Tag: Iran

France, Germany and Belgium have expressed concern about the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while in Brussels the EU's foreign chief and European Parliament president called on both partiess to stop hostilities and avoid further casualties.

What is missing from the US presidential discussions is a strategy that acknowledges the Iranian people’s desire for democratic change, whilst at the same time recognising the role that the Iranian resistance will play in the future of the country, says Brian Binley.

Iran’s rulers have every reason to be anxious. Whether real change is achieved is dependent on world powers harnessing the opposition’s momentum and backing their calls for grassroots change, writes Ivan Sascha Sheehan.

The European Union is poised to ban imports of Iranian gas into Europe as part of its efforts to ratchet up pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.

Russian punk band Pussy Riot, whose three female musicians were sentenced to two years in prison after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral, are among the candidates for the European Parliament’s annual Sakharov Prize, EurActiv has learned.

An unprecedented terrorist attack shook the Bulgarian airport of Burgas yesterday (18 July) when a terrorist activated a bomb inside a bus packed with tourists freshly arrived from Israel for holidays in the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, killing at least eight and wounding 30. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was “appalled” and “deeply shocked” by the attack.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched three-day drills yesterday (2 July) to test missiles capable of hitting targets as far away as Israel, one day after the European Union put into effect its embargo of Iranian oil.

Islamism is rising in Azerbaijan but remains a manageable threat which is unlikely to topple the country's government or seriously affect the nearby 2014 Sochi Olympics, argues Stratfor.

Policymakers worry that an Iranian atomic weapon will force the country's neighbours to explore the nuclear option, but that is not the case for Turkey, writes Sinan Ülgen.

British prime minister David Cameron is meeting Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday (17 February) to cement a £500 million (€602 million) agreement on civilian nuclear co-operation that is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs in Britain.

Meeting in New Delhi on Friday (10 February), EU and Indian leaders said they took a “significant step forward” to speed up negotiations to reach a free-trade pact by the end of the year, which would double trade between the 27-country bloc and the Asian partner.

European Union envoys failed to agree details of a planned embargo on Iranian crude yesterday (19 January), but diplomats said governments still sought to finalise the ban at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.

European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said, dealing a potentially heavy blow to Tehran just months before an Iranian election.

The European Union agreed new sanctions on Syria's oil and financial sectors yesterday (1 December) over President Bashar al-Assad's violent crackdown on protesters. EU foreign ministers also announced new sanctions against Iran, in response to the storming of the British Embassy earlier this week.

The United States, Britain and Canada yesterday (21 November) announced new sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors, steps analysts said may raise pressure on Tehran but were unlikely to halt its nuclear program.

European attitudes towards the US have improved markedly since the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, without quite reaching the levels prior to the Iraq war. However, both EU policymakers and public opinion are split on the need for a stronger EU-US partnership, according to a new poll.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joined regional leaders for an economic summit in Turkey yesterday (23 December), a month before nuclear talks with six major powers in Istanbul.

The EU imposed tougher sanctions on Iran yesterday (26 July) over its disputed nuclear programme, approving measures to block oil and gas investment and curtail the country's refining and natural gas capabilities. Hours later Tehran said it was ready to return to negotiations on a nuclear fuel swap, which stalled last year, "without conditions".

The new direction of Turkish foreign policy heralds less of a 'zero-conflict' strategy than the stirring of further tensions in the region, according to Schlomo Avineri, director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Yitzhak Rabin's first cabinet.

US intelligence showing Iran likely would have the capability to attack Europe with "scores or even hundreds" of missiles factored into the Obama administration's decision to overhaul missile defence, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on 17 June.

Turkey's agreement with Iran to store low-enriched uranium in return for fuel rods for use in a medical research reactor suggests that Ankara is disillusioned with Europe and that Turkey's post-war partnership with the West may be coming to an end, writes Sinan Ülgen, chairman of the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) in Istanbul.

As part of a campaign to avert another round of United Nations (UN) sanctions, Iran's Foreign Minister held talks with leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, HINA agency reported.

Policymakers and influential media warned that Turkey's developing ties with Iran could be counterproductive to the EU's efforts to convince Teheran that it should abandon its nuclear weapons programme.