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Middle East

Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Obama’s Endorsement is Already Creating New Political Realities

 
NEW YORK – Engaged gay couples are the newest group to be courted in the Mid-East Conflict. A massive outdoor mural in Manhattan’s West Village depicts two men holding hands while looking at scales that weigh the gay rights enjoyed …

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A New York City Bomb Shelter

A New York City Bomb Shelter

What can you do in fifteen seconds?                                   
It takes a Keurig machine 30 seconds to brew a cup of coffee. This is the combined time two people have to make it to a bomb shelter in Sderot, a southern city in Israel.
Imagine fifteen seconds being the difference between …

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Bad moon rising again, this time over Syria

Bad moon rising again, this time over Syria


There were many dangers faced by reporters during the four-year Bosnia war. Gunfire. Freezing. Food poisoning. Checkpoints manned by drugged out crazies. Yet one fear stood out, and it was usually away from the fighting.
That was going to Zenica, a city in the central part of …

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Understanding Israel: The Arab Spring, A Discussion with Malcolm Hoenlein and Joseph Braude

Understanding Israel: The Arab Spring, A Discussion with Malcolm Hoenlein and Joseph Braude

Since the beginning of the Arab Spring, pundits, politicians, and casual observers have all wondered and speculated what the effects of the uprisings will mean for Israel.  Will the peace-treaty with Egypt hold? What will happen on the Syrian border?  What is going on with Israel’s own Arab population?
In this …

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Clerical “Closening” Between Iraq and Iran

Clerical “Closening” Between Iraq and Iran

Over at The National, Hassan Hassan has authored an excellent analysis of Iraq’s complex relationship with Iran, and the evolving nature of her ties to the Arab Gulf states. Hassan suggests Iraq’s Arab neighbors should resist knee-jerk presumptions regarding another …

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Visiting Mousa in Abu Mousa

Visiting Mousa in Abu Mousa

 
I recall having a hard time remembering all the Southern islands of Iran for exams during school years. I remember the name of “Abu Mousa” from those years. I had never thought about this island ever since. When I read the news about President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu …

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Interview: Peter Beinart Discusses Zionism, Hamas, and the Settlement Movement

Interview: Peter Beinart Discusses Zionism, Hamas, and the Settlement Movement

Peter Beinart’s newest book “The Crisis of Zionism” has garnerd significant controversy in the American-Zionist community, earning both praise and criticism.  The book is a personal reflection on what it means for the senior Daily Beast editor and CUNY professor to be a Zionist, the current state and …

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Turkey’s new Islamic-leaning Kurdish Party: A regional subsidiary of the AKP or the return of Kurdish Islamists?

Turkey’s new Islamic-leaning Kurdish Party: A regional subsidiary of the AKP or the return of Kurdish Islamists?

Turkish media recently reported that a new Islamic-leaning Kurdish party will soon join the political scene in Ankara. The new party will be named Kürdistani İslam Partisi, or the Kurdistani Islamic Party. Turkey’s Political Parties Act, however, does not permit political parties to be formed with the name of a race, sect …

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Iran and Egypt

Iran and Egypt

The fundamental divide in Islam is all too often overlooked when evaluating Middle Eastern countries’ relationships, foreign policies, and roles in the international community. Despite a myriad of nuances among Muslims, from spoken language to the sect of Islam to which they belong, the majority of …

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Welcoming Two Additions to Our Iran Page

Welcoming Two Additions to Our Iran Page

It is with great pleasure that I announce the addition of two highly professional bloggers to our Iran page at Foreign Policy Association Blogs:  Ms. Azadeh Pourzand and Ms. Allison Kushner. When it comes to Iranian geopolitical and socio-economic affairs, Azadeh and Allison bring an impressive track record in personal, professional, …

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Ben’s Words of Advice

Ben’s Words of Advice

 
The American Revolution and the broad romantic view of U.S. democracy have often provided inspiration and guidance to those seeking democracy in their own nations – and for good reason. The amazing set of circumstances that made the American Revolution spark and then succeed, the lofty words of …

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Western-Iranian Negotiations in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East

Western-Iranian Negotiations in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East

Iran today is well-positioned to leverage the Arab world’s difficult political transition to religious-based politics and influence this transition to suit its geopolitical interests.
After a 15-month hiatus marked by mutual distrust and reciprocal accusations of insincerity to negotiate, on April 14 Istanbul hosted a new round of negotiations between …

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Book Review: The Crisis of Zionism

Book Review:  The Crisis of Zionism

The following was taken from Jspace.com.  The article was written by Jspace Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Rob Lattin, who also blogs about Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for Foreign Policy Blogs. 
Daily Beast writer Peter Beinart recently released his newest book, The Crisis of Zionism, and it is making serious …

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Turkey’s post- “No Problems” world

Turkey’s post- “No Problems” world

For Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, the past two weeks have been a hellish test in international diplomacy. Last weekend’s Iran talks ended in a stalemate, and yesterday, the UN observers in Syria were attacked by mobs. With little but more heated rhetoric and violence …

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The Art of Public Diplomacy

The Art of Public Diplomacy

 
 

 
Some days, as ordinary as they may seem, become revolutionary in our personal and professional life.  June 20, 2009 was such a day for me; and perhaps for many other Iranians. It was the day that a girl was shot to death in the streets of Tehran allegedly by forces …

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Study International Affairs in New York City

Senior Blogger

Reza Akhlaghi
Reza Akhlaghi

Born in Tehran Iran and based in Toronto, Canada, Reza Akhlaghi is a senior writer at FPA Blogs, presiding over the Middle East page and individual Middle Eastern country pages.

Reza produces FPA's 'Candid Discussion Series', interviews with influential policy makers and writers in the field of foreign policy.

Reza holds a Double Major BA Honors in English Literature and Communication Studies from York University in Toronto; an MA degree in Communication Studies from University of Calgary in Alberta; and an MBA from Schulich School of Business at York University.

Reza is fluent in Persian, Turkish, and English, and has working knowledge of Korean.