Iran Primer's Blog

Senators Seek Congressional Review of Any Nuclear Deal with Iran

            On July 23, five Republican Senators announced the following plan to require President Obama to seek Congressional approval of any nuclear deal with Iran. The following is a press release posted by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.              With a four-month extension…

The World According to Khamenei

     Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei now claims that the escalating crises in Gaza and Iraq are the fault of the West and Israel. The United States and its allies are trying to undermine Iran and the progress of Muslim nations, according to his revolutionary narrative. The following are…

US & Iran on Nuclear Talks Extension

      On July 18, the world’s six major powers and Iran agreed to a four-month extension of nuclear talks after nearly three weeks of intensive discussion. Secretary of State John Kerry (left) said that the two sides have “a draft text that covers the main issues,” but that there are gaps in some…

Part I: Kerry & US on Nuke Talks Extension

      On July 18, the world’s six major powers and Iran agreed to a four-month extension of nuclear talks after nearly three weeks of intensive discussion. Secretary of State John Kerry (left) said that the two sides have “a draft text that covers the main issues,” but that there are gaps in some…

Part II: Zarif & Iran on Nuke Talks Extension

      On July 18, Iran and the world’s six major powers agreed to a four-month extension of nuclear talks after nearly three weeks of intensive discussion. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that although the two sides “have made tangible progress on some of the issues… there are still…

Iran’s Nuclear Chess: Calculating America’s Moves

           A new monograph "Iran's Nuclear Chess: Calculating America's Moves" by Robert Litwak, vice president for scholars and director of international security studies at the Wilson Center, addresses the nuclear negotiations between the world's six major powers and Iran and the implications for…

Republicans Warn Obama on Iran's Missiles

            On July 15, 28 Republican Senators led by Kelly Ayotte (NH) and Marco Rubio (FL) sent a letter to President Obama warning him about Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile program. “While conducting negotiations about its nuclear program, Iran is simultaneously continuing development…

Part I: Kerry & US on the Nuke Talks

            On July 13, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Vienna to check the progress of nuclear talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers —Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. “We have some very significant gaps still, so we need to if we can make some…

Part II: Zarif & Iran on the Nuke Talks

            Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reemphasized that Iran is prepared to take the necessary steps to prove that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful in an interview with NBC television. “We don't see any benefit in Iran developing a nuclear weapon,” Zarif told David Gregory on…

Report: Iran’s Practical Nuclear Needs

            On July 14, quasi-official website NuclearEnergy.ir published the most detailed report to date on Iran’s “practical needs” for nuclear energy and an explanation for why it wants its own fuel reactors. It explains the logic behind Tehran’s stated need of a industrial scale uranium…