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Despite tough rhetoric from Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany continues to play a role in Iran’s nuclear program, writes Benjamin Weinthal in Haaretz. Germany’s official public stance looks shaky in the face of the $5.7 billion in deals closed by German firms with Tehran in 2006. Furthermore, a number of German companies are under investigation for the unlawful supply of technology to
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