By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI, June 14 (Reuters) - Iranians began voting on Friday in a presidential election unlikely to result in seismic shifts in it...

Although forging a settlement will require both sides to muster a significant amount of political courage, it is well worth the risk. Obama's reelection should remove some political constraints, yet domestic resistance within the U.S. and Iran could still impede rapprochement.

The main problem I saw in last night's debate for President Obama was his unwillingness to point up the many successes he has had in his last three years as president. In foreign policy, a fresh success is brewing which no one seems to notice.

What seems to matter to Iran's rulers most is not the end goal of weapons, but the very process of tension with the outside of world. If we simply focus on stopping Iran from having nuclear weapons, the regime might in fact stand to gain more in the end.

The government message is clear: communicating independently with Iranians or echoing their voices is not allowed. And it works.

Though the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1980 ended unsatisfactorily from the point of view of U.S. honor, a great power needs to get beyond residual rancors.

Ahmadinejad's presence at the UN General Assembly provides the international community an opportunity to hold him accountable for gross human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime.

With much of the population in the country having been raised under the Islamic Republic's counter-hegemonic ideology, subverting authority may become engrained in a manner that does not give the regime and its clerics immunity.

Does America have the guts, and the integrity, to finally help those struggling against Iran's regime? Or are we going to continue to play poker with Ahmadinejad, bluffing our way into a deadly showdown?

Acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi was jailed in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, this past March. Iran never revealed why Mr Panahi was detained,...

And so Iran is backing down. The Islamic Republic does it in its own way, tortuously, but it is backing down -- a fact made evident this morning in two announcements by officials from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Erdogan might see himself as a leader who will bring justice to the region by diplomacy, but he'd better be careful in case he gets a 'Muslim bomb' just next door.

America has no vision for the Middle East. Until a policy on Syria is drafted, Washington will be improvising on how to deal with Damascus.

Alan, first, I am pleased to be asked what my opinion is rather than to be told. You ask whether I claim a direct relationship between Israel's acti...

Brazil and Turkey's efforts to find a solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, which generated a negotiated agreement with Iran last week, must be seen in the context of a growing challenge to the international political order.

When I first heard that my brother, his girlfriend and their friend had been detained in Iran I felt my heart sink. More than 100 days later, I still get that feeling each morning.

Will Iran accept the kind of deal ElBaradai is said to be seeking -- a deal that gives Iran limited enrichment in exchange for a form of nationwide surveillance?

Is the UN outdated, bloated, and over? I suspect so. By having meetings with dictators, we are showcasing people who would be marginalized if we didn't bring them an audience of global media.