Vatanka Reports
News and Analysis on the Greater Middle East 
 

A specter is haunting the Middle East -- the specter of democracy.

Half a century after independence and two decades since the liberation from Iraqi occupation, Kuwait’s bitter experience with pan-Arabism and ongoing regional power plays have affected its growth.

Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, no domestic group has embarrassed the authorities in Tehran more than Jundallah.

تا سال ۱۳۸۴ و انتخاب محمود احمدی‌نژاد -که خود را از فعالان سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی در زمان جنگ می خواند- به ریاست جمهوری، سپاه به قدرت سیاسی‌-اقتصادی مهمی تبدیل شده بود.

Brazil’s self-perceptions and aspirations as an emerging global power are a key to understanding why the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has chosen this particular moment in time to deepen ties with an Iranian regime that is facing crisis, both at home and abroad.

Given the last two weeks of violent regime crackdown on popular protesters in Iran and subsequent international reprimand, the immediate prospect for the resumption of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the West looks bleak

As Iran continues to witnesses the largest ever popular mobilization against the Islamist regime, the news coverage by the country’s state-owned media remains emphatically against the protesters.

As the nuclear standoff with Iran runs into its sixth year, prospects for a compromise deal remains as remote as ever.

Did the group assassinate a ranking Shi'ite cleric in order to send a message about Iraq?

Sectarian tension in Iraq is putting stress on the strategic partnership between Shia-dominated Iran and predominantly Sunni Syria.

Lingering acrimony in Afghan-Pakistani relations could create a diplomatic opening for Iran to increase its economic and political influence in Kabul

If the UN Security Council imposes economic sanctions on Iran in coming weeks for its pursuit of nuclear capabilities, one figure in Tehran's political scene would take the greatest blame – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.