Iran Primer's Blog

Rouhani Visits Turkey to Boost Ties

           On June 9, Hassan Rouhani became the first Iranian president to officially visit Turkey in 18 years. The primary goal of the trip was to boost economic ties with Ankara. Rouhani was accompanied by a high profile 90-member trade delegation led by Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries…

Nuclear Timelines: U.S. Perspective

            The following factsheet outlines the U.S.-Iran tensions over timelines and terms of a final nuclear agreement. 1) How long will a deal last?         The United States, along with the other five major powers, is looking for a deal measured in years, even decades, that will limit or…

Nuclear Timelines: Iran's Perspective

            In a new report, a quasi-official Iranian website has published its own timeline of how long it would take to produce enough enriched uranium for one bomb -- the so-called breakout time. It claims Tehran would need at least 18 months to produce enough enriched uranium for one bomb. But…

Rouhani: Mixed Bag One Year Later

Shaul Bakhash One year after President Hassan Rouhani’s election, what are his administration’s main accomplishments?         After the eight disastrous years of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration, Rouhani’s signal achievement is simply to put government back into the hands of adults…

Flurry of Diplomacy As Final Push Begins

            Diplomacy is accelerating in the run-up to the July 20 deadline for a nuclear deal. Delegations from most of the world’s six major powers are holding separate meetings with Iranian negotiators. Top U.S. officials led by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns held talks with the…

Report: Rouhani's Plan to Revive Oil Industry

            President Hassan Rouhani and his oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, have launched an ambitious reform program for the oil and gas industry. They are trying to roll back the dominance of the Revolutionary Guards, halt privatization, prioritize near-completion projects and attract…

More “Happy” Videos Go Viral in Tehran

            Iranian youth have posted several videos of themselves dancing and lip synching to Pharell William’s hit “Happy.” One version featuring three women — without hijab — and three men went viral and led to the dancers’ arrest on May 20. They were pressured to express remorse on state…

G-7 Statement on Iran

      On June 5, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission issued a declaration at the close of the G-7 summit in Brussels. The following is the full text of point…

Khamenei at 25 Years - Defies US in Speech

            On June 4, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei marked the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death with an address to hundreds at the late revolutionary leader’s mausoleum. Khamenei told Iranians that decades of “troublemaking” by the United States had failed to hold…

Khamenei at 25 Years - What is his legacy?

      June 3 marks the 25th anniversary of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death —and the emergence of new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The following are comments by The Iran Primer’s original authors on Khamenei’s quarter century in power.   Alireza Nader…