Iran Primer's Blog
Iran Letter to U.N. about Bomb Plot
In response to a draft resolution against Iran, its mission at the United Nations issued the following letter refuting U.S. allegations about an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington as "circumstantial and unsubstantiated." In the name of God, the Compassionate, the…
Russian Scientist Helped Nuclear Program?
The following is an excerpt from a new assessment by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) about Russian scientist Vycheslav Danilenko, who worked in Iran from 1996 until 2002 and reportedly may have provided assistance to Iran on explosive technology that could be used in…
Poll: Most Americans Back Diplomacy on Iran
The following is an excerpt from a CBS News poll on what Americans favor on U.S. policy preferences on Iran. "Most Americans support a diplomatic approach when it comes to dealing with Iran; 55% think Iran is a threat to the U.S. that can be contained with diplomacy. Only 15% say Iran is…
Iran’s Growing Dependence on China
The Atlantic Council has issued a new report entitled “Iran Turns to China, Barter to Survive Sanctions.” The following is an excerpt, with a link to the entire survey at the bottom. The big story of the last decade for Iranian trade has been that of increasing reliance on China. Since 2001…
Summary of U.N. Nuclear Report
The following is an excerpt of the conclusions from a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency – in November 2011. While the Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at the nuclear facilities and LOFs declared by…
Iran in U.N. Human Development Report
The following are some key statistics on development in Iran from the 2011 Human Development Report that was published on Nov. 2. Overall, Iran ranked number 88 out of 187 countries. Economics: · Population: 74.8 millions· GDP per capita (PPP*): $11,558· GNI per capita (…
The Talk of Attack
Iran’s controversial nuclear program has once again sparked talk of a possible Israeli military strike, with the Israeli press reporting that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been seriously debating the options. In turn, the Iranians have struck a defiant tone…
House Moves to Strengthen Sanctions
The following statement was released on Nov. 2 by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The committee adopted two bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening and expanding U.S. sanctions on Iran and other rogue regimes. To view Chairman Ros-Lehtinen’s full remarks during the markup, please click here.…
U.S. Strategic Competition with Iran
Anthony Cordesman and Alexander Wilner of the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a new report on Nov. 2. The following is an excerpt with a link to the full report at the bottom: U.S. competition with Iran has become the equivalent of a game of three-dimensional chess, but…
Clinton and Kambiz Hosseini of Voice of America's Parazit Show
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton interview with Kambiz Hosseini of the Voice of America’s Parazit show on Oct. 26, 2011: QUESTION: So, Madam Secretary, thank you for taking time to answer our audience’s questions. We were supposed to do this way earlier. We assume you were too busy taking down…