The Baathist regime is indeed guilty of great war crimes, but the human cost of a failed state would be a greater catastrophe. Washington should have learnt this lesson from Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.

The biggest threat to the survival of the Islamic Republic might not come from sanctions imposed by the west, but from growing divisions that are disintegrating the regime from the inside.

Decades of war have led to generations of Afghan refugees in Iran. Their treatment under the current regime is worsening, but why now?

A Swansea student's racist comments abusing footballer Fabrice Muamba have landed him a hefty prison sentence. But to what end? A past victim of racism argues that Liam Stacey's punishment will only worsen British race relations.

Islamic political narratives flourish in opposition but will suffer in the long term

Winds of change in the conservative camp of the Iranian regime can be detected in a series of rows about the paranormal.