Iran
Commentary
Iranian protests pose little threat to Rowhani or Khamenei
Originally published in The Australian (Photo: Getty Images)
Rodger Shanahan
The smugglers of Musandam
In 2017 the waters of the Persian Gulf are still choppy. There is US President Donald Trump's choice to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, Iran's bluster under President Hassan…
Macron, America and Iran: Searching for a middle way
French President Emmanuel Macron is considering a visit to Tehran in early 2018. Macron would be the first French President to visit Iran since Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1976,…
On a Trumpian track for the next Middle East war
In some respects, US President Donald Trump and the Iranian theocratic regime deserve each other.
Neither respect international agreements, except when it suits their purposes…
Iraq, the Kurds, and the mess America has made
Tensions between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are once again threatening to boil over. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the military to …
Commentary
Iran nuclear deal: ‘Trump’s approach can hurt US interests’
Originally published in The Australian (Photo: Office of the Supreme Leader)
Rodger Shanahan
Trump on Iran: Speaking loudly and carrying a small stick
For Western nations which want to enter the miasma that is Middle Eastern politics, Theodore Roosevelt's proverbial instruction to 'speak softly and carry a big stick' is not…
Trump’s high-risk Iran strategy
This week US President Donald Trump could announce that Iran is not complying with the 2015 nuclear deal, despite a number of US allies and officials - including some inside the…
The increasingly fragile Iran nuclear deal
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month, US President Donald Trump called into question Washington’s continue support of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran…
Saudi Arabia’s change of tack on Iraq
For too long, the Saudis have complained about the 'loss' of Iraq to Iranian influence without acknowledging that their almost complete refusal to establish ties with Baghdad…