Robin Wright's Blog

Ahmadinejad’s Legacy: Top 10 (Mis)Hits

Robin Wright            President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leaves office with little to show for his eight years in power. Iran’s toxic economy is often blamed on his mismanagement as much as on international sanctions. Politically, his reelection in 2009 ignited the largest protests since the 1979…

What the world will learn from Iran’s election

By Robin Wright             The field of candidates may be limited, but the outside world can still learn a lot from Iran’s 2013 presidential poll. The election will provide three pivotal metrics about the Islamic republic now that the Ahmadinejad era is ending.        First, the (real) turnout…

Latest on the Race: Rafsanjani Redux?

By Robin Wright and Garrett Nada            Among the 680-plus candidates who registered to run for president of Iran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stands alone as the most experienced and savviest politico — by far. He has almost done it all.      He was speaker of parliament for nine terms in the…

Iran Wins Tug-of-War with U.S.

Robin Wright Iran has jockeyed to regain international legitimacy and political leverage while hosting some 100 delegations at the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran. The Islamic Republic won a diplomatic tug-of-war with the United States when U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon agreed to attend…

Growing World Pressure Over Iran’s Human Rights Record

Robin Wright            The U.N. decision to appoint an investigator to track Iran’s human rights violations is the latest move by the international community to increase pressure on Tehran. The resolution follows a report by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in which he said he was “deeply…

New U.S. Sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses

Robin Wright       The United States imposed new sanctions on two top Iranian officials for engaging in “serious human rights abuses” since the disputed 2009 election. In a striking run of statements on February 23, the White House, State Department and Treasury Department issued three separate…

U.S. Gets Tougher on Iran

Robin Wright        The Obama administration has become increasingly outspoken about Iran since the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings. The main focus has notably shifted from Iran’s controversial nuclear program to issues of democracy and human rights abuses.          For the first time, the…

Iran nuclear talks: A widening chasm

Robin Wright (Council on Foreign Relations interview)There seems to have been a little progress during the two days of meetings in Geneva, but where's the emphasis? How "little" and how much "progress"?The emphasis has to be on "little." In many ways, it appears that the two sides are even further…