Israel has spent five decades pushing US and Iran toward direct war: ex-FM

TEHRAN – Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says successive Israeli governments have spent the past five decades trying to push the United States and Iran into direct military conflict.

Iran emerges stronger and more determined in the war, says French expert

TEHRAN - Convinced that it has already defeated both the world’s foremost military power and its Israeli ally, the Islamic Republic of Iran is likely to emerge from its confrontation with Trump in a position of overwhelming regional dominance, argues former French minister and international politics expert Pierre Lellouche.

By Xavier Villar

The lies that built a war: Deconstructing Washington’s shifting justifications for attacking Iran

MADRID – One way to analyze the current U.S. aggression against Iran is through the political language that precedes and organizes it. In 2003, the invasion of Iraq was justified by a discursive apparatus centered on weapons of mass destruction that never appeared. The sequence is known: first, a set of propositions is presented as self-evident; then, reality is read through them. The decision for war does not emerge from the evidence. The evidence is adapted to the decision.

By Soheila Zarfam 

UNSC session shows West failed in snapback gamble 

Meeting sees US and Europe defend hardline stance, Iran and allies call for end to failed approach

TEHRAN – Western states dragged Iran and members of the UN Security Council to a session on Tuesday to push for the implementation of pre-JCPOA UN sanctions against Iran, which the E3 (Germany, UK, France) managed to be reinstated back in August, but faced substantial challenges in implementing them due to opposition from a host of countries, including Iran’s most powerful allies, Russia and China.

By Faramarz Kouhpayeh

One more sign IAEA is a Western tool

New resolution asks Iran allow UN inspectors into battered nuclear sites, doesn’t mention US-Israeli strikes

TEHRAN – The growing possibility that Iran may be forced to take drastic measures regarding its nuclear program has yet to frustrate the West’s ambitions to unnerve the country. On Thursday, the IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a resolution—drafted by the E3 (Germany, France, and the UK) and the U.S.—demanding that Iran step up cooperation with the UN nuclear agency. 

By Soheila Zarfam

Why is Trump lying about talks with Iran?

TEHRAN – While speaking to reporters during his Oval Office meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. President Donald Trump told one lie and one half-truth about Iran. The lie was egregious, and the partial truth carried little persuasive weight.

By Soheila Zarfam

Pezeshkian says 'Iran will not kneel'

President appears less hopeful of diplomacy with West after an all-out war and snapback of UN sanctions

TEHRAN – Iran will not bow to Western pressure and is prepared to defend itself against any threat, President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Monday, signalling a hardening stance as the nation strengthens its military capabilities and regional alliances in response to renewed Western pressure and security threats.

By Soheila Zarfam 

Last chance for diplomacy 

A China-Russia resolution could prevent a dramatic Iran-West escalation as Tehran attempts to address illogical demands

THERAN – The United Nations Security Council on Friday, was preparing to vote on a resolution put forth by China and Russia, calling for the extension of UN sanctions relief for Iran, sanctions that E3 (Germany, Britain, and France) began a process to reinstate in late August. 

By Mona Hojat Ansari 

Iran says Europe ignored ‘logical’ offer based on ‘baseless excuses’

A day after Macron accused Araghchi of lacking agency, the E3 caved in to US pressure and officially began snapback of UN sanctions

TEHRAN – As a leader who has frequently talked about how “concerned” he is about Iran’s battered nuclear program in recent weeks, Emanuel Macron of France inarguably blunted any efforts to prevent tensions from shooting up when he sat down with a Zionist journalist on Thursday and announced that Europe will re-instate UN sanctions against Iran, regardless of what the country has done or might do in the future.

By Mona Hojat Ansari

Another blow to diplomacy

E3 tells UNSC it’s triggering ‘snapback’ to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran, Tehran says it will respond

TEHRAN – When Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was vying for the presidency last year, his willingness to give diplomacy with the West another chance was his main point of distinction from his conservative rival, Saeed Jalili, who has likened negotiating Iran's nuclear program with the West to the biblical story of the Israelites worshipping a "golden calf." Perhaps Iranians voted for Pezeshkian because they believed a diplomatic solution with the West was still possible.