A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and women's rights activist has created a controversy by posting a picture on social media that shows her sitting on a chair with Islamic motifs while holding a glass of wine. – RFE/RL’s Persian Letters
Iran's foreign minister says the nuclear deal reached last year with world powers can't be renegotiated despite Republican presidential contender Donald Trump's pledge to do so if elected. – Associated Press
FPI Senior Policy Analyst Tzvi Kahn writes: The White House has actively facilitated the Boeing sale despite its frequent pledges to combat Tehran’s support for terrorism — a policy that only encourages Iranian misbehavior. “Have no doubt,” said Secretary of State John Kerry last September, “The United States will oppose Iran’s destabilizing policies with every national security tool available.” If the White House is serious about this commitment, it should not encourage companies to supply Iran with advanced technology made in America. – Foreign Policy Initiative
Adonis Hoffman writes: If America's new leader is concerned about how the rest of the world will view an about-face on our policy toward Iran, there will be countless opportunities to mend fences on economic, trade, humanitarian and security matters in the future. When it comes to closer relations with Iran, it is time for the U.S. to just say "no." – The Hill
“As the preceding pages make clear, we do not believe the JCPOA will trigger a cascade of proliferation. Due to a combination of technical, political, economic, and strategic factors, none of the most talked-about entrants in a new nuclear arms race are likely to acquire nuclear weapons. Consequently, we find the net nonproliferation effects of the JCPOA in the region to be positive. By removing the most likely near-term instigator of competitive nuclear arming -- Iran’s own acquisition of nuclear weapons -- the JCPOA will restrain future proliferation in the Middle East. However, although we find the chances of a cascade of regional nuclear proliferation to be slight, they are not zero and much will depend on how effectively the JCPOA is enforced and on a range of other factors previously discussed. Moreover, the turmoil that currently afflicts the Middle East renders any judgment as to the ‘most likely’ course of events prone to future revision.”
Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh write: In his capable hands, Holocaust festivals become yet another reason to support Rouhani’s “moderates.” And Western opprobrium not reinforced with sanctions just affirms the correctness and utility of the mullahs’ anti-Jewish worldview. What matters most is the war for Muslim minds, and the clerical regime intends to exploit anti-Semitism for all that it’s worth. – Washington Post
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield and Ramesh Sepehrrad write: Obscured by the drama of America’s presidential campaign, one major foreign policy issue—the future direction of the U.S. approach to Iran—is at a crossroads…[I]n the aftermath of the July 2015 nuclear accord, statements by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iranian actions have provided little indication that U.S.-Iran relations are moving in a direction more respectful of American interests. – The National Interest
Bret Nelson writes: Iranian hard-liners were quick to condemn a meeting between two friends, Faezeh Hashemi and Fariba Kamalabadi, this month in Tehran. Although Hashemi’s father, former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is considered a moderate, he too publicly chastised her for meeting with a “heretic.” Such is the plight of Baha’is, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. – Freedom House’s Freedom at Issue