Sebastian Kurz
In all those years people suffered deeply because of these sanctions. That is one of the reasons why we hope so much that it will be possible to reach an agreement; that is the reason we are hosting these talks in order to be supportive and to create a positive atmosphere for these negotiations. But in the end, the negotiators have to reach this agreement and I think what we can do is to create an atmosphere as positive as possible and we are trying our best to do so.

Dunja Mijatović
We need to see in which countries we see systematic abuses of free speech and freedom of the media. And here I talk about safety when journalists are threatened, beaten, imprisoned, but also killed in streets of some cities. This is not happening, if you say, in the mainland of Europe. There are huge differences and we have to be realistic. But at the same time, we should not shy away of pointing the finger if we see there are violations, because sometimes in certain societies – and I’m from Bosnia and Herzegovina, I’m from Sarajevo, we do forget how important it is to preserve the rights of every person.

Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi responded to our questions about security in Afghanistan, the Afghan people’s sentiments about the continued presence of foreign troops in their land, opium cultivation, drone attacks and the domestic politics of the war-hit country.

Scilla Elworthy
Unfortunately, the possession of nuclear weapons has become associated with great power status, because the five permanent members of the UN Security Council were the first ones to have nuclear weapons. And they never understood that their reasons for wanting nuclear weapons were identical to the same reasons that India, Pakistan, Iraq or any country would have to possess nuclear weapons; reason to feeling threatened, wanting to be secure and to be able to practice what they called “deterrence”. It’s now been made perfectly clear to everybody that deterrence doesn’t work. When we are in an age of sub-state groups operating, when we’re in an age of so-called terrorism, nuclear weapons are useless; completely useless.

Gavin Rees
Mr. Gavin Rees shared his viewpoints with us about the rise of the terrorist group ISIS in the Middle East and the media coverage of its dreadful activities, the approach of the corporate media towards the conflicts of the Middle East and also Iran’s nuclear program.

Eldar Mamedov
In an interview with Iran Review, Eldar Mamedov shared his viewpoints about the future opportunities for the expansion of the relations between Iran and the European Union and the importance of inter-parliamentary interaction between the two sides. He said that with the chances of a comprehensive agreement between Iran and the six world powers over the nuclear standoff in sight, the European firms have already got prepared for resuming their business with Iran.

Jim Lobe
A noted American journalist tells Iran Review that any Iran-U.S. rapprochement following the possible conclusion of the nuclear deal will weaken Israel’s influence in the Middle East and Washington, and that’s why they’re pulling out all the stops to make sure that there would be no arrangement and deal by the June 30 deadline.

Pir-Mohammad Mollazehi
At the present time, one can easier claim that Saudi Arabia is among countries that face a threat as a result of the emergence of ISIS terrorist group. Saudi security officials recently announced that they had nabbed a few people, who had been hired by ISIS to carry out terrorist operations in the country. There are questions among analysts as what ISIS is looking for in Saudi Arabia and to what extent it can advance in this country. To find answers to these and other questions, Etemad Persian Newspaper conducted the following interview with Pir-Mohammad Mollazehi, Expert on Indian Subcontinent & Middle East Issues which has been translated by Iran Review.

Ilter Turan
On the relations between Iran and Turkey as two major economic and political powerhouses in the region, Prof. Turan opines that the two nations have never been on fighting terms, and despite intrinsic rivalries, they have tried to keep their competitions under control. According to Prof. Turan, Iran and Turkey have disagreements over Syria or Yemen, but this doesn’t mean that they can’t benefit from what cooperation might offer.

Robert E. Hunter
The former U.S. Ambassador to NATO believes that until everything is agreed, it cannot be said whether there would be a deal; however, he says he is optimistic that the talks move in such a direction that can end in an understanding. Robert E. Hunter, however, says that there are some parties in the Middle East who disfavor such a deal between Iran and the West, because it would lead to Iran’s economic and political reemergence as a regional power and an Iran-U.S. rapprochement, which is not pleasant to everybody.