Closer Russia-Iran ties, as evidenced by their growing conventional arms trade, may complicate efforts to sanction Tehran for its alleged nuclear weapons program at the UN Security Council.

In this Center for Strategic and International Studies brief, Anthony Cordesmann wars that despite significant arms transfers, analysts are overestimating Iran's influence over Hezbollah's latest actions.

Oxfam details flaws in the UN arms embargo system that lead to widespread violations. The report urges improved monitoring and verification to combat the problem.

George Perkovich, an expert on India’s nuclear program, says the U.S. goal of trying to reach an accommodation with India over its nuclear energy program was a good one. But he says details in the draft accord, now being worked on in advance of President Bush’s arrival in India next week, were “very under-cooked and not well-considered.”

“The American people's friendship with the people of Asia is stronger than at any time in our nation's relatively young history. Over the past few decades, the nations of the Asia-Pacific region have become some of the world's fastest-growing centers for opportunity, prosperity and knowledge. The challenges in the Pacific region are considerable, but behind the challenges is an abundance of opportunity.”