Iran Primer's Blog
Gulf Considers Political Union to Handle Iran and Arab Spring
Caroline Crouch The six oil-rich sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf are now considering political federation to unify their foreign and defense policies. The move, originally proposed last December by Saudi King Abdullah, is a response to growing regional challenges over the past 18 months,…
U.S. to Punish Sanctions Evaders
On May 1, the White House issued a new Executive Order targeting foreign sanctions evaders. The following is a fact sheet on the Executive Order. Full links to the Executive Order and the letter to Congress are provided below. FACT SHEET: New executive order targeting foreign sanctions…
Israeli Leaders Diverge on Iran
Ted Wynne Over the past month, different branches of the Israeli government have taken widely diverse positions on Iran, its leadership and the state of its threat to Israel. Differences between senior political and military officials—present and past—are particularly…
Clinton on New Iran Diplomacy
On April 26, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the new diplomatic effort with Iran. She made her remarks at an event hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The following is an excerpt: By next January, when I will have traveled, I guess, a million miles or…
Obama’s New Executive Order on Iran Human Rights Abusers
On April 23, the White House issued a new Executive Order targeting “grave human rights abusers” in Iran and Syria. The following are key excerpts of the letter to Congress and links to both the full letter and the Executive Order. Letter to Congress I have determined that the commission…
Statements after First Diplomatic Meeting with Iran
European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton issued the following statement on behalf of the world's six major powers about the talks with Iran, which were held in Istanbul on April 14, 2012: The EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, together with the Political…
Leaders in Iran, U.S., Israel on Nuke Talks
The following is a collection of recent quotes from senior officials in Iran, the United States, and Israel about the new diplomatic initiative to resolve disputes over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. The world’s six major powers—the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia…
U.S.-Iran Trade Still Thrives
Annika Folkeson Trade is still thriving between the United States and Iran, despite harsh international sanctions. In 2011, Iran imported $229 million worth of American goods, everything from beauty products to bull semen, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. And sales have continued…
9 Polls on U.S. and Israeli Opinions on Iran
U.S. and Israeli pollsters have recently surveyed public opinion about either an Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran’s suspected nuclear facilities. The questions in the following nine Israeli and American polls feature different timeframes and options. Five U.S. public opinion polls Reuters…
Obama Moves Toward Sanctioning Iran Oil
On March 30, President Obama issued the following memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy. By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, after carefully considering the report…