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Robert Tait

Also by Robert Tait

September 02, 2010
Iran Risks Crash With Record Stock Market Boom, Say Economists

Analysts abroad warn that a "state-induced" boom on the Tehran stock exchange could end in a catastrophic crash, triggering a long depression that throws millions out of work.
August 27, 2010
'Torturer Of Tehran' Loses His Untouchable Status

Tehran's once-feared former chief prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, has been suspended by Iran's judiciary after being implicated in abuses at a detention center that led to the deaths of three prisoners arrested during last year's postelection turmoil.
August 21, 2010
Iran's First Nuclear Power Plant Is Born After Years Of Delays

Iran's quest for fully-fledged nuclear status passed an important landmark on August 21 when Russia began loading fuel into a power plant delayed for more than three decades.
August 20, 2010
U.S. Withdrawal 'In Name Only' As Iraq Faces Uncertain Future

The last U.S. combat troops in Iraq have left two weeks ahead of schedule. But more than seven years after the United States and "a coalition of the willing" invaded the country to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, who are the winners and losers?
August 18, 2010
Iranian President's New 'Religious-Nationalism' Alienates Hard-Line Constituency

Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is risking a breach with his fundamentalist supporters by abandoning apocalyptic religious rhetoric for a new nationalistic tone in an effort to appeal to the country's "apolitical" masses. But it has brought him into conflict with his previous religious constituency.
August 10, 2010
Iraqi Political Stalemate Raises Security Fears

A spike in bloodshed has come against a backdrop of prolonged disagreement between the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, and his principal rival, Ayad Allawi, over who should form the next government following the March parliamentary elections.
August 09, 2010
Radio Farda An Agent Of The West's 'Soft War' Against Iran, Book Says

A book published by Iran's Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry has defined RFE/RL's Persian-language outlet, Radio Farda, as part of a Western "cultural invasion" of the Islamic republic.
August 05, 2010
Karzai Risks Conflict With U.S. Over Anticorruption Body

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has set himself on a potential collision course with the Obama administration by demanding a probe into the Major Crimes Task Force, a U.S.-backed anticorruption body. His call appears to signal a bid for control of the organization amid fears that it is targeting his closest political allies.
August 02, 2010
Iran Aims to Revive Silk Road, Escape Isolation

Iran has announced plans for a spectacular festival celebrating the revival of the ancient Silk Road. While strained relations with the West have excluded it from a wider scheme to renew the historic trading route, a series of bilateral arrangements means Iran is playing an active role.
July 27, 2010
Cameron Throws Down Gauntlet To France, Germany With Backing For Turkey EU Bid

Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, has risked the wrath of Germany and France by attacking their antipathy to Turkey's prospective membership of the European Union.
July 20, 2010
Iranian Conservatives Unite In Bid To Undermine Ahmadinejad

Conservative opponents of Iran's president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, have launched a rearguard action aimed at weakening him and preventing one of his hard-line followers from succeeding him in the next presidential election.
July 14, 2010
'Kidnapped' Iranian Scientist Flies Home, With Many Questions Unanswered

Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri arrives back in Iran having "escaped" his supposed U.S. captors. But was Amiri a kidnap victim, as he has claimed, or a defector who simply changed his mind? And has any U.S. embarrassment over the affair been offset by the acquisition of valuable intelligence?
July 09, 2010
Tehran Bazaar Dispute May Herald New Regime Crackdown

Tehran's sprawling Grand Bazaar, a giant trading market and long a bastion of traditional conservatism, has erupted into open discontent against President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's government. Wary of the bazaar's symbolic importance, the government has backed down -- for now.
June 30, 2010
Turkish Internet Bans Dismay EU Advocates

Fears over freedom of speech in Turkey are growing amid increasing Internet censorship. More than 5,000 websites have been blocked under a law introduced by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) three years ago, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Now controversy over a longstanding ban on YouTube has resurfaced after restrictions were extended to other sites owned by its parent company, Google.
June 25, 2010
Iran's Musavi Tiptoes Across The Rubicon -- Maybe

Supporters of Iran opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi greeted his latest statement -- labeled as a "charter" for the Green Movement -- as a radical departure from his previous caution. Finally, they believe, Musavi has broken with his loyalty to the Islamic republic and declared his desire for a secular state and a changed constitution. But has he? Other observers insist that, far from being radical, the statement is hedged and heavily qualified - and that Musavi's aims remains fundamentally distinct from those of many of his followers in the Green Movement.
June 21, 2010
Iran and Turkey: Friends Today, Rivals Tomorrow?

It is the Middle East's most intriguing and -- to Western policy makers -- most worrying new friendship. Just as Turkey's once-close ties with Israel have rapidly deteriorated, its formerly uneasy relationship with Iran has flourished into an increasingly warm alliance. But some observers believe ties between the two neighbors may not be as harmonious as they appear.
June 10, 2010
Reformists Cling To Islamic Republic Ideal As Khamenei Sounds The Death Knell

The question lies at the core of Iran's political impasse: did the late Ayatollah Khomeini intend the country to be governed under democratic, as well as religious, principles when he established an Islamic republic to replace the rule of the shah in 1979? Reformist opposition leaders like Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi insist Khomeini envisaged a republic whose rulers would be dependent on the popular vote. But the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared that Khomeini wanted something else entirely -- a pure Islamic government.
June 02, 2010
Aid Convoy Backed Up New Turkish Policy Of 'Bashing' Israel, Analysts Say

Turkey supported an ill-fated aid flotilla bound for Gaza knowing that it would lead to confrontation with Israel and because it wanted to win sympathy in the Islamic world, Israeli analysts believe.
May 31, 2010
Assault On Aid Ship Sounds Death Knell For Israeli-Turkish Strategic Ties

It was once the key strategic relationship of the Middle East. Now, following the deadly Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, tensions between the erstwhile allies have strained to breaking point.
May 25, 2010
Turkey's 'Gandhi' Takes The Reins, Promising To March To Power

After years in the wilderness, Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party, has a new leader. Nicknamed "Gandhi Kemal" for his peaceful demeanor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu has vowed to return the party to power.

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