"If we go by verbal measures, Donald Trump is certainly the more divisive of the two if only because of his tongue-las…"

"Almost all Muslims, including the most enlightened, feel offended by Rushdie's novel or, rather, by reports they have…"

"De Bellaigue is at pains to portray Mossadegh as — in the words of the jacket copy — “one of the first liberals of th…"

"Erdogan may have dreamt of a one-party system with himself at the helm far into the future. That, however, is not on …"

"If we regard Iran as a nation, there is no reason it shouldn’t have correct relations with the United States or any o…"

"What normal country has three former presidents, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Muhammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who ca…"

"The terrorist kills because he cannot compete with his adversaries. Instead of responding to Salman Rushdie’s ill-str…"

"In Iran, no-one can ignore the tragic record of the revolution. Over the past three decades some six million Iranians…"

"When I asked Bhutto what he thought of Assad, he described the Syrian leader as “The Levanter.” Knowing that, like hi…"

"Erdogan really needs to get a grip on himself, if only because, sadly, Turkey needs him right now as the least bad op…"