The Final Iran Deal Is Here: What Iran Gives Up, What Iran Gets

Image Credit: Flickr/ U.S. Department of State

Iran and the P5+1—a group including the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany—have reached a final agreement, a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) over Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement comes nearly 20 months after the November 2013 Joint Plan of Action, in which Iran made major technical concessions regarding the functioning of its civilian nuclear program in exchange for moderate sanctions relief. The final agreement is largely based off the framework agreement that was reached in early April 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland. In broad strokes, the final deal will see a potential Iranian nuclear weapon program set back by at least a decade through a series of internationally enforced technical concessions. In exchange, Iran will receive relief from nuclear-related sanctions.

Cyprus Remembers 1974 Coup Against President Archbishop Makarios

Cyprus commemorates the dead and condemns the 1974 coup

Photo © CyprusExpat.co.uk

Today, 15th July, marks 41 years since the events which unfolded on this East Mediterranean island led to its division and occupation by Turkey. The Greek military junta, then ruling Greece, toppled the democratically elected president of Cyprus, the late Archbishop Makarios III.

The Berlin Bulldozer and the Sack of Athens

When finalizing my book European Spring last year, I hesitated before describing the eurozone as a “glorified debtors’ prison.” After this weekend’s brutal, vindictive, and shortsighted exercise of German power against Greece, backed up by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank’s illegal threat to pull the plug on the entire Greek banking system, I take it back. There is nothing glorious about the eurozone: It is a monstrous, undemocratic creditors’ racket.

Thanks to the departure of an arrogant negotiator, serious negotiations can now begin

The negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles have so far been disrupted by the attitude of a British negotiator, a certain John Maynard Keynes. He has a flamboyant personality and dubious morals,[1] and has consistently employed an arrogant and professional tone to crush other negotiators with his contempt.

Δραχμή και ο μύθος της ανταγωνιστικότητας

Υποστηρίζεται από τους ένθερμους υποστηριχτές της επιστροφής στη δραχμή ότι μια τέτοια επιλογή θα βελτιώσει την ανταγωνιστικότητα των ελληνικών προϊόντων. Το παρελθόν της χώρας – όπως και η θεωρία του διεθνούς εμπορίου– διαψεύδουν όμως αυτήν τη θέση. Δε θα ασχοληθούμε με τις οικονομικές θεωρίες, θα επιστρέφουμε όμως τριάντα χρόνια πίσω σκιαγραφώντας τη σχέση των εξαγωγών μας και της απαξίωσης (υποτιμήσεις – διολισθήσεις) της δραχμής.

Η ισοτιμία  δραχμής δολαρίου το 1980 ήταν 1 δολάριο προς 42,64 δραχμές, το 1987 (έτος έναρξης των προσπαθειών με σκοπό την ‘Ενιαία Αγορά’) ήταν 1 δολάριο προς 135,18 δραχμές και το 1992 (με την ολοκλήρωση της ‘Ενιαίας Αγοράς’), η ισοτιμία αυτή ανερχόταν σε 190,47 δραχμές. Το 2000 η ισοτιμία δολαρίου δραχμής άγγιξε τις 308,93 δραχμές.

A Franc Discussion: Switzerland’s currency troubles

The Swiss National Bank is faced with an overheating currency and slumping economy following the decision to abandon the currency exchange rate cap on the Euro. Uncertainty in the EU is leading to a rush on the franc and severely hampering the export and tourism-dependent Swiss economy.

From high unemployment in southern Europe to sluggish economic growth and Grexit fears, the EU and the euro have recently taken a beating. All this uncertainty is leading some investors to seek safe havens, such as Switzerland.

Russia And Iran Are Trading Places

After decades as an isolated rogue state, Iran appears to be finally coming in from the cold. And after decades of pretending to be a partner to the West, Russia has gone rogue.

"OK, now you go rogue..."

Tehran and Moscow are essentially swapping places.

The symmetry is hard to miss. And so are the geopolitical implications of the agreement reached in Vienna to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of crippling international sanctions.

Iran nuclear talks: 'Historic' agreement struck

World powers have reached a deal with Iran on limiting Iranian nuclear activity in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions.

US President Barack Obama said that with the deal, "every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off" for Iran.

The Perils of the Pursuit of Geopolitical Interest

How have the geopolitical interests of various stakeholders changed since the start of the Arab Spring, both within the Middle East and beyond? According to Lina Khatib, they’ve changed very little. Promoting security, stability and economic development continues to trump democracy and reform – to the detriment of the wider region.

More than four years after the 2011 Arab uprisings, the geopolitical considerations of major countries inside and outside the region appear to remain largely within the familiar parameters of security, stability and economic interests, as opposed to those of democracy and reform. The strategies followed by some states as they pursue those security and economic goals have often remained constant, as in the cases of France, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), and China. But other countries, like Turkey and Russia, have shifted some of their tactics following the uprisings with the aim of increasing their geopolitical influence, not only within the region but also, in the case of Russia, in the face of the West. However, the results of both longstanding strategies as well as new tactics have for the main part not been positive, because the focus on security and economic benefits at the expense of reform has contributed either to sustaining autocratic regimes or, ironically, to increasing instability across the Middle East. While this may be beneficial for some countries’ interests in the short term, both autocracy and instability eventually result in the opposite outcome.

Deutsche Bank Inquiry Deepens as New York Seeks Moscow Memos

New York’s banking regulator has asked Deutsche Bank AG for e-mails, memos, client lists and other details as part of an effort to survey how broadly a set of suspicious trades extended beyond the bank’s Moscow office, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The formal request for information, which was sent last week, the person said, marks a deepening of the New York State Department of Financial Services’ probe into Deutsche Bank’s activities in Russia. The DFS has been looking into whether people at the bank’s Moscow operation conducted trades that would help Russian clients skirt economic sanctions, the person said.