the Morning star

The Trump Administration Should Avoid Focusing Too Narrowly On Iran Nuclear Deal BY  DR. IVAN SASCHA SHEEHAN Add caption  IJR Opinion is an opinion platform and any opinions or information put forth by contributors are exclusive to them and do not represent the views of IJR. On the campaign trail, President-elect Trump went to great lengths to stoke doubt and resentment about the Iran nuclear deal. The Republican Party rejected that agreement almost unanimously. Skepticism has remained strong among Democrats too, especially as Iran’s anti-American rhetoric has intensified and reports have accumulated to indicate that the Islamic Republic refuses to comply with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). When looking back on the impact of the agreement, it is important to take a broader view of the initial expectations surrounding it. When nuclear negotiations concluded in July 2015, President Obama expressed confidence...

 It's time for a new policy on Iran Add caption In spite of Trump’s avowed distaste for the nuclear deal with Iran — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — Obama’s ‘echo chamber’ is still reverberating with no shortage of ‘experts’ taking to the web to claim that the re-negotiation is impossible and tearing it up would have a range of consequences from a more rapidly nuclear-armed Iran to international distrust in the U.S.’ future deal-making. There are a number of assumptions underpinning these positions which need urgent unpicking. ADVERTISEMENT In terms of a more rapidly nuclear-armed Iran, the JCPOA gave Iran an easing of sanctions and the release of $150 billion in frozen assets in exchange for limitations on its capacity to enrich uranium and other fissile material. The International Atomic Energy(IAEA) told Ir Agency an just last week that it was risking the nuclear deal with the West by yet again exceeding the limit placed on a sensitive materi...

Iran’s Suicide, a National Mental Health Epidemic Add caption Taking one’s own life has always been considered a sin and a taboo in the traditional society of Iran. Despite being an immoral act, the rate of suicide has been on the rise in Iran in the recent years. According to media reports, Iran’s suicide rate has climbed 17% in two years, with 10 Iranians on average taking their lives every day. This means an average of 4,000 people take their own lives in Iran every year! As reported by Asia News on March 11, 2006, “Suicide, especially among women, is the second leading cause of death in Iran. Suicide affects young people between ages 10 to 19 more than any other groups. Between 1999 and 2003, 60 children age 6 to 13 were admitted to hospital for attempting suicide.” This is very devastating to learn that kids as young as 6 years of age who just started their lives have attempted suicide in Iran . Unfortunately, just like the reports of government executions, the ...

Bringing an end to the death penalty in Iran,The silent suffering of Iran’s children Add caption By: Donya Jam - In the first eight days of November, reports  indicate  twenty one prisoners were executed.  Between November 9-10, another seven prisoners were sent to the  gallows .  Hundreds of ordinary and political prisoners have been executed since the start of 2016 and since the Iranian regime came into power in 1979, more than 120,000 souls have been taken.  The hands of this regime are drenched with the blood of thousands of Iranians.  If you’re familiar with Iran’s judicial system, you’d know that majority of these prisoners didn’t even receive proper due process like the fathers of Asna Rahimi and Sara Bolaghi.  Asna and Sara are symbolic of the pain of all children and anyone who has ever lost a parent or loved one in the brutal executions occurring in Iran.  I will never forget their painful stories.  In a  ...

Trump an obstacle to the return of oil giants to Iran – state media Add caption NCRI - In an article titled “Trump an obstacle to return of oil giants to Iran,” the state-run Iranian daily Asre-Naft on November 12 wrote that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is exactly what the emissaries of foreign companies in Iran feared and hoped against. The newspaper pointed to the regime’s fear after Trump won the elections. “No doubt the President and our diplomacy system are more worried than others for this reason after Trump’s victory, and therefore Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad-Javad Zarif talk about the need for America to adhere to the JCPOA.” “This position is an indicator of the worry that Iranian authorities have about the consequences of Trump’s election. The atmosphere of fear can be seen clearly among authorities and analysts and foreign companies,” the paper added, citing as an example: “Richard Nephew the mastermind of sanctions said after Trumps victory: ‘Say goodbye ...