By Sadegh Zibakalam Even before the Americans accused Iran of a plot to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in the United States, relations between Tehran and Riyadh were at a low. Needless to say, the accusation only deepened the animosity between these two staunch Islamic states. Iranian officials as well as the state-run media flatly denied the …

By Sadegh Zibakalam Throughout the Middle East and the world at large, there has been a great debate during the past nine months about the origin, implications and future of the so-called “Arab spring”. Everywhere in the region, academics, journalists and analysts are trying to examine various aspects and dimensions of this unexpected and baffling avalanche …

By Sadegh Zibakalam If an observer monitors news coverage of Iraq in the Iranian media, he or she will be surprised at how minimal it is. The scope of news and analysis is limited to a few areas. These include mainly reports on suicide bombings, Iraqi officials’ criticism of US policies on Iraq, and occasional …