As was expected, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar) finally gave Ben Affleck his reward by granting him an Oscar for the Best Motion Picture of the Year. Now, the question which has preoccupied the minds of film buffs and enthusiasts since that event is “Did Ben Affleck’s new film, Argo, actually deserve this honor when compared to such masterpieces of cinematic art as "Life of Pi, Lincoln, Amour, and…?” Or have other issues been playing a part in determining which film would win the best prize? 

In reality, Iran's nuclear dossier is neither a legal case, nor a technical one. It is, in fact, a politicized case in which the hope for an agreement will be high if the general course of the case and the general direction of the policy adopted by the United States and its European allies toward Iran is changed from confrontation to interaction. The negotiations in Almaty have been just a beginning for such a course and both sides have indicated their readiness to make that change.

The question is why Hazara people and why Shias have become the target of the extremist currents in Quetta? To find the answer to this question, the analyst, without any kind of prejudgment, should study the structure of local power in Quetta and also study the local ethnic groups and their viewpoints, opinions, interests and the conflict of interests in that part of Pakistan.

The recent approval of a gas deal between Iran and Pakistan in late January 2013 by the Pakistani Cabinet has undoubtedly put an end to all doubts and speculations which have been rife during the past two decades about the implementation of the project. The plan to export the Iranian natural gas to the Indian Subcontinent kicked off in early 1990s with the discovery of huge natural gas reserves in Iran’s South Pars region in 1988.

As the public announcement goes, the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers will be held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on February 26, 2013. Before negotiations get underway, it would be helpful to mention a few points which would clearly show how the Iranian side looks upon the negotiations in their totality.

With the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 world powers group just days away, Asia Society brought together Iran's highest-ranking official in the United States, Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee, and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering to discuss breaking the nuclear impasse and the future of U.S.-Iran relations.

The period of time from negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers over Tehran’s nuclear energy program in Moscow in June 2012, and the forthcoming round of talks which is scheduled to be held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on February 26, 2013, has been characterized by a heap of political developments. A review of those developments will help analysts better understand the situation of Iran and the P5+1 – including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany – in the forthcoming negotiations in Almaty.

The main point which was overshadowed by the hue and cry of the assassination was the lack of any evidence to prove the charges leveled against the Islamist figures by their opponents. It is quite understandable that under such circumstances, the public opinion relies less on rationality and more on sentiments, but adoption of such an approach by the political elite and parties cannot be taken lightly. 

As a usual procedure of the past few years, whenever Iran and the six world powers known as the P5+1 group are scheduled to start a new round of negotiations, Western media try to create media hype in order to make negotiations difficult for the Iranian delegation and therefore achieve their objectives in an atmosphere of “media intimidation.” 

Despite all the problems and the crisis with which the Arab country is currently grappling, and although a large number of high-ranking army officers have deserted and joined the opposition, the main body of the army and the country’s military personnel is still loyal to the government. This is probably the most important reason behind the survival of Assad’s government.