Vatanka Reports
News and Analysis on the Greater Middle East 
 

The American public remains justifiably anxious about Iran’s nuclear program.

The Iranian public is very optimistic and hopeful that the painful economic sanctions will soon begin to be rolled back.

As the June 30 deadline for a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 approaches, the world is eagerly following the fortunes of political moderate figures in Tehran.

Tehran is full of anticipation as the June 30 deadline for a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 approaches.

As the world awaits the outcome of the June 30 deadline for a deal between Tehran and the P5+1, the Iranians continue to weigh their options.

Most observers of the current nuclear negotiations with Iran have focused on the scope and timing of sanctions relief. Tehran insists that sanctions be immediately lifted once a final deal is reached; Washington seeks a gradual phase-out. Lost in the discussion is the fact that few countries have as much at stake in the outcome as Oman. For this state on the horn of the Arabian Peninsula, the diplomatic and economic risks are high.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have always been thorny, but rarely has the state of affairs been as venomous as it is today.

Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, was on his way back to Tehran from Lausanne as accolades began to pile up.

President Hassan Rouhani’s recent trip to Turkmenistan cannot be dismissed as a one-off.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the Congress this week was as eagerly anticipated in Tehran as it was in Washington.

When the Houthis, a Shia rebel group in Yemen, forced the country’s pro-Western president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, to flee the capital this past January

These four Iranian capabilities keep Saudi leaders awake at night.