Iran Primer's Blog
Obama on Iran
President Obama commented extensively on Iran at a White House news conference on March 6, 2012. "Because sanctions are starting to have significant effect inside of Iran -- and that's not just my assessment, that's, I think, a uniform assessment -- because the sanctions are going to be even…
U.N. Reports “Striking Pattern” of Abuses
A new report by the U.N. Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran issued a new report on March 6, 2012. It concluded:
The Special Rapporteur has catalogued allegations that produce a striking pattern of violations of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law. He restates his…
U.S. Sanctions Iran for Heroin Trafficking
On March 7, the Treasury Department designated Iranian Qods Force General overseeing Afghan Heroin trafficking through Iran. The following is the Treasury Department’s statement. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Iranian Islamic Revolutionary…
Gallup: 8% of Iranians Approve of U.S. Leadership
According to a 2012 Gallup poll, only eight percent of Iranians approve of U.S. leadership. Quick Summary: Iranians' already low approval of U.S. leadership did not get worse after the U.S. toughened sanctions in late 2011. Eight percent of Iranians approved of U.S. leadership…
Election Watch #4: Facts on Iran’s Election
On Jan. 21, Iran announced the final list of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary election. The following are key facts on the list of candidates. 5,395 candidates originally registered to run for parliament.3,444 were approved by the guardian council, which…
Part I: Khamenei Denies Nuclear Weapon
At a meeting with Iranian nuclear scientists on Feb. 22, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the following remarks about Iran’s nuclear program, international pressure and sanctions. “The Iranian nation has never been after nuclear weapons and it will never go after…
How much oil does Europe buy from Iran?
Iran announced on Feb. 19 that it would halt all oil sales to France and Britain, a response to new EU sanctions on Iranian oil imports due to go into effect this summer. But the top 10 European economies actually acquire only a modest share of their oil from Iran. The following are EU statistics…
U.S. Military Chief: Strike Not “Prudent”
On Feb. 19, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey made the following comments on Iran in an interview on CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria. On Iran’s nuclear intentions We also know, or believe we know, that the Iranian regime has not decided that they will embark on the [...] effort…
U.S. Sanctions Iranian Intelligence Ministry
On Feb. 16, the State Department issued the following statement on Iran:Today the United States Government took three separate sanctions actions against Iran’s primary intelligence agency, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). MOIS was designated for its involvement in the…
Pew: American Views on Iran Nuke Program
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 8-12, 2012, among 1,501 adults, finds substantial partisan differences over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. The public supports tough measures – including the possible use of military…