Iran Primer's Blog

            President Hassan Rouhani’s Twitter account saw the most impressive growth in followers last year among accounts of other world leaders, according to the 2014 Twiplomacy Study by Burso-Martsteller. @HassanRouhani’s number of followers has multiplied by 19 since the last study was…

            The most difficult issues in the Iran nuclear talks “will not likely be settled until the 11th hour, but the two sides have a number of realistic, effective, and verifiable options available that would address the core concerns of both sides,” according to Arms Control Association…

            On June 26, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed concern about the large number of executions carried out in Iran so far in 2014. Pillay highlighted the case of Razieh Ebrahimi, who now faces hanging after she was convicted of killing her husband when she was 17…

             Since 2006, the United States has imposed more sanctions on Iran than any other country, so it may have to cede the most ground to get a nuclear deal in 2014. Over the years, Republican and Democratic administrations have issued at least 16 executive orders, and Congress has…

            Iranian police reportedly arrested two people for appearing in London-based Ajam Band’s World Cup music video. Police chief Col. Rahmatollah Taheri called the “Goal Iran” video “vulgar” because it shows unveiled women singing and dancing. He also noted that the video features from both…

           The U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan and Hassan Rouhani’s election to Iran’s presidency “may provide a new opportunity for greater U.S.-Iran cooperation in Afghanistan,” according to a new study by the RAND Corporation. The two countries had convergent interests in 2001, when Tehran…

            The world’s six major powers and Iran began drafting a final nuclear deal during a four-day round of talks that ended on June 20. “We have worked extremely hard all week to develop elements we can bring together when we meet for the next round,” said Michael Man, a spokesperson for E.U…

            The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has confirmed that Iran is still complying with the interim nuclear deal, which took effect on January 20. Tehran has not enriched uranium to above the five percent level. It has also diluted half of its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, which…

           Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Shiite religious leaders oppose nuclear weapons based on thousand-year-old principles of Islamic law, according to a paper by Ayatollah Abolqasem Alidoost. Quasi-official Iranian website NuclearEnergy.ir. published a summary including a…

Interview with Nasser Hadian The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a militant Sunni group, has taken control of much of eastern Syria and, most recently, northern Iraq. What are the implications for Iran?               Stabilizing Iraq is extremely important to Iran for a number of reasons…