Hassan Rouhani
Mexico sues US-based gunmakers over arms trafficking and gun violence
Top of The World: The Mexican government has sued several prominent US-based gun manufacturers. And, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus has called for a moratorium on administering COVID-19 booster shots. Also, Iran will inaugurate Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative judiciary chief, as the country’s next president on Thursday.
Things That Go Boom: In nuclear negotiations, diplomacy can be a slog
Diplomacy is often awkward, stymied by translators, late nights and unsecured yurt communication (yes, that really happened). But diplomacy can also stop a war, as years of secret and not-so-secret negotiations between the US and Iran proved when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached in 2015.
Forty years on from the Iranian Revolution, could the country be at risk of another one?
Reformists have made some progress towards easing economic hardship, loosening social control, and initiating a temporary easing of tensions with the outside community. But the parlous nature of the political structure empowers the theocrats to manipulate the system and stymie any reform effort that promises a path to democratization.
