In the wake of Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies, including Canada, opened an all-out economic front to the war. Western leaders have announced dizzying arrays of economic sanctions aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deadly adventurism. But as the last six weeks of…

The ongoing talks between Iran and several world powers aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear accord have been centred on technical and legal issues ranging from the enrichment of uranium to the lifting of economic sanctions. The United States, having exited the agreement in 2018, is actively negotiating its re-entry…

Although Biden’s win presents an opportunity for diplomacy, it is likely to result in a modest detente between Washington and Tehran. — In many ways, a Joe Biden administration will govern in radically different ways than the outgoing president. On certain key issues, such as pandemic relief and climate change, this will certainly be true. On others, particularly when it comes to longstanding U.S. …

This language goes hand in hand with the draconian policies it serves to validate — the United States government has effectively criminalized global trade with Iran. — Since 1979, when Iranian revolutionaries overthrew the Western-backed monarchy in Tehran, condemning Iran has been a staple of politics in the United States and Canada. …

The lead singer of my favourite band was e-mailing me in between shows on tour, and I was bugging out. — Listening to music is commonly a one-sided affair. You place the needle, insert a disc, or press play to hear tracks, and occasionally get to experience a live concert. But in 2006, I began a series of email conversations with my favourite band’s lead singer, Paul Murphy of Wintersleep. It’s…

A reminder of how sport has helped bring the United States and Iran together, and in some instances, made them the “strongest allies”. — Jordan Burroughs / Twitter One who knows him/herself and others will find out here that East and West are no longer separable. -Geotze Both Iranian and American football fans were brought to their knees through tragic goals in injury time in Brazil last week, perhaps a cruel reminder that sport…

Instagrams from two weeks in Iran — My flight landed at Imam Khomeini airport only days before President Rouhani’s speech at the UN General Assembly in New York last September (2013). As a friendly reminder of the prominent role politics plays in greater Iranian society, the long drive into Tehran provided the cab driver with a lengthy interrogation as to how Western, in my particular case Canadian, media portrayed Iranians.

Profiling the figure tasked with executing Iranian foreign policy and bringing the nuclear crisis to an end — Prior to ceding the podium to Mohammad Javad Zarif, then Iranian envoy at the United Nations in October 2005, Bob Einhorf introduced Zarif with the following words about his Iranian colleague, “Ambassador Zarif has earned the reputation at the U.N as being one of New York’s most talented, most effective…

Upon assuming office in 2013, President Rouhani announced with confidence that his government possessed the political will to “constructively engage” with the West. Rouhani began by nominating Mohammad Javad Zarif, United Nations veteran and familiar face in Washington as his Minister of Foreign Affairs, and continued by transferring administration of…