World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (March 29, 2012)

An article by Jenifer Rubin headlined 'Election-year promises' published by The Washington Post touches upon the role President Obama played in the Iranian crisis. "The president’s engagement policy failed. Sanctions have failed to stop the Iranian nuclear program. He made an historic misstep in failing to back the Green Revolution. In his “leading from behind” mode he seems determined to delay military action and downplay the threat of action, in effect subcontracting out the defense of the West to Israel," the author says.

The Guardian published an article by Paul Bettany devoted to the problem of capital punishment. The author underlines that use of the death penalty is a socially acceptable human rights violation. According to him, the existence of capital punishment in the US or potentially the UK makes these countries similar to Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries of the world where the situation surrounding human rights is outrageous. The author pays special attention to Iran, where unfaithul women are still stoned to death, according to the out-of-date Muslim law.

Hurriyet published an article by Mehmet Ali Birand headlined 'Erdoğan will not be able to convince Iran.' The article is devoted to the Syrian crisis and the role Iran plays in it. According to the author, Iran will never stop supporting the al-Assad regime, as in case of it falling Iran would also lose its influence in Lebanon and it would be impossible to maintain the “Shiite corridor” it is trying to form through alliances with Syria and Iraq, to access to the Mediterranean. With Russia taking Iran's side, such a scenario seems unlikely. "In all this turmoil, even if Erdoğan uses all his persuasive powers, I don’t think he will be able to reach a solution," Birand says.

Hurriyet also published an article by Murat Yetkin entitled 'Turkish generals on trial have a lot to say.' The author points out that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not like former prime ministers of Turkey, who were weakened by coalition governments, and Turkey is not the same country it was before the European Union democratization reforms. This means that the country's military commanders, who played a major role in Turkish politics for years, are now in great danger.