Garrett Nada's Blog
Iran in 2023: Pivotal Year Ahead
In early 2023, Iran faced the greatest array of challenges since the early days of the revolution. At home, the unpopular government was dealing with enduring protests, soaring inflation, and energy shortages. Abroad, Iran was increasingly isolated over its human rights record, controversial…
U.S. Sanctions for Serious Human Rights Abuses
On December 21, the United States sanctioned Iran’s prosecutor general, four military officials and one company for the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. Iranian authorities “have killed hundreds of peaceful protestors, including dozens of children, and arbitrarily…
History: U.S.-Iran at the World Cup
Iran and the United States face off at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar on November 29. The match coincided with escalating tensions over failed diplomacy to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, and the government crackdown on months of protests. The match…
Explainer: Iran’s Drone Exports Worldwide
Iran has developed a robust drone industry after decades of importing defense equipment for domestic use by both security and military forces. By early 2024, Tehran had also exported drones or drone technology to at least five countries on four continents as well as to at least seven proxy militias…
World Demonstrations Support Iran Protests
Rallies in support of Iranian protestors were organized in dozens of cities across six continents—from San Francisco to Seoul and Sydney, from Tunis to Tokyo—in late September and early October 2022. Demonstrators chanted “Death to the dictator” and carried signs boasting “Women, Life, Freedom.”…
TIMELINE: A Year of Protests
In mid-September 2022, protests broke out across Iran after the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman picked up for improper hijab, or head covering. She collapsed in a “reeducation” center. During the first two weeks, spontaneous demonstrations erupted in more than 90 cities in…
Year One: Raisi on the U.S. & the West
In his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi blamed many of the Middle East’s problems on Western powers. Foreign intervention, notably by the United States, had produced only conflict and political discord, he argued. The “idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized…
US-Iran Tensions in Syria: 2022
In August, tensions flared between the United States and Iran in Syria. The United States launched airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in response to drone and rocket attacks on bases housing U.S. troops on August 15. “We've sent a very loud and clear message and a proportional message, that any…
Putin Visits Tehran for Strategic Talks
On July 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran to boost ties with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts. The trip came just three days after President Biden toured the region to rally support against Iran. Relations between Russia and Iran have steadily improved, according to Gallup…
Biden on Iran in Mideast Trip
In his first trip to the Middle East as president, Joe Biden renewed his pledge to never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. “There will be no nuclear Iran. This is not only a threat to Israel, but to the world,” Biden said on July 14. During the four-day tour, Biden visited Iran’s main regional…