Iran

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Since July the Israel Lobby and other opponents of the understanding reached by the White House and other parties to limit the Iranian nuclear program have been warning that any celebration would be premature, as the agreement is far from a done deal. President Obama survived initial attempts to create legislative hurdles hindering implementation of the pact, but there are clear signals that the battle is far from over.

Submitted by James Stafford via OilPrice.com,

The rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran has quickly ballooned into the worst conflict in decades between the two countries.

Dan Drezner’s reviews the story of Iran’s brief detention of 10 U.S. sailors after they had accidentally drifted into Iranian waters, and here’s what he finds:

So, to sum up: Compared to a similar incident in 2007, this was handled much more quickly and with a minimum of fuss. It’s almost as if U.S. diplomacy toward Iran has yielded some benefits or something.

On Tuesday evening, just prior to President Obama’s last State of the Union address, a geopolitical black swan landed on Farsi Island.

Ten US sailors and two US Navy boats were seized by Iran when they purportedly entered Iranian waters “illegally.”

The timing couldn’t have been worse.