Aijaz Ahmad discusses with Newsclick the current stand-off between the US and Iran after the current round of sanctions that includes Irani Central Bank. He believes that the US policy is regime change and no solution can take place unless other countries such as India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, China, etc intervene.

Robert Kelley: Latest IAEA report recycles old intelligence and is meant to bolster hard liners

In this interview, Prabir Purkayastha, Delhi Science Forum, discusses the latest IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program. While numerous right-wing groups in the US and Israel are up in arms at what is said to be a clear indictment of Iran's nuclear regime, a critical reading of the IAEA report raises disturbing questions on the impartiality of the IAEA as well as more fundamental questions regarding the fulfilment of treaty and other international obligations by countries on different sides of the North-South divide. In a wide ranging discussion, Prabir points out the various legal and factual errors in the IAEA Report and paints an interesting, if rather disturbing picture of the role of supra-national watchdog bodies such as the IAEA in maintaining international peace and comity.

"As we predicted in a May 2009 Op Ed in the New York Times -- before the Islamic Republic's controversial presidential election -- the Obama Administration has already "checked the box" to show that engaging Iran doesn't work.  Now it has started the process of "checking the box" to show that the "broadest and toughest" sanctions ever imposed on the Islamic Republic don't work.  And that will leave the Obama Administration with no other options except formal adoption of regime change military strikes against the Islamic Republic. as the explicit goal of its Iran policy -- and/or "

Etemaad, Iran's most prominent reformist daily paper, was closed along with two weekly publications, Irandokht and Sina, a week ago today. Since the disputed election in June, Iran has shut eight newspapers and has imprisoned more than 100 journalists and bloggers. At least 65 remain in jail – more than any country has imprisoned since 1996.

We were ­supposed to have learned the lessons of the Iraq war. That's what Britain's ­Chilcot inquiry is meant to be all about. But the signs from the Middle East are that it could be happening all over again. The US is ­escalating the military build-up in the Gulf, officials revealed this week, boosting its naval presence and supplying tens of billions of dollars' worth of new weapons systems to allied Arab states.