Trita Parsi

While the bar was deliberately set low, the talks with Iran in Istanbul went as well as they could: Both side engaged sincerely, both agreed to a second meeting within five weeks, and both agreed on a framework for continued talks -- the non-proliferation treaty with all its rights and...

If President Barack Obama and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei do not compromise at the upcoming nuclear talks next Saturday, the region will -- in the words of a diplomat involved in the matter -- head towards "total war." For the sake of world peace, both sides must compromise.

Despite the words of friendship, the diverging perspectives of the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government on key issues in the Middle East -- the Arab uprisings, the Palestinian issue and the Iranian nuclear program -- are profound.

The dispute on the nuclear issue is centered on red lines. Israel,...

This post originally appeared on The Hill.

Just as with the lead-up to the Iraq War, the pathway to war with Iran will be paved with false assertions, self-fulfilling saber-rattling and political weakness that might seem insignificant now, but will in retrospect turn out to be disastrous.

America is once again drifting toward war. Less than ten years after the U.S. invasion (and subsequent occupation) of Iraq, its myriad lessons seem forgotten. A familiar, toxic mix of sloppy politicians and politicized foreign policy experts is telling the American public that an irrational Iranian regime hell-bent on acquiring...

This post originally appeared on The Nation.

Only 12 minutes into his presidency, Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world and Iran, offering America's hand of friendship if Iran would in turn unclench its fist. Yet three years later, we are closer to war than we were...

The temperature between the West and Iran has increased dramatically. Escalation by both sides coupled with a reckless discourse that has normalised the idea of war have created an environment where military confrontation is a rising probability. The next escalatory step pondered by Europe -- in the midst of its...

The disgraceful attack by hardline Basijis -- the same group that beat and killed peaceful demonstrators in Iran in 2009 -- against the British embassy in Tehran appears on the surface to be a response to Britain's role in imposing crippling sanctions on Iran. The US and the EU are...

With news of an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, U.S.-Iran relations have reached a new low. If the allegations are true, this deplorable act should be strongly condemned. To that end, the Beltway is already buzzing with calls for a "robust response" that will "send...

In the past few weeks, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) has been launching relentless attacks against the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). The immediate reason is the Iranian-American campaign spearheaded by NIAC to keep the MEK on the U.S.'s terrorist list. NIAC and others have launched this campaign because...

In the 10 years that I have lived in Washington, I have never seen lobbyists for al-Qaeda parade through the halls of Congress. I have not seen any events on Capitol Hill organized by Hamas. And I have not seen any American politicians take campaign contributions from the Islamic Jihad....

Today, I carry the torch of a rolling hunger strike for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American journalists who have been detained in Iran for more than twenty months without a trial. In these long twenty months, they have only been permitted two short phone calls, one...

On March 20, President Obama marked Norooz, the Iranian New Year, with his strongest words to date in solidarity with the people of Iran. "Though times may seem dark," he told Iranians, "I am with you."

Days later, with significant US backing, the UN Human Rights Council voted...

On Monday, May 24, 2010, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran delivered a letter to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) outlining Iran's commitments to export 1200 kg of Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) to Turkey in exchange for fuel assemblies to power the Tehran...

Last week, Congress took the unprecedented step to recognize the Iranian New Year, Norooz. The House passed resolution H.Res.267, sponsored by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) and wished the Iranian-American community, as well as the Iranian people, a happy New Year. The resolution was as uncontroversial as could be -- just...

Congressman Barrett,

The National Iranian American Council and the Iranian-American community is outraged by your plan to reintroduce legislation mandating the deportation of thousands of Iranian students and workers who came to this country legally in search of education, liberty, and a better way of life.

Frustration is growing among the Iranian people over the Obama administration's silence on human rights abuses in Iran. Condemnations of Tehran's abhorrent treatment of its people have been few and far between. But before nuclear diplomacy moves towards a premature ending, the Obama administration must act quickly to reinvigorate its...

Only a few weeks after US-Iran diplomacy began in earnest, it seems to be heading towards a premature ending. Rather than tensions reduction, the world has witnessed the opposite. Iran is refusing to accept a fuel swap deal brokered by the IAEA, the IAEA has passed a resolution rebuking Iran,...

When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to the UN this week, his biggest fear will be that the visit will be marred by international condemnations over election fraud and the massive human rights abuses taking place in Iran under his watch. If he has his way, however, the international media may forget...

Amid continued political confusion in Iran following election fraud and widespread human rights abuses, the Iranian government responded to the P5 plus 1 nuclear negotiations package by offering (made available by ProPublica) its own rather imprecise and abstract proposal to resolve -- not the nuclear issue, per...