Garrett Nada's Blog

Iran-US Prisoner Swap: Hostage History

Iran’s practice of imprisoning foreign nationals, including Americans, has been a recurrent flashpoint since the seizure of the U.S. Embassy and 66 hostages after the 1979 revolution. Between 1979 and 2023, Iran detained nearly 100 Americans, including several U.S.-Iranian nationals. The Americans…

Iran-US Prisoner Swap: Iran Statements

On Sept. 18, 2023, President Ebrahim Raisi welcomed the prisoner swap with the United States as a “confidence builder” that could lead to future “humanitarian actions.” But he also criticized Washington. The swap “could have been accomplished much sooner had it not been for the wrong calculus of…

Iran-US Prisoner Swap: Hostages Speak

The following are statements by the Americans held hostage in Iran after their release on Sept. 18, 2023.     Siamak Namazi I would not be free today, if it wasn’t for all of you who didn’t allow the world to forget me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for being my voice when I…

Iran to Join the BRICS Alliance

On August 24, Iran and five other countries – Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – were invited to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies. The announcement was a diplomatic win for Iran, which has been isolated for its crackdown on protesters, nuclear advances…

News Digest: Week of August 14

August 14 Diplomatic: Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will visit Saudi Arabia “in the near future,” the foreign ministry announced. Spokesman Nasser Kanani did not provide a specific date but said that “the relations between the two countries are progressing step by step” since they…

U.S. Report on Human Trafficking in Iran

Iran’s government “did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity, is not making significant efforts to do so,” according to the State Department’s annual report on human…

Raisi Mobilizes Support for Iran in Latin America

In a defiant challenge to the United States, President Ebrahim Raisi flew to three Latin American countries—one only 90 miles from the U.S. border—to deepen Iran’s strategic and economic ties in the western hemisphere. The trip, in mid-June 2023, included stops in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, all…

Profile: New Security Council Chief

Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was appointed to be secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the highest body in charge of foreign policy and national security, on May 22. He replaced Ali Shamkhani, a former rear…

Shamkhani Removed from Security Council

After a decade surviving Iran’s fractious politics, Ali Shamkhani was removed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the highest body in charge of foreign policy and national security, on May 22. The former rear admiral, a young hero during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war who…

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s IRGC for Hostage-Taking

On April 27, 2023, the United States announced new sanctions on Iran for taking Americans and Iranian-Americans hostage. The Treasury Department specifically designated four senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO), including: Mohammad…