Iran

Smart Reads May 15, 2013

May 15, 2013 1:46 pm by Amie Tsang

♦ Wild card candidates for the Iranian election have confused the regime’s orchestration of the vote.
♦ Dana Milbank thinks President Obama needs to show more engagement with his presidency: “He responded as though he were just some bloke on a bar stool, getting his information from the evening news.”
♦ The Guardian reports on climate refugees in Alaska, where people are losing ground to the sea at a dangerous rate.
♦ Devastating water shortages in China are putting a brake on economic growth and stirring political discontent, but Beijing’s high-spending responses to the problem have triggered widespread criticism.
♦ Shanghaiist has photos of Gansu’s Crescent Lake Oasis, where the government had to step in to preserve the lake in the Gobi desert. Read more

Tags: Alaska, Barack Obama, Bejing, China, climate change, Iran, water
Posted in Foreign affairs, Smart Reads | Permalink

Smart Reads May 13, 2013

May 13, 2013 2:49 pm by Amie Tsang

♦ There are doubts over how much longer Latin America will benefit from the “commodity supercycle”.
♦ Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former Iranian president, has registered for next month’s election, disrupting the Islamic regime’s plans to hand power to a loyal fundamentalist.
♦ Nawaz Sharif has sealed his third term as prime minister of Pakistan. However, the sense of vibrant democracy has been tempered by Taliban attacks. The New York Times bureau chief was also expelled on the day of voting.
♦ Forty years after Watergate, the BBC looks at the legacy of investigative journalism in the UK.
♦ After the news that Bloomberg’s journalists could see more than Bloomberg’s customers would like them to, Quartz takes a look at the culture of omniscience that pervades the organisation and Hilary Sargent (aka ChartGirl) explains how it works in this neat diagram.
♦ On another note… Britain’s approach to Eurovision might need some fine-tuning. Read more

Tags: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Bloomberg, commodities, eurovision, Iran, Latin America, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan election, UK, Watergate
Posted in Foreign affairs | Permalink

Smart Reads April 5, 2013

April 5, 2013 1:23 pm by Amie Tsang

The global central bank community may be fascinated by the revolution in Japanese monetary policy, but the response has been uncoordinated and other bank chiefs are reluctant to follow in the BoJ’s footsteps.
The WSJ’s Japan Realtime blog gives some nice insight into how “Mr. Kuroda came out swinging in a press conference after his first policy-board meeting” toting colourful props and “muscular adjectives”.
Gavyn Davies thinks Kuroda’s strategy is inherently risky, but “it has a reasonable chance of success, via its impact on financial markets, and on inflation expectations.”
Poorer parts of the US are struggling to keep open their vital aviation links.
A power struggle is gripping Iran ahead of the election in June and President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad is not going quietly.

Tags: Ahmadi-Nejad, aviation, Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, Iran, monetary policy
Posted in Smart Reads | Permalink

Israel and the US: ten things to watch out for on Obama’s Middle East trip

March 19, 2013 11:56 am by Geoff Dyer

Body Language. The worst-kept secret in diplomacy is the bad blood between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu. When he was first elected, Netanyahu apparently felt Obama was trying to strong-arm him on settlements. It has been downhill since. There was the time when Netanyahu lectured Obama in the Oval office. Or the time when Obama told Nicolas Sarkozy: “You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day.” Or when Netanyahu appeared to endorse Mitt Romney (he was just being polite to an old friend, the Israelis say). Or when Obama was quoted calling Netanyahu a “political coward”. Given that this squabbling is bad politically for both leaders, expect them to behave like the best of chums this week. Watch for how many time Obama calls Netanyahu ‘Bibi’.

The Peace Process. The White House has done everything it can to play down expectations about the launch of any new initiative on this trip to such an extent that Obama is being accused of going merely as a “tourist”. But given how little the White House has said about what the US might do or how much importance it places in the peace process in Obama’s second term, any hints or suggestions will be pounced upon.

John Kerry. One of the signals on the peace process will be how Obama talks about his new secretary of state, who will be accompanying him on the trip. Some in Washington expect Obama to state publicly that he is tasking Kerry with picking up the reins of the peace process, which would give him much greater authority. Read more

Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, Israel, John Kerry, Jordan, Mahmoud Abbas, Middle East, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Syria
Posted in Israel, Middle East, US foreign policy | Permalink

Smart Reads March 15, 2013

March 15, 2013 4:11 pm by Amie Tsang

Iraq may be unsafe and treacherous, but adventurous Iraqis are reaping the benefits of a growing consumer economy. However, some businesspeople are frustrated that it is not safe enough to bring their families into the country and others lament that the profits are being made in nearby countries like Jordan.
David Gardner argues for arming Syrian rebels: “The past two years have taken an awful toll… Whole swaths of Syrian cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Hama and, now, the suburbs of Damascus have been razed.” Philip Stephens thinks the country is also paying the price for US timidity: “What is happening – or rather not happening – in Syria is in part a reflection of what happened in Iraq.Once bitten, the US is twice shy.”
C.J. Chivers reports from Heesh in Syria on the “bitterly personal war, in which Islamic and more secular fighters share an immediate goal: to protect their own families, an ambition they accuse the West of not adequately supporting.”
Google’s announcement that their RSS reading tool will be shut down was met with outrage from an unexpected source: Iranians using Google Reader to evade government censorship.
Swiss researchers have been studying satellite images of nighttime lights from 1992 and 2009 and China, India and Africa are growing brighter.
Spencer Ackerman at Wired looks at how the US military has missed out on significant insights into the Iraq war by not collating Iraqi accounts of what happened – particularly when it comes to the influence of Sunni tribes in preventing the US occupation “from descending into an even bigger fiasco”.
Take a look at the Economist’s special report on competitiveness in the US, in which Edward McBride argues that while political gridlock is bad for America’s economy, underlying growth prospects are brighter than they seem.

Tags: Bashar al-Assad, censorship, Damascus, Google, Iran, Iraq, Syria, US, US foreign policy, US military, war in Iraq
Posted in Smart Reads | Permalink

Three questions on Obama’s trip to Israel

March 15, 2013 12:00 pm by James Blitz

Employees in the town of Kfar Saba sew flags in preparation for the upcoming visit of Barack Obama (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama will visit Israel on Wednesday 20 March. It will be the first foreign visit of his second term. The trip will be dominated by three foreign policy issues – Iran’s nuclear programme, the Syrian civil war and the Middle East peace process.

Those issues will do much to define how his presidency is eventually judged. This will not be an easy visit for Obama; his relations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s PM, are notoriously frosty. “Obama has done a lot for Israel but many Israelis are still uncertain to what extent he is a true friend of their country,” says one veteran foreign diplomat. “If he wants to persuade Israelis to move on issues like the peace process he needs to convince them he is genuinely on their side.”

But this visit has to be more than just a charm offensive. Three questions will determine whether it is a success. Read more

Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, Middle East, Palestine, Palestinian, Syria
Posted in Foreign affairs, Israel, US foreign policy | Permalink

Smart Reads March 12, 2013

March 12, 2013 2:54 pm by Amie Tsang

Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria’s central bank governor, argues that Africa’s relationship with China carries with it a whiff of colonialism and that Africa must start treating China as a competitor. “Africa is now willingly opening itself up to a new form of imperialism,” writes Sanusi.
Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, and since it represents just 4 per cent of the emerging markets private equity asset class there is plenty of room to expand. But as the African growth story attracts more and more funds the going is getting tougher, reports Katrina Manson.
Barack Obama’s outreach efforts may do more to expose Republican resistance to his overtures than to build bipartisan bridges.
The CIA is boosting its support of elite Iraqi antiterrorism units amid alarm that the civil war in Syria may spill over the border.
Here are Amos Chapple’s photographs of his trip to Iran: “For ordinary Iranians … the government is a constant embarrassment. In the time I spent there I never received anything but goodwill and decency.”
Steven Cook at the Council on Foreign Relations ponders the need for reform within Egypt’s Ministry of the Interior and the likelihood of it: “As much as bulldozing the Ministry of Interior would likely reverse President Morsi’s declining fortunes, he – like Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi before him – will never do it because he both needs and fears the police.”
Peter Guest looks at whether oil and gas exploration in east Africa will be a boon or a curse in Turkana, northern Kenya. “This area is often a battlefield,” says one development worker.
While you’re on tenterhooks for white smoke to appear at the Vatican, see who would be your ideal Pope with the Pontifficator.

Tags: Barack Obama, China, CIA, east Africa, Egypt, GOP, Iran, Nigeria, Pope, Republicans, sub-Saharan Africa, Syria
Posted in Smart Reads | Permalink

Smart Reads March 5, 2013

March 5, 2013 3:09 pm by Amie Tsang

Switzerland’s relationship with the rich is under strain – though a divorce is unlikely.
Sergei Ignatiev has been a silent presence at the helm of the Russian central bank for 11 years. The end of his term and the question of succession has “gripped Russian markets, turning the central bank into a hive of intrigue”.
Chinese citizens are increasingly going online to vent their anger over pollution, forcing the government to respond.
There may be great hopes for Xi Jinping, but this year’s parliamentary session is “likely to disappoint anyone who hopes for serious root and branch reform of China’s current political or economic structure”, argues Jamil Anderlini.
A cracking opportunity for nut puns: Iranians are boycotting pistachios even as Persian new year approaches, blaming Iran’s plummeting currency and high inflation.
Drone strikes by the Pakistani military are being falsely attributed to the CIA to avoid criticism from the Pakistani public, according to a New York Times report.
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for an extension to assemble a government – Time considers why it has been such a challenge.
Joseph Stiglitz says the outcome of the Italian elections has sent “a clear message to Europe’s leaders: the austerity policies that they have pursued are being rejected by voters”. He argues that it is not shortsightedness,but “an understanding that these policies are deeply misguided”.
Seeking clarity on the back-and-forth between Argentina and the US Court of Appeals over payments to Elliott Associates? Felix Salmon has recapped and explained what it all means.
Israel’s transport ministry has introduced new bus lines for Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, a moved denounced as segregation – a “response to pressure from Israeli settlers who live in the West Bank but are unhappy about sharing buses with their Palestinian neighbours”.
Last but by no means least, the curious tale of Harry Dexter White, chief architect of the Bretton Woods economic system – and, apparently, a Soviet mole.

Tags: Argentina, Benjamin Netanyahu, central bank, China, drones, Elliot Associates, inflation, Iran, joseph Stiglitz, Pakistan, pollution, Russia, Sergei Ignatiev, Switzerland
Posted in Smart Reads | Permalink

Iran, Almaty and three reasons to be cautious

February 27, 2013 1:49 pm by James Blitz

Iran's representatives led by their top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili (back 4th L) take part in talks on Iran's nuclear programme in the Kazakh city of Almaty on February 27, 2013 (ILYAS OMAROV/AFP/Getty Images)

Talks in Almaty on February 27 (AFP/Getty Images)

The latest meeting between Iran and world powers to try and resolve the dilemma over the Iranian nuclear programme is over. And once again, a shaft of light has emerged that will lead some to hope that military action over the Iranian programme might be averted.

After two days of talks in the freezing city of Almaty in Kazakhstan, Iran has told the US and five other world powers that it is prepared to hold a couple more meetings in March and April to try to resolve international concerns that it wants a nuclear bomb.

That said, few will want to overplay the significance of this move. Here are three reasons why many western diplomats will be cautious. Read more

Tags: Almaty, Iran, Kazakhstan, nuclear
Posted in Iran, nuclear | Permalink

Iran, Turkey, and the gold-for-gas trade

February 18, 2013 5:08 pm by Daniel Dombey

Gold bars are seen at the Czech Central Bank on September 05, 2011 in Prague (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images)

The golden stuff (AFP/Getty)

It must rank as one of the most thankless jobs in diplomacy. Just how do you draw up incentives for Iran to rein in its nuclear programme?

Talks have lumbered on, in one incarnation or another, for a decade now. Efforts to win over Tehran have been encumbered by mutual suspicion, political sensitivities (there is always the charge of appeasement) and sheer force of law.

Many of the sanctions the Islamic Republic most objects to are already on the statute book, whether as UN Resolutions, EU agreements or US law. No wonder it is difficult to come up with a compelling offer; few countries can change their laws by fiat.

On Monday, Tehran attacked one of the latest ideas seemingly floated by the world’s major powers – the notion the US could roll back recently imposed sanctions on gold sales to Iran.

The idea may have been designed to help Western allies – notably Turkey –as much as to alleviate Iran’s economic isolation. Last year Ankara became the world’s leading gold exporter to Iran, whether directly or through entrepôts such as the UAE. Demand from the Islamic Republic helped Turkey’s overall exports of the metal reach levels of $1.5bn-$2bn some months.

The trade has various explanations – chief of which is that bank transactions with Iran have become ever more problematic, particularly in the wake of measures affecting Swift, a group that facilitates electronic funds transfers. Against this backdrop, Tehran started taking payment for its oil and gas exports to Ankara in Turkish Lira – instead of via bank transfer – and using the money to buy gold it then ships home. Read more

Tags: diplomacy, EU, gas, gold, Iran, nuclear, oil, Tehran, trade, Turkey, UN, US
Posted in Iran, Turkey | Permalink

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The World

Iran

Smart Reads May 15, 2013

Smart Reads May 13, 2013

Smart Reads April 5, 2013

Israel and the US: ten things to watch out for on Obama’s Middle East trip

Smart Reads March 15, 2013

Three questions on Obama’s trip to Israel

Smart Reads March 12, 2013

Smart Reads March 5, 2013

Iran, Almaty and three reasons to be cautious

Iran, Turkey, and the gold-for-gas trade

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