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The Wave: Man, God, and the Ballot Box in the Middle East
The promise of democracy for Muslims offers something historically unparalleled. Where Islamist groups once dreamed of revolution, quietly developed paramilitary cells, and assassinated their secular opponents, mainstream Islamist groups today see elections as a means for society to maintain akhlaq; the mores that define good Muslims.
Learn MoreAnalysis & Commentary - Iran Energy Project
Fox Business
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discusses sanctions on Iran and how it could cause a rise in U.S. oil prices. more...
Enacting Sanctions on Iran Isn’t Enough
Sheryl Saperia, the Canadian policy director of the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says Canada should be making a serious effort, now more than ever, to ensure that sanctions work. more...
Taking Stock
Iran's oil exports and the effect of sanctions. more...
Swift Says Ready to Implement Sanctions on Iran Institutions
Iran would be the first country to be cut off by Swift, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group, who has advised the Obama administration and congressional offices on SWIFT and other sanctions measures. more...
EU Pays Price for Oil Sanctions on Iran: John Kemp
In an influential report on the "Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran", which has circulated widely in Washington and European capitals, sanctions advocates Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies... more...
Iran Offers ‘Readiness’ for Nuclear Talks as It Faces Financial Isolation
“If strictly implemented, this could deny Iran’s banks the ability to move billions of dollars in financial transactions, and put immense pressure on Iran’s leaders to reconsider their policies,” Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies more...
FDD Welcomes SWIFT’s Commitment to Expel Iranian Banks, Encourages Follow Through
SWIFT, a top clearinghouse for international financial transactions, announced today that it is ready to expel Iranian banks in response to pending European Union and U.S. sanctions impacting financial communication service providers. more...
Obama Administration Takes Back Seat on Iran Sanctions
Mark Dubowitz, an energy expert who has been advising Congress on sanctions, said the Obama administration has tried to add sanctions "in a measured way to assure international support and to avoid anything that would spook oil and financial markets." more...
International Bank Clearinghouse Ready to Evict Iranian Finance Institutions
“If SWIFT follows through on its public commitment to ban Iranian banks, it could sever the Iranian regime’s financial lifeline,” said Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert advising the Obama administration. more...
The KSFO Morning Show
Sanctions on Iran and Syria. more...
Fox Business
Foundation for Defense of Democracies VP of Research Jonathan Schanzer argues Iran could be deprived of millions if it's ejected by SWIFT. more...
U.S. Slaps More Sanctions on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, an Iran sanctions expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, weighed in on the result: "If it happens, the removal of these Iranian banks from the SWIFT system is a political and economic body blow to the Iranian regime, more...
Sanctions May Be Changing Iran’s Nuke Plans
However, Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said: "Designing sanctions to make Khamenei relent in his 30-year quest for a nuclear weapon is a delusion." more...
Defcon 3
New round of sanctions against Iran? What's different about the current round of sanctions against Iran? Jonathan Schanzer, FDD's Vice-President of Research, explains. more...
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Iran unveils new nuclear uranium enrichment project. What is the US and Israel's likely response? more...
File On 4
How will a European ban on Iranian oil affect Britain during a period of economic gloom? more...
Power & Politics
Clifford May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and author Trita Parsi discuss Iran's announced advances in its nuclear program and the potential threat to the international community. more...
US, Europe Look at Fast But Risky Penalty on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, a sanctions expert advising the White House on Iran, said the Obama administration is having detailed discussions on the merits and consequences of forcing SWIFT to block Iranian transactions. more...
EU Sanctions on Iran’s Main Ports Will Slash Trade If Enforced
Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, a research group that supports sanctions on Iran, said the Tidewater ban is an important step in hampering Iran’s weapons proliferation. more...
No to a Grand Bargain with Iran
What if the increasing hostility between Iran and the West is just a giant misunderstanding? What if, far from being the result of deep ideological disputes and inherently incompatible worldviews, the rift between Tehran and Washington is reconcilable? more...
Iran: Stay Steady
Clifford May, a perceptive student of geopolitical affairs, reports a glimmer of good news. Tough sanctions may be having an impact on Iran. The sanctions cannot do the job by themselves, more...
US Adds Freeze of Assets to Iran Sanctions
“This is an implementation of the central bank sanctions, designed to primarily target Iranian oil sales,” Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said. more...
US Extends Sanctions to Iran’s Central Bank
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, “This executive order is the logical next step in the administration’s economic war on the Iranian regime. more...
Obama Freezes Iranian Government, Bank Assets in U.S.
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group that has advised the administration and Congress on sanctions, called Obama’s executive order the logical next step in the “administration’s economic war on the Iranian regime.” more...
Iran-Sanctions Bid Targets Oil, Tanker Companies
A global oil embargo isn’t the intent of the congressional proposals, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group that has advised Congress and the administration on sanctions. more...
Power & Politics
Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Mark Dubowitz and Queen's University's Houchang Hassan-Yari discuss Iran's nuclear program. more...
Are Sanctions Working?
There’s pain and then there’s pain. Getting stung by a bee hurts. Having a Doberman sink his teeth into your thigh is a more intense experience. By the same token, there are sanctions and then there are sanctions. more...
Canceling the Mullahs’ Credit Card
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, better known as SWIFT, is a member-owned cooperative that provides some 10,000 financial institutions worldwide with the means to exchange secure electronic financial messages. more...
Before We Thank Iran’s Tanker Fleet…
With sanctions currently the U.S. tool of choice for thwarting Iran’s terror networks and nuclear ambitions, the good news is that U.S. lawmakers are crafting new measures to cast a wider net. more...
Analysis: Oil Reports may Offer Obama an Out on Iran
Nevertheless, the EIA report could act as a political shield if Obama decided to temper the sanctions. Mark Dubowitz, a advocate for tougher Iran sanctions and head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies... more...
Swift Sanctions on Iran
Swift is also Iran's gateway to a financial clearing mechanism (known as TARGET 2 and equivalent to the FedWire in the U.S.), through which it conducts much of its $35 billion in trade with Europe. more...
What Canada Can Do to Thwart Iranian Threat
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has described Iran in recent interviews as the gravest threat to international security, expressing certainty that the regime is striving to build nuclear weapons. more...
US Lawmakers Take Next Step on New Iran Sanctions
The proposed bill would target companies that do business with the IRGC, which would be "consequential" for the energy sector, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. more...
Sanctions Against Iran may Destabilize, Topple Regime by ‘Ratcheting Up Hassle Factor’: Expert
The 9/11 terrorist attacks drove Mark Dubowitz, a young business whiz who worked as a Bay Street lawyer and high-tech venture capitalist in Toronto, to change careers. more...
Ahmadinejad’s Call for Talks: Olive Branch or Delay Tactic?
Ahmadinejad’s call for negotiations could also be a desperate attempt to stop sanctions from escalating any further. After all, they’re not insignificant. more...
Bank Tejarat Banned by US, EU in Move Stifling Iran Trade
Emanuele Ottolenghi, an Iran sanctions specialist at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute, said the designation of Bank Tejarat was an important step in hindering Iran’s efforts to acquire forbidden technology. more...
Iran Tanker Firm Denies Link to Revolutionary Guard
"The proposed legislation should call on the U.S. administration to designate NITC and NIOC under executive order for their connection to the IRGC. And it should sanction non-U.S. persons doing business with these IRGC entities," said Mark Dubowitz of Washington's Foundation for Defense of Democracies. more...
Will New Oil Sanctions Be the Game-Changer in Iran?
On Monday, in a move that would have been unimaginable only weeks ago, the European Union outlawed Iranian oil imports. The 27 states of the European Union together import 660,000 barrels of crude from Iran each day, making them collectively the second largest importer of the Islamic Republic’s oil, after oil-starved China. more...
Morning Edition
If the U.S. and Europe don't buy Iran's oil, but other countries pick up the slack, for example, nothing is accomplished. Or if some Iranian oil is taken off the market but the price goes up, Iran could earn just as much from its oil even though it is selling less. more...
Bank Tejarat Banned by US, EU in Move Stifling Iran Trade
Emanuele Ottolenghi, an Iran sanctions specialist at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute, said the designation of Bank Tejarat was an important step in hindering Iran’s efforts to acquire forbidden technology. more...
EU imposes Iran Oil Embargo
"If you had told me a year or two ago that the Europeans would do something like this, I would have said you were crazy," said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a research group in Washington that favors strong sanctions. more...
ANÁLISIS: Frenará la Carrera Nuclear el Embargo a Irán por Emanuele Ottolenghi
Ninguno, incluso potencias como China, que se oponen al embargo, están buscando reducir su exposición al crudo iraní. Además, si los países asiáticos continúan comprando su petróleo, el embargo perjudicará a Irán porque estos países negociarán para reducir el precio de crudo que compran al régimen de Teherán. more...
Il Bluff Iraniano Su Hormuz e i Veri Pericoli del Programma Nucleare
Nelle scorse settimane, l'Iran ha ripetutamente minacciato di chiudere lo Stretto di Hormuz, alimentando timori di una possibile recrudescenza di tensioni politiche e militari nel Golfo Persico. more...
UK, EU Lobby To Protect Key Azeri Gas Project From Iran Sanctions
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the December U.K. delegation in Washington was comprised of members of the Treasury, the foreign office and of the cabinet office, which coordinates UK policies of the Prime minister and the other ministries. more...
Regime Change: How Fear of Iran Nukes, and Campaign Politics, Revived the Call
Taking a cue from the Arab Spring and the toppling of Arab tyrants by popular movements, some regional experts say an Iranian population infuriated by increasingly dire economic conditions could do the same. more...
European Union Said to Discuss Freezing the Assets of Iran’s Bank Tejarat
Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an advocacy group in Washington that supports sanctions on Iran, said a ban on Bank Tejarat could have serious implications for European carmakers. more...
Saudi Arabia is Not ‘Targeting’ $100 Oil
On Iran, the kingdom has quietly supported efforts by the United States and its allies to pressure Tehran into ending its uranium enrichment program. But like the Obama administration, EU policymakers and sanction promoters like Mark Dubowitz. more...
The Embargo That Can’t Wait
Iran's recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz have elicited worldwide concern about escalation in the Persian Gulf. The unrest along the strategic waterway has raised the specter of war and spiraling oil prices; Hormuz is the obligatory daily transit point for nearly 20% of world energy resources. more...
Morning Edition
Can the world stop Iran's nuclear program? more...
Economic Regime-Change Can Stop Iran Bomb
Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, the choke-point for Persian Gulf oil shipments, reveals how deeply the latest Western sanctions -- and the threat of even tougher measures -- have spooked the clerical regime. more...
The Problem with Iran Is Not Lack of Communication
“Groundhog day, over and over again,” is how Ambassador John Bolton has described U.S. efforts to talk with Iran, saying all such talks achieve is to buy time for Iran to work on its nuclear weapons program. That was in 2009, and right he was. more...
US Imposes Sanctions on Oil Firms Tading with Iran
"It's a good shot across the bow and signals the US is serious about vigorous sanctions enforcement," said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. more...
Can EU Oil Sanctions Create a Turning Point in Iran?
The strategy of inflicting laser-like oil sanctions on Iran without disrupting global energy markets, and thereby reducing Iran's oil profits, was first developed by Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer and senior fellow at FDD. more...
FDD on Latest Sanctions Move: ‘A Shot Across the Bow to Beijing’
After my earlier post on the newly imposed sanctions on three companies doing business with Iran's energy sector, I spoke with Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that has pushed for stronger sanctions on Iran. more...
News Update
Iran and its dealings with China. more...
China Gets Cheaper Iran Oil as U.S. Picks Up Tab for Hormuz Strait Patrols
Instead, China’s oil executives are expected to demand lower prices for Iranian crude, said Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an advocacy group in Washington. more...
Can EU Oil Sanctions Create a Turning Point in Iran?
The significance of international sanctions on Iran took on new prominence this week, after a group of US senators sent a letter on Tuesday to Catherine Ashton, the EU's chief diplomat, urging the 27-member EU group to implement an oil embargo against Tehran. more...
Iran Says Scientist’s Murder Reveals Global Terror Campaign
That alone is difficult, said Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Central Intelligence Agency specialist on Iran who is now at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington foreign- policy research organization. more...
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on China State Energy Trader Over Iran
"It's a good shot across the bow and signals the U.S. is serious about vigorous sanctions enforcement. This could be the beginning of a cascade of more sanctions on Chinese companies if China doesn't curtail its Iranian trade more...
The John Batchelor Show
The latest developments on sanctioning Iran. more...
State Department Sanctions Three Companies Under Iran Sanctions Act
After my post, I spoke with Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which is a Washington think tank that has pushed for stronger sanctions on Iran. more...
Inside Story
Is Iran finding new friends in Latin America? more...
New Sanctions Target Iran Oil Sales
In a report, Mark Dubowitz, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies -- which is pushing for more Iran sanctions -- said the narrowing of Iranian oil-crude buyers would cut Iran's oil revenue by 7.8% to 8.5% if only Europe stops buying Iranian crude more...
How to Punish Iran’s Despots
In a few weeks’ time, the European Union’s foreign ministers will gather in Brussels to discuss a common response to Iran’s ongoing nuclear activities. To its credit, the EU reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday to impose an oil embargo on the Islamic Republic of Iran. more...
US Urges Iran Oil Importers To Cut Purchases ‘Significantly’
"There's sufficient flexibility written into the law that the administration can make an assessment on the commitment that these countries have to either reduce the purchases of Iranian oil or driving discounts for Iranian oil more...
EU Officials Agree in Principle on Iran Oil Embargo
The top five European importers of Iranian oil are Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and France, said Mark Dubowitz, an expert on energy sanctions at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. more...
Clock Ticking for West to Act on Iranian Nuclear Program
At the end of February, after the scheduled enactment of new American sanctions, the Department of Energy will issue a report on which countries remain Iran’s oil clients. They may include India, Japan and South Korea more...
When Will We Know We’ve Run Out of Time on Iran?
So what to make of all this? First, it’s remarkable that Panetta should make such a mess of things just at the time delicate discussions were going on. more...
Iran and the Myth of the Pro-Regime Backlash
Would a U.S. military strike against Iran kill anti-regime sentiment inside the country? That seems to be the conviction of U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. more...
Morning Edition
The White House faces tough choice on Iran sanctions. more...
Catch-22 for Sanctions on Iran
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of hawkish Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told NPR that Europe has even tougher choices to make in the wake of Gazprom's decision to cut European gas through Ukraine in 2009. more...
US Joins EU Push to Embargo Iran Oil Over Nuclear Effort
“The ultimate goal is not to take every barrel of Iranian oil off the market, but to significantly decrease the revenue Iran receives for its oil sales,” said Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington more...
Administration Gets Some of the Leeway It Sought in New Iran Sanctions
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank that has closely consulted with Congress on shaping such sanctions, said the law’s effect would be to “increase the hassle factor” for companies seeking to purchase oil. more...
The Thirty-Year War
The more immediate concern is that sanctions driving up oil costs might create a windfall for Iran. The question, says Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), “is how do you design a package that targets the price of oil but leaves the physical supply alone? more...
US to Turn Non-Military Screws on Iran
The growing tendency toward targeting the Islamic Republic with powerful non-military sanctions moved beyond the idea stage on Thursday among Washington’s politicians and Iran experts. more...
Adam Smith: I Am NOT Trying to Water Down the Iran Sanctions Legislation
House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA), who announced yesterday that he would definitely not be the one carrying the administration's water on the issue, is one of the other key voices within the conference. more...
Inside the Conference Negotiations on Iran Sanctions
"Every administration wants total discretion on foreign policy, but that is an impulse that Congress must always resist," Berman said at a conference on Thursday sponsored by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a conservative policy and research organization. more...
Oil at $150 Becomes Biggest Options Bet on Iran: Energy Markets
A European ban on Iran's exports still may not boost prices because the Islamic republic's remaining trading partners, including China and India, would have increased power to negotiate discounts, depriving the country of cash while leaving world supplies little changed more...
Berman Resists Pressure to Weaken Iran Sanctions Measure
Rep. Howard Berman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, vowed to resist pressure from the Obama administration to weaken legislation intended to isolate the Central Bank of Iran. more...
The Diane Rehm Show
A downed U.S. surveillance drone, targeted assassinations, and ongoing cyber warfare: Guest host Steve Roberts and a panel of experts explore the latest developments in the region and whether there is growing evidence of a covert war with Iran. more...
Power & Politics
What is Canada doing to combat the Iranian Regime? more...
The Source
The implications of sanctions and the storming of the British embassy in Tehran. more...
Mysterious Blasts, Slayings Suggest Covert Efforts in Iran
Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA operative who specialized on Iran, said he doesn't believe that the CIA could mount a sophisticated covert campaign of sabotage inside Iran, where the U.S. has not had an embassy since 1979. more...
U.S. Senate Backs Sanctions Intended to Cripple Iran Oil Exports
The Central Bank of Iran is a vital intermediary for purchasers of Iranian crude because existing sanctions against the Persian Gulf country have so constrained Iran’s ability to use the international financial sector to settle oil trades. more...
Best of Enemies
After years of ambiguity, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has finally lifted the veil on Iran's nuclear secrets and forced even the most sceptical to take sides. more...
The Big Business Behind Iran’s Proliferation
In preparing to expand sanctions on Iran this week, the governments of the European Union face a critical choice. They can carry on with their current strategy of relying chiefly on pinpoint designations against suspected nuclear proliferators. more...
Iran Clings to Oil Lifeline as U.S. Pushes for Tighter Financial Sanctions
Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and co-author of a confidential report on Iran circulated on Nov. 29 to the Administration and Congress more...
Storming of the British Embassy in Tehran Will Only Damage the Regime
Two weeks after a huge explosion at a military base outside Tehran killed the Revolutionary Guards' top missile expert alongside 20 others, this week another explosion rocked Isfahan, the seat of a uranium conversion facility. more...
EU Wimps Out on Oil Sanctions to Halt Iran’s Nuclear Drive: View
Iran has also sweetened the pot for India, giving refiners there far more generous payment options than those available from countries such as Saudi Arabia. more...
The Situation Room
Will more Iran sanctions could hurt the U.S. economy? more...
All Things Considered
U.S. Weighs Sanctions Targeting Iran's Central Bank more...
The Charles Adler Show
With the latest attack on a western embassy in Tehran, Claudia Rosett reiterates the need to take Iran seriously. more...
Deutschland Darf Sanktionen Gegen Iran Nicht Bremsen
Die Europäische Union stolpert durch eine neue Diskussion über Sanktionen gegen den Iran; die Mitgliedsstaaten haben mit der miteinander in Konflikt stehenden jeweiligen Außenpolitik zu kämpfen, um das Bemühen des Iran zum Erwerb von Atomwaffen zu vereiteln. more...
Teheran Chiama, Berlino Risponde
Sono molte le iniziative tedesche a sostegno dell’economia iraniana. Il Marriott Hotel di Amburgo ha appena ospitato l’Iran Business Forum con la compagnia te esca IPC-GmbH, volto a facilitare investimenti tedeschi in Iran. more...
What Can Stop Iran Now? Nothing Much
The latest round of media hype on Iran offers much comic relief for an otherwise terrible truth. Iran can only be stopped from getting nuclear weapons by factors that are largely beyond the control of Israel, the Western world or the international community at large. more...
The Next Step in Sanctioning Iran
But the Canadian government can do even more. As Mark Dubowitz and Sheryl Saperia argued recently in a column published in the National Post, Ottawa should add Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) more...
The EU’s Fragmented Iran Policy
The European Union is stumbling through a new Iran sanctions discussion, as member states wrestle with conflicting policies to thwart Iran's quest to obtain nuclear weapons. more...