Iran Primer's Blog
Western Countries Flood Tehran
More than two dozen delegations of lawmakers, officials and businesspeople have visited Iran since the interim nuclear agreement was brokered in November 2013. Many Western countries and South Korea are particularly hopeful that Iran and the world’s six major powers – Britain, China,…
Iran Fact File: Arak Heavy Water Reactor
The following fact sheet was published by Iran Fact File, a project of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The IR-40 is an as yet incomplete Iranian heavy water moderated research reactor with a…
Obama Rules on UN Appointees
On April 18, President Barack Obama signed Senate Resolution 2195 into law, banning appointees to the United Nations that have “engaged in espionage or terrorist activity directed against the United States or its allies.” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sponsored the bill in response to reports that…
U.N. Report: Iran Cut Nuclear Stockpile 75%
Iran is ahead of schedule in implementing the interim nuclear deal, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Tehran has cut its most sensitive uranium stockpile by 75 percent and is set to dilute or convert the rest soon. Under…
Rand Report: The Days After a Nuclear Deal
On April 3, the Rand Corporation convened a day-long conference on Iran in the days after a nuclear deal. Participants concluded that that an agreement could herald a new era for Iran and its relationship with the outside world. But experts warned that Tehran would still likely be…
Khamenei’s Red Lines on Nuclear Talks
On April 9, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outlined six red lines on nuclear talks in an address to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The semi-official government website NuclearEnergy.ir pulled out his six points and distributed the graphic below. The following are…
IMF: Iran’s Economy Stabilizing
Iran’s economy has shown signs of stability since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Inflation declined to about 29 percent in January 2014, down from about 40 percent in late 2013. But Iran’s “near-…
Iran Nuke Odyssey 1: Under the Shah
Ali Vaez, Karim Sadjadpour (via Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Conception (1957–1979) The genesis of Iran’s nuclear program can be traced back to 1957. Ironically, it was the United States—then Tehran’s key strategic patron—that sowed the seeds of nuclear development by…
Iran Nuke Odyssey 2: After the Revolution
Ali Vaez, Karim Sadjadpour (via Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Caesura (1979–1984) One of the first debates among the revolutionaries who overthrew the shah was about the legacy of the ancien régime. The royal heritage included the nuclear program, deemed by the…
Rouhani: Sanctions Starting to Unravel
On April 15, President Hassan Rouhani told a crowd in Sistan and Baluchistan province that international sanctions on Iran are already “breaking down” and will shatter in the coming months. Negotiators from Iran and the world’s six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia…