Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in his first public reaction a week after the arrests of his closest allies.  Ahmadinejad denounced the arrests and asserted that they were "politically motivated and vowed to defend his government."   The arrests signify Ahmadinejad's recent political struggle with the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the past week, four senior government officials have been arrested, including ...

Thousands of opposition supporters gathered near Pearl Roundabout in the Bahraini capital today, and were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades. One activist tweeted: "We're unarmed, shouting slogans. They're all armed, shooting at us constantly. Waving to us to go closer to them." According to activist and president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, protesters called for the release of political prisoners and ...

Robert Satloff, executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, analyzed the confirmation today by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the U.S. was having "limited contact" with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Satloff commented that this is not new news, because U.S. officials have engaged with this group in the recent past, although on different terms. However, the trust of his comments were about what he felt was a ...

Emma Hayward, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discussed whether or not the new constitutional provisions introduced by King Mohamed VI would lead to real reform or stabilization in an article entitled, "Morocco's Constitutional Referendum: Context, Content, and Impact."  Hayward asserted that many of the new provisions are unclear including, the provision that does not specify whether the king or the ruling party will choose the prime minister following ...

The U.S. State Department has announced more details about Tunisia's selection as one of the inaugural winners for the Democracy Partnership Challenge. The Partnership's purpose is to help various country's consolidate their democratic institutions. The Tunisian application specifically requested support to "reform public administration, the security sector and the judiciary, support regional development, and promote the role of civil society to succeed in their transition to a democratic state." The ...

At a press conference held at the Hungarian National Assembly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed questions about the Obama Administration's contact with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  Clinton said that the Obama Administration is continuing limited contact with the Muslim Brotherhood "that has existed on and off for about five or six years."  According to Clinton, it is in the interest of the United States to engage with peaceful and nonviolent parties ...

Tariq Aldoais, an activist in the Yemeni youth revolution and a doctor, heading the revolution's field hospital at Tahrir Square in Sana'a, wrote in the Guardian newspaper about the demands of the leading revolutionary committee. The demands are: to form an inclusive temporary presidential council of 5 - 7 people with integrity, experience, and competence to limit the transitional period to 9 months, dissolve the current constitution and government structure, guarantee the rights ...

On Wednesday, the Project on Middle East Democracy hosted a panel discussion on recent developments in Bahrain and the impact on political dynamics in the Gulf region. Stephen McInerney, Executive Director, POMED, moderated the discussion. Panelists included Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch; Hans Hogrefe, Chief Policy Officer and Washington Director, Physicians for Human Rights; Leslie Campbell, Senior Associate and Regional Director ...

Marc Lynch wrote in Foreign Policy on Wednesday about the "astonishing" rise of the Islamist movement, al-Nahda in Tunisia. During former President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali reign, members of Islamist movements had been exiled, which ultimately means that al-Nahda had to start "from scratch" and did not have strong support from the Tunisian youth. However, Lynch asserted that this also means that al-Nahda's efforts had not been comprised by the ...

Elections in Egypt are planned for September, however, many fear that there has been a lack of preparation for the elections, which would ultimately question the election's legitimacy.  Concerns have increased because no election law has been implemented and an electoral system with districts drawn out have not been announced either.  In addition, there has been no specific date set. As debates continue on whether Egypt should postpone the elections, police ...

The United Nations is preparing for contingency plans that would include the deployment of about 200 unarmed U.N observers that would monitor a cease-fire in Libya in the wake of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi's fall.  The United Nations is also preparing to approve a later deployment of an armed, multinational force, which would involve troops from nations including, Turkey and Jordan.  If Gadhafi does leave Libya, the Security Council would have ...

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) released an Iran Primer on Tuesday entitled, "Iran's Women Two Years After the Uprising," that featured an extensive interview with Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, a women's rights activist.  According to Abbasgholizadeh, women's right activists have increased human rights and gender equality efforts since the start of the Green Movement.  Ultimately, women's rights activists have broadened their scope of influence to promoting democracy and civil rights for ...