Iran’s uranium enrichment program has increased its production rate by 17 percent in recent months and by 84 percent since 2009, according to a new study by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. Author Greg Jones projected that Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to fuel a nuclear weapon in about 62 days if it chose to do so. Jones based his estimate on data drawn from the May 24 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which spelled out in greater detail than ever before the growing concerns that …
According to unconfirmed reports, two missile warheads capable of being armed with a nuclear weapon have been acquired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Reza Kahlili, a former member of the Revolutionary Guards who became a spy for the CIA before defecting to the United States, charged in an article posted on FoxNews.com that the missile warheads were produced by a “joint military-industrial project” that included Iran, Pakistan, China, and Ukraine. According to Kahlili, “The Ukrainians provided the design for the warheads, while the Chinese and Pakistanis delivered the technology, …
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today addressed a joint session of Congress and proclaimed that his government is willing to make “painful compromises” for peace with the Palestinians, but he ruled out any proposal that sacrifices Israel’s security needs or its identity as a Jewish state. In a lengthy speech that was interrupted 29 times by standing ovations and once by an incoherent protester, Netanyahu said that “Israel will not return to the indefensible boundaries of 1967” and that any agreement would have to take into consideration the “vast demographic …
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits President Barack Obama at the White House today for three hours of meetings, he will likely ask the President a very important question: Do you stand by the long-standing U.S. commitments to Israel’s future as a Jewish state? He’s right to ask the question. In a speech yesterday on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East following the “Arab Spring” uprisings, President Obama broached the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Notably, he stated that, as part of finding peace between Israel and Palestine, …
In his much-hyped speech on the Middle East and North Africa, President Obama made the case that “a moment of opportunity” in the region should not be lost. “Sometimes, in the course of history,” the President remarked, “the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years.” If the cause of freedom is sweeping around the world—and all Americans can hope that it is—then history tells us that more often than not it has been the quest …
President Obama today delivered a lengthy speech on U.S. policy in the Middle East that promised continued American support for democratic transitions in the countries influenced by the “Arab Spring.” He outlined an overly optimistic vision of what an Israeli–Palestinian peace settlement would look like. But he missed an opportunity to express strong U.S. support for democratic opposition movements brutally repressed by two dictatorships that stand as the chief barriers to realizing American goals in the Middle East: Iran and Syria. The President reviewed the “extraordinary change” that has recently …
President Obama was true to his advance publicity today as he addressed an audience at the U.S. State Department. The almost hour-long speech had been built up, in classic Obama Administration style, through interviews, social media, tweets, and advance releases as post–Osama bin Laden outreach to the peoples of the Arab world and Middle East. The speech was intended to capture the hope and change of the Arab Spring. The speech was perfectly timed with prime time in the Middle East and Europe—its target audiences—and once again the Obama publicity …
Earlier this week, former National Security Adviser Jim Jones was promoting “a type of Marshall Plan for emerging democratic states like Egypt.” The White House has now stated that in his speech on the Middle East this morning, President Obama will announce a new foreign aid package for Egypt. Egypt’s financial situation is undeniably dire. As David P. Goldman noted two weeks ago in the Asia Times, “Egypt is running out of food and, more gradually, running out of money with which to buy it. . . Egypt imports half …
Syria’s embattled Bashar al-Assad regime has pulled no punches in its ruthless repression of Syria’s long-suffering people. With the exception of Muammar Qadhafi’s Libyan regime, no other Arab government has spilled so much blood to maintain itself in power against peaceful demonstrators that have flooded the streets in protest during this “Arab Spring.” Since the protests began two months ago, more than 750 demonstrators have been killed. Assad deployed tanks to confront demonstrators, and this week his army bombarded Syria’s third largest city, Homs, with tank shells.
In January, Heritage Senior Research Fellow Jim Phillips predicted that Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution would spark uprisings throughout the Arab world. Four months later, North Africa and the Middle East are experiencing substantial governmental transformations, and there is no end in sight. Tunisia As the first leadership casualty of the “Arab Spring,” Tunisia’s former president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, is now wanted by Tunisian authorities on 18 counts of criminal activity. Interpol has also issued an arrest warrant for the former president now seeking refuge in Saudi Arabia. Despite setting elections …
