garrett nada's Blog

Explainer: Iran’s Presidential Election

Iran’s presidential election is scheduled for June 18. Registration for candidates began on May 11, and seven candidates were selected to run on May 25. The poll will be pivotal to Iran's future since President Hassan Rouhani cannot run again; the Islamic Republic has a limit of two consecutive…

One Year of COVID: Economic Impact

Virtually every aspect of Iran’s economy has been impacted by the global pandemic. In the year since the first case of COVID-19 in February 2020, Iran’s economy has faced new challenges exacerbated by longstanding problems, including years of punitive U.S. sanctions. The main consequences have been…

U.S. Sanctions Two Houthi Commanders

On March 2, the United States sanctioned two Houthi rebel commanders, Mansur al Saadi and Ahmad Ali Ahsan al Hamzi, for orchestrating attacks “impacting Yemeni civilians, bordering nations, and commercial vessels in international waters.” Al Saadi and al Hamzi “command forces that worsening the…

Iran’s Missiles: Timeline of Attacks

Iran’s missile program, which dates back to the monarchy, has been an increasingly important military staple since the 1979 revolution, as the Islamic Republic’s warplanes became obsolete. In the mid-1980s, Tehran acquired Scud missiles from Libya, Syria and North Korea and also began adapting the…

Jonathan Finer on Iran

In 2020, before he was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, Jonathan Finer charged that the Trump administration’s policy on Iran had failed.  “Iran’s behavior in the region, if anything, has gotten worse since maximum pressure began, and its nuclear program has moved closer to the danger…

U.S. Sanctions Iraqi Militia Leader Tied to Iran

On January 8, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Falih al Fayyadh, Chairman of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC) and former National Security Advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, for human rights abuses. Fayyadh headed the PMC when its forces, including militias supported by Iran, allegedly…

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Metal Industry

On January 5, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 12 Iranian and four foreign-based companies as well as one Iranian man involved with steel production and sales. Concurrently, the State Department sanctioned an Iran-based shipping company involved in supplying graphite, a key element in steel production…

Iran Human Rights in 2020

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has detained or imprisoned tens of thousands of human rights activists, including peaceful protestors, dissidents, union members, civil society organizers, feminists, students, journalists, lawyers and the unemployed. It notoriously cracked down when millions took to…

Part 1: Leading Iran Nuclear Scientist Killed

On November 27, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear scientist, was assassinated in a roadside attack about 40 miles east of Tehran. Western and Israeli intelligence had long suspected that Fakhrizadeh was the father of Iran’s covert nuclear weapons program. He was often compared to J. Robert…

Part 1: Iran in the U.S. Election

On October 21, John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, accused Iran and Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election. “Some voter registration information has been obtained by Iran, and separately, by Russia,” he said at a hastily arranged news conference. “We have already…