Q&A: Iran's Foreign Minister on Israel and Nukes | Newsweek International

POLITICS
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary Of State Nominee
12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Hillary Clinton's selection to serve as Barack Obama's secretary of State follows her strong race for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination against him. Clinton was among a number of top national security officials named by Obama on December 1. Obama said he would nominate Robert M. Gates to remain as defense secretary, and nominated Gen. James L. Jones, a retired Marine commandant, for national security adviser, Eric H. Holder Jr. for attorney general, Susan Rice as ambassador the UN, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for homeland security secretary.
INTERVIEW
Sharing the Responsibility’
Michael Levitin 11/29/2008 12:00:00 AM
He was chief of staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the leading voice behind Germany's refusal to fight in Iraq. Now German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the Social Democratic Party candidate for chancellor in next year's elections, running against the popular Christian Democrat incumbent, Angela Merkel. In his first major interview with the U.S. press, Steinmeier sat down with NEWSWEEK's Michael Levitin to discuss German troop engagements in Afghanistan, Russia's recent aggression, the global financial crisis and how Germany might work alongside the United States. Excerpts:
IRAQ
A Done Deal
Lennox Samuels 11/27/2008 12:00:00 AM
Sadrist legislators wearing black sashes chanted, waved clenched fists and banged portfolios on their desks in the Iraqi Parliament chamber, but in the end it was all for naught. Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, a truculent man at the best of times, called the question and told the dissidents they could resume their protest afterwards. By the time the clamor ended, the country's Council of Representatives had ratified a controversial security agreement that requires American troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. Shrugging off heated arguments about "national sovereignty," Iraq's lawmakers finally moved to redefine the country's relationship with the United States.
ROGUE’S GALLERY
Early Shots At Obama
Adam B. Kushner 11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM
There will be no honeymoon for Barack Obama on the Axis of Evil. Though Obama campaigned on a promise to talk to American enemies whom George Bush had once shunned, including erstwhile members of his Axis of Evil—Iran, North Korea and Iraq—they responded by pre-emptively hardening their bargaining positions. North Korea welcomed Obama by saying that it had not agreed to fully open its nuclear sites to international inspection, even though the Bush administration said it had. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad backtracked from a warm letter he'd sent to Obama by demanding last week that Washington furnish "mutual respect"—in other words, an assurance Obama won't seek regime change and will accept Iran's nuclear program.
WORLD AFFAIRS
The Medvedev Doctrine
Owen Matthews 11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM
Just what exactly does Dmitry Medvedev want? Six months into his tenure at the Kremlin, the Russian president's signals are so mixed, he has Western policymakers and diplomats baffled. In speech after speech, to audiences at home and abroad, he has talked forcefully of putting an end to Russia's culture of corruption; diversifying Russia's economy beyond the oil and gas industry; integrating Russia into the world economy; instituting the rule of law; and guaranteeing freedom of speech. He has said Russia should be a country where ordinary people take a "more active role in the country's political life." Yet at the same time, he has blasted Washington for destabilizing the world's finances; blamed the United States for provoking the August war with Georgia; laid claim to Russia's "privileged interests" in its neighborhood; and proposed a massive shift in the global "architecture," which would give Russia a more pronounced say in world affairs.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Obama’s First Priority Should Be The Economy
Bernard Gwertzman, Council On Foreign Relations 11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM
CFR President Richard N. Haass, who worked on previous presidential transitions, says that given the current world situation, he believes the first priority for President-elect Barack Obama lies in "the financial and economic side," and that "the near-term foreign policy challenges are probably Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, [and] a little bit of Iraq." He says that ironically, the sharp drop in the price of oil has created "significant economic problems for the Iranian government. It means the financial sanctions are having a lot more traction, and it's possible that this will create an environment in which a new diplomatic initiative could have some promise."