Current BICOM Spotlight: Iran http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight Summary- The speeches to the UN General Assembly last week by President Shimon Peres of Israel and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran illustrate in stark, graphic terms the competing visions… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4729 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4729 China urged Iran on Tuesday to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but distanced itself from calls for sanctions following a report that said Tehran was stalling scrutiny of its… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4614 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4614 Iran is continuing to defy UN demands that it suspend uranium enrichment, the UN atomic watchdog said on Monday. "Contrary to the decisions of the (UN) Security Council, Iran has not… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4608 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4608 Published in Ha'aretz, By Aluf Benn and Amos Harel  Despite reservations in Washington regarding a possible Israeli strike on Iran, the American administration will supply Israel with sophisticated weapons for heavily… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4597 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4597 The United States has turned down an Israeli request for "bunker buster" bombs and mid-air refuelling planes for fear they could be used to attack Iran, the Haaretz newspaper said. The… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4584 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4584 The following was published on the mediapoint website on September 11, 2008. The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose handling of Iran's nuclear defiance has provoked occasional US displeasure,… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4574 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4574 As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the international community enter a more dangerous and uncertain phase, further tensions and confrontations are likely on an often-overlooked front: the vital shipping lanes… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4557 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4557 Writing in the Financial Times, Najmeh Bozorgmehr reveals that President Ahmedinejad's messianism is causing concern inside Iranian political and religious circles. Iranian ‘cult' of imam sparks controversy By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4378 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4378 Deputy Prime Minister and Transportation Minister of Israel Shaul Mofaz and former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Nicholas Burns addressed the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on August… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4244 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4244 U.S. undersecretary of commerce Mario Mancuso addressed The Washington Institute for Near East Policy on July 22, 2008. The following is the prepared text of his remarks. For over two decades,… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4154 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4154 Executive summary A meeting in Geneva over the weekend between envoys of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, and Iranian chief nuclear… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4391 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4391 Summary Last Friday, Iran delivered its official response to the package of incentives presented to it by the international community. Iran announced that its position on uranium… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4390 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4390 New sanctions against Iran, including an assets freeze of its biggest bank, were agreed by the EU today. Iran's Bank of Melli has been blacklisted by the decision, which implements… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3916 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3916 Introduction Last week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington coincided with the 2008 presidential race finally being reduced to two candidates.[i] It became the first real… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4384 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4384 Introduction New developments in the Middle East merit reflection specifically in terms of their Iranian context and how they affect Iran's strategic ambitions to assert influence across the region.  The distinct… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4380 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4380 Executive Summary In the course of President Bush's visit to Israel, Israeli officials were keen to convey clear messages to the president on a number of salient issues: These were: … http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4377 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#4377 Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a planned gas project in Iran, after coming under pressure not to participate from US lawmakers who were concerned about Iran's… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3640 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3640 Leading international powers are to make a new offer to Iran to end its controversial nuclear enrichment programme, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said today. Mr Miliband said that the new approach… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3593 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3593 Executive Summary Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, American administrations have struggled to find the right diplomatic strategy for affecting Iran's leadership and the choices it makes.  The Carter administration tried… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3556 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3556 On April 25, a second round of voting will determine the remaining eighty-eight seats of the Iranian Majlis. The first round, held on March 14, decided 202 seats and was… http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3558 http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/spotlight#3558