Was the Iranian Uranium Enrichment Plant at Natanz Sabotaged?

According to the international media, the fingerprints of Israel and the US are all over the recent series of explosions at strategic targets throughout Iran—notably the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, which had been used to assemble advanced centrifuges. The demolition of that site would likely result in a one- to two-year delay in Tehran’s nuclear program.

What Is Driving the “Has-Beens”?

Many are wondering: how have retired leading members of the Israeli defense establishment come to locate themselves on the political left, at times even on the radical left? Having devoted their professional lives to the task of defending the country and carried out the orders of the political echelon, they are now spearheading various “anti” movements.

Trump-Kim-Moon: Back to Square One?

Two years after the summits Kim Jong-un attended with Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in, respectively, the three states are almost back to square one. Initially, there was great optimism that it would be possible to dismantle the North Korean nuclear and missile program and achieve peace among all three parties—but misunderstandings by Washington, Pyongyang, and Seoul of one another’s goals led to the failure of the process.

The China-Iran Deal: A Trial Balloon with a Clear Message

Hobbled by harsh US sanctions and a global economic downturn, Iran has discovered a new weapon: hot air in the form of a cooperation deal with China that carries messages to its opponents. China, albeit far less economically impaired, sees virtue in this arrangement too.

China and Iran Reach a New Stage in Their Strategic Partnership

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tehran in January 2016 laid the foundations for the Iran-China comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. The two countries are now said to be in the final stages of negotiating an economic and security partnership that has military implications. This would create new and potentially dangerous flashpoints in the balance of power in the Middle East and would contribute to the ongoing deterioration of China-US relations.

The Iran-China 25-Year Plan: A Preliminary Assessment

Ofira Seliktar
July 21, 2020
Paper No. 1653

The newly announced Iran-China 25 Year Comprehensive Partnership is unprecedented in its scope. It contains a “mystery clause” that gives China control over how Iran spends its resources, which could ultimately amount to Iran’s selling its sovereignty to Beijing. The close military collaboration between the countries also has major implications for the decades-long US domination of the Gulf and large stretches of the Indian Ocean.

The Houthi “Khums” Tax at the Center of Iran’s Geopolitical Strategy

Iran has successfully coopted local separatist movements and uprisings in an effort to create a globalized and integrated network of proxies with international reach. The Houthi Hashemite “Khums” tax is the first step toward systematizing the acquisition of lands, property, and natural resources in support of Iran’s geopolitical agenda. It is also intended to resurrect the concept of Hashemite descent for rulers and religious authorities in an effort to displace the Arab governments that stand in the way of the Islamic Republic’s dominion and control over the ultimate prize: Mecca and Medina.

Iran’s Postmodern Jihad Against the Jews

The rise of Islamism as a postmodern ideology is inextricably tied to a congenital, and fundamentally antisemitic, negation of the Jewish State. Israel’s survival depends on the defeat of Islamism and the development of liberal democracy in the Middle East.

Freedom of Speech in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Edy Cohen
July 19, 2020
Paper No. 1650

Saudi journalist Abdul Hamid Ghabin has appeared multiple times in the international media, including the Israeli media, to express support for Israel. On live broadcasts from Riyadh, one of the most conservative states in the Persian Gulf and an absolute monarchy, Ghabin—who once opposed normalization with Israel—has criticized both the Palestinians and Iran and has spoken openly about his support for Israel’s proposed sovereignty plan for parts of the West Bank. He now languishes in prison on false allegations and faces a possible sentence of at least 10 years.

COVID-19 and the Anti-Racism Movement Are Challenging Liberal Democracy

The Western world is experiencing two major turning points at the same time. One is the COVID-19 pandemic and the other is the global mass movement against racism. The latter, an important and justifiable drive, should be differentiated from the Black Live Matters movement, which is revolutionary Marxist, extreme left, anti-white, anti-capitalist, antisemitic, and itself racist. These two unprecedented forces have their own trajectories, but together they are challenging liberal democracy.

Perspectives Papers