Hassan Rouhani

President Donald Trump with senior advisors in a makeshift situation room at Trump’s Mar a Lago estate in Florida, April 7, 2017. (White House photo)

Can the Iran Deal survive the Trump administration?

From a White House flirting with a policy of regime change to a changing political reality in the Gulf to the terror attacks in Tehran, the Iranian nuclear deal’s survival is anything but guaranteed. By Derek Davison The Iran nuclear deal—Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—is facing multiple threats, and whatever hope there may…

By +972 Magazine June 14, 2017

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (World Economic Forum)

Iran presidential elections: No easy victory for Rouhani

For years, elections in Iran have been likened to a furnace that everyone must feed to fire up public participation. But the temperature is not always controllable. By Ali Reza Eshraghi Iran’s presidential elections have never been without drama. This year, the Guardian Council—a group tasked to approve candidates—set a new record for the number…

By +972 Magazine April 28, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry greets Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on March 20, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland, before their advisers resumed negotiations about the future of Iran's nuclear program. (State Department photo)

If nuclear deal fails, we can kiss Iran’s moderates goodbye

Should Iran and the West fail to come to an agreement, the battle will no longer be between the right and left, but rather between democratic forces and totalitarian ones. By Ahmad Rafat There is no doubt that the negotiators, whom these days are working to achieve a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear plan, do…

By +972 Magazine June 29, 2015

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (World Economic Forum)

Israel’s new motto: ‘Never trust a smiling Iranian’

There’s something that’s bothering Israelis these days, besides the Iranian nuclear program. It’s the Iranian Smile Assault. I’m not kidding. That’s what the Israeli government and Israeli media are labeling the appearances of Iranian officials in various international forums. When it was Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the talks for curbing Tehran’s nukes, Israelis…

By Ami Kaufman January 27, 2014

+972's People of the Year: Bloggers' picks

+972 People of the Year: Bloggers’ picks

Featured prominently in headlines this year were diplomatic initiatives that averted wars and lowered nuclear tensions, boycott victories, Israeli labor organizing, settlers settling in to mainstream politics, human rights defenders and at least one ruthless dictator. +972 bloggers pick the people who, for them, defined Israel, Palestine and the wider region in 2013. Read why…

By +972 Magazine December 30, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits sits with his fellow P5+1 foreign ministers -- as well as EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, far right -- at the UN Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, after the group concluded negotiations about Iran's nuclear capabilities on November 24, 2013. (State Dept. photo)

An important year for Iran nuclear talks: What Israel got wrong

President Obama’s exceptional appearance at the Saban Forum amounts to an authorized interpretation of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Israeli leaders should be paying attention to the points he made. By Shemuel Meir The nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the “Joint Plan of Action,” which was signed in Geneva on November 24 between Iran…

By +972 Magazine December 22, 2013

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (photo: Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org)

On Iran, Netanyahu chooses politics over strategy

Netanyahu did not take Israel’s strategic interests into account in his latest confrontation with the United States. Will his decision cost him when it comes to the ballot box? Only time will tell. By Ilan Baruch Over the last several days, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s sour face has peered over at us through the screen. While his…

By +972 Magazine December 5, 2013

EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton (left) with Javad Zarif, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. (photo: UN PHOTO/Jean-Marc Ferré)

Under the radar: Israel’s security establishment supports new Iran agreement

The Israeli brass’ stated view of the Geneva talks and Sunday’s accord is plainly at odds with the loud, sustained ‘gevalt!’ coming from the Prime Minister’s Office and cabinet. The news from Israel is that Israel hates the Iranian nuclear deal struck in Geneva – but the news is not entirely accurate. It’s true, of…

By Larry Derfner November 25, 2013

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during UN General Assembly speech, October 1, 2013. (Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO)

With tens of thousands of Jews living in Iran, why is Bibi calling their rulers Nazis?

A. He’s lying; B. He’s reckless; C. He’s both. If Netanyahu really believes the Iranian regime is another Nazi Germany, if he really believes its creed is “death to the Jews” as he said in his speech this week to the UN General Assembly, why does he heap contempt on the regime and its…

By Larry Derfner October 4, 2013

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at the UN General Assembly. (screenshot: YouTube)

It’s stupid, dangerous and wrong to demand Iran’s humiliation

Whatever he tells the UN, Rouhani will not agree to give up nuclear weapons to please his country’s nuclear-armed enemies. And when it’s clear that he won’t, it’s his enemies who will face humiliation. I don’t believe Rouhani means it when he says Iran doesn’t want nuclear weapons. And even if he does, I don’t believe…

By Larry Derfner September 27, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at their joint press conference in Jerusalem (photo: Koby Gidon / Government Press Office)

Obama’s handling of Syria crisis revives Bibi’s hopes of bombing Iran

And this time, it’s hard to see who will be able to stop him. Netanyahu hasn’t said anything publicly, but the consensus here is that the lesson he’s taking from Obama’s refusal to bomb Syria straight away, and instead to turn to Congress for approval, is that the U.S. president can’t be trusted to keep…

By Larry Derfner September 1, 2013