What is the significance of the power struggle within the Saudi dynasty? Last week, in the middle of a war in Yemen, where Saudi troops are engaged in major battles, we witnessed a quiet but significant, not to say unprecedented, coup within the Saudi royal family. On April 29, king Salman bin Abdulaziz dismissed his… Continue reading Saudi Arabia: King promotes his favourites
Category: Articles
Children of ayatollahs flaunt their wealth
Three deadly road accidents in one week, involving expensive cars driven by super-rich young Iranians, have dominated this week’s news in Iran – especially after the country’s supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, used a meeting with police chiefs to criticise fast-driving, wealthy youngsters. Khamenei said: “I hear that young people from the generation of wealth,… Continue reading Children of ayatollahs flaunt their wealth
Will the deal bring peace?
Finally, after eight days of intensive negotiations, on April 2 Iran and the P5+1 powers agreed a statement of intent, which will become the framework for the final deal to be signed in June 2015. This does not mean the US administration has decided on a strategy of rapprochement with Iran – the proposed ‘framework’… Continue reading Will the deal bring peace?
CIA roots of Islamist fundamentalism
Did outrage caused by the provocations of an irreverent magazine provoke the Paris attacks? Yassamine Mather looks beyond this simplistic myth Afghan mujahedin: paid for by Washington first published in the Weekly Worker On Sunday January 11, according to France’s ministry of interior, at least 3.7 million people marched across France to support the freedom… Continue reading CIA roots of Islamist fundamentalism
The masses bear the brunt
Yassamine Mather assesses the latest extension of negotiations between Iran and the 5+1 powers On November 24, for the second time in a year, Iran and the 5+1 world powers failed to reach an agreement over Tehran’s nuclear programme, and the deadline for finding a ‘comprehensive’ deal had to be extended yet again.
No safe space for women
On October 25 the authorities in Iran’s Islamic Republic executed Reyhaneh Jabbari for killing a man who allegedly tried to rape her in 2009. The 26-year-old Reyhaneh had spent the last seven years in prison, charged with the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a general medical practitioner who had previously worked for the intelligence ministry.… Continue reading No safe space for women
From Sykes-Picot to “Islamic State”: Imperialism’s Bloody Wreckage
Yassamine Mather writing on the site of US organisation Solidarity http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4288
Imperialism has no progressive role in Kobanê
The group formerly known as Daesh (Isis), now Islamic State, entered the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobanê In the early hours of Tuesday October 7. As this statement is issued, air strikes seem to have halted its advance for the moment, street-to-street fighting is taking place and initial reports suggest that in these battles secular… Continue reading Imperialism has no progressive role in Kobanê
The origins, politics and economics of the Islamic State
Consequences of IS atrocities disorientate the left Every day news of new atrocities by the Islamic State is making headlines. From the beheading of young journalists to the mass extermination of religious and national minorities in Iraq and Syria, there seems to be no end to the barbarism and brutality of this latest brand of… Continue reading The origins, politics and economics of the Islamic State
Iran, Israel and Isis
Spreading like a cancer As the massacre in Gaza continues, time and time again the survivors of the conflict are heard on Middle Eastern and western media complaining about the leaders of Arab countries failing the Palestinian cause. In fact, even in comparison with previous wars, the official reaction by Arab states has been extremely… Continue reading Iran, Israel and Isis