The ten things you need to know on 16 June 2013... 1) 'DEEPLY UNSAVOURY, DANGEROUS AND EXTREMIST' Speaking on the Murnaghan show on Sky News thi...

Today the Iranian people go to the polls for the first time since 2009's controversial reelection of President Ahmadinejad... Unfortunately, with hundreds of candidates disqualified and all the current Presidential hopefuls part of the ruling establishment and links with Ayatollah Khamenei, it is unlikely that there will be any reforms.

By international standards, Iran's election is not free and fair. Candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council and all democratic, liberal, secularist, left-wing and women candidates are banned. The media is censored. There is no open political debate. Dissenting opinions are suppressed and liable to result in arrest.

Hassan Rowhani, one of the candidates in Iran's presidential elections set for Friday 14 June, is not the first politician of recent times to have his academic credentials questioned. According to an article in the Daily Telegraph, despite Mr Rowhani revising his official biography there are still queries over the timing of his studies, especially in the light of his political career.

The ten things you need to know on Tuesday 11 June 2013... 1) PLEASE SPY ON US So, the NSA/Prism revelations must have hardened British public o...

Qardawi's call for jihad completely ignores the world as it is today: a world of nation-states. In order for there to be any progress in the Syrian conflict, Islamists of all colors and sectarian persuasions must throw out sectarian rhetoric. They must reconcile themselves with the idea that all Syrians are citizens and should not take the sectarian bait.

If it weren't for the God-awful mess in Syria, I suspect we'd be paying a great deal more attention to the God-awful mess in Iraq. We should be, anyway. This month alone, more than 500 people have been killed in almost daily bomb attacks, and last month was reported to be the most violent the country has seen for nearly five years.

Just a few weeks from now, on June 14 will be a landmark day for the Islamic Republic of Iran, when Iranians will hold what they call "presidential el...

If there was ever any doubt that the Iranian regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was on its last legs, his government has now presented the ne...

I believe Syria will be free soon, but the price they will have paid will be huge. And we will pay a massive price too if we stay silent about it. You can donate generously for the rehabilitation of the Syrian people, but more importantly you can lobby your MP and put pressure on the government to help resource the opposition.

As Iran's Presidential elections approach, the fundamentalist regime finds itself in its most difficult dilemma since its inception more than 30 years...

After hosting HRH Prince Harry for a surprise visit with First Lady Michelle Obama, the White House will welcomes prime minister David Cameron on Monday to discuss the latest crisis in Syria, the up-coming G8 Summit in Northern Ireland as well as Iran and the Middle East peace process.

An official delegation from the European Parliament is planning to visit Tehran in a few days. The Parliament's Conference of Presidents on Thursday in Strasbourg approved the controversial proposal. The delegation plans to leave around 28 April.

While the West frets over the increasingly bellicose utterances of North Korea's deranged delinquent dictator and wrings its hands in frustration over the on-going bloodbath in Syria, attention has strayed from Iraq as it spirals towards civil war.