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Profiles: Iran’s Militia Allies in Iraq

Since 2003, Iranian influence has deepened in Iraq through an array of Shiite militias trained, armed, aided, and supported financially by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). All shared Tehran’s strategic goal of expelling U.S. forces from the Middle East, although they have also had…

Roster of Iran’s Drones

Updated: February 2, 2024
By 2024, Iran’s military-industrial complex had produced thousands of advanced drones used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat used against U.S. forces as well as American allies in the Middle East. The drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) have become one of the greatest assets of the Iranian…

U.S. Sanctions Network Supplying Iran’s Missile & Drone Programs

On Feb. 2, 2024, the United States sanctioned a network that supplied materials and technology for Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs. The new sanctions followed the attack on Jan. 28, 2024 on a U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan along the border abutting Syria and Iraq. Three American…

U.S. Sanctions Iranian Officials for Cyberattacks

On Feb. 2, 2024, the United States sanctioned six Iranian officials for cyber-attacks in the United States and other countries. The new sanctions followed the attack on Jan. 28, 2024, on a U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan along the border abutting Syria and Iraq. Three American soldiers were killed…

Timeline of Proxy Attacks: Iraq, Syria and Jordan

Updated: February 12, 2024
U.S. forces deployed across the Middle East were attacked more than 160 times by pro-Iranian militias during the first four months of the Gaza war—from October 2023 to February 2024—between Israel and Hamas. They faced barrages of drone, rocket, and missile strikes on their positions in Iraq, Syria…

Timeline: Houthi Attacks and U.S. Responses

Updated: March 18, 2024
Tensions soared between the Houthi militia in Yemen and the United States after Houthis seized the crew of a commercial shipping vessel on Nov. 19, 2023. Houthis launched attacks–using drones, missiles, and small boats–on commercial shipping and naval warships in the Red Sea, one of the world’s…

U.S. Allies on Attack in Jordan

Western and Arab allies were quick to support the United States after a drone attack that killed three American soldiers and injured more than 40 U.S. forces at a military outpost in Jordan on Jan. 28, 2024. They were also critical of Iran’s network of proxies and allies that have attacked U.S.…

U.S. on Attack on Americans in Jordan

On Jan. 28, 2024, three U.S. soldiers were killed and more than 40 injured in a drone strike on Tower 22, a military outpost in Jordan abutting the borders of Syria and Iraq. They were the first fatalities after more than 160 attacks on U.S. forces deployed in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since the…

Comments: Iran & Allies on U.S. Forces in Jordan

Tensions flared between the United States and allies of Iran after the drone attack that killed three American soldiers and injured more than 40 at Tower 22, a military outpost in northern Jordan on January 28, 2024. The Biden administration vowed decisive retribution. In response, Iran and its…

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Qods Force and Hezbollah

On Jan. 31, 2024, the United States imposed financial sanctions on an individual and three entities that were part of a network that helped fund the operations of the Qods Force, the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards in charge of foreign operations, as well as Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia.…

News Digest: Week of January 29

January 29Diplomacy: Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi met with Syrian Minister of Interior Mohammad Khaled al Rahmoun in Damascus to discuss security coordination and counterterrorism efforts. They reviewed the complex security landscape in Syria and the regional challenges both states face…

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Qods Force and Houthis

On January 12, 2024, the United States sanctioned foreign companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for shipping goods on behalf of the Houthis, a Yemeni militia supported by the Qods Force, the elite Iranian unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that funds, arms and coordinates…

Report: Iran’s Torture, Sexual Assaults & Killings

In its annual report, Human Rights Watch charged that Iran executed more than 700 people in 2023, a significant increase from 2022. It also engaged in mass arrests of human rights and labor activists, lawyers, journalists, students, and artists as well as family members of protestors. Security…

U.S. Sanctions Network Supporting Iran’s Drone Program

On Dec. 19, 2023, the United States sanctioned 10 companies and four men based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia for supporting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle program (UAV) program. The network procured components made in the United States and elsewhere worth hundreds of thousands of…

Proxy Attacks: Iraq, Syria & Yemen

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria launched sporadic drone and rocket attacks on U.S. forces based in Iraq and Syria on Oct. 17, 2023—10 days after war erupted between Hamas and Israel. The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, an umbrella group for Iranian-backed factions, targeted U.S. forces who had…

U.S. Comments: Flashpoints with Iran in 2023

In 2023, the Biden administration condemned Iran for advancing its nuclear program, supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, cracking down on protesters, and backing militant proxies across the Middle East. Officials lauded the Iranian people, who faced suppression and intimidation from the…

Iran in 2023: Timeline

For Iran, 2023 was a tumultuous year that included controversial nuclear advances, rising tensions with Washington over proxy attacks on U.S. forces and support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, chronic inflation, and tensions over enforcement of the Islamic dress code. The following is a timeline…

Iran Comments: Flashpoints in 2023

In 2023, Iranian officials blamed the United States and its allies for many of the world’s ills. In his U.N. speech, President Ebrahim Raisi declared that Western power was waning. “The world is changing and transitioning to an emerging international order, and this path is irreversible,” he told…

Iran 2024: Advancing Nuclear Program

What was the status of Iran’s nuclear program at the end of 2023? Given the way Tehran has accelerated its program in the past, what are the biggest dangers of further advances in 2024?Overall, Iran's nuclear program continued to trend in the wrong direction. During 2023, the proliferation risks…

Iran 2024: Political Challenges

What are Iran’s political challenges in 2024?The main challenges for the government are maintaining political stability and stabilizing the dire economic situation, especially the very high inflation rate. Officials understand that the legitimacy of the regime has eroded, especially since the…

Notable Women Detained in Iran

Updated: November 26, 2023
Since 2018, Iran has detained many women activists, students, lawyers and even revolutionary insiders, such as Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who criticized the regime or participated in protests. It has picked up journalists, including Niloofar Hamedi and…

U.S. on Iran Threats Since Gaza War

On November 15, FBI director Christopher Wray warned that the United States faced growing dangers at home from the war between Hamas and Israel thousands of miles away. Wray specifically cited Iran, “the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” for operations directly and indirectly through…

U.S. and Britain Sanction Hamas and PIJ Leaders

On November 14, the United States and Britain sanctioned the leadership of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as well as mechanisms used by Iran to support the militant groups. “Together with our partners we are decisively moving to degrade Hamas’s financial infrastructure, cut them off from…

Raisi in Saudi Arabia on Gaza War

On November 11, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi condemned Israel for allegedly committing the “most heinous crimes” in history during its campaign against Hamas — a response to the brutal attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis on October 7. “What has happened in the past five weeks in…

Biden Renews State of Emergency with Iran

On Nov. 7, 2023, President Biden renewed the national emergency with respect to Iran, which gives the president broad powers to unilaterally impose sanctions or other punitive measures and regulate trade. President Jimmy Carter declared the state of emergency, which must be extended every year, in…

Blinken in Middle East Amid Gaza War

On Nov. 2, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the Middle East for consultations with regional leaders on the war between Israel and Hamas. He worked to prevent the conflict from spreading, secure the release of hostages, and increase the volume of aid entering Gaza. The following are…

Iran Commemorates U.S. Embassy Seizure

A woman posing in front of a mural outside of the former embassyOn Nov. 4, 2023, Iran held celebrations to mark the 44th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy, when 52 American diplomats were held for 444 days. The takeover, which gripped world attention, ended a presidency and introduced…

Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, on the Gaza War

Updated: November 11, 2023
In a much-anticipated speech on November 3, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah heralded the Hamas offensive against Israel and said his Shiite militia was playing a supporting role by targeting Israeli troops along the northern border, thereby dividing Israel’s military forces. “Some say I’m going…

Iran and the Palestinians in Gaza

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the two militant movements in Gaza, have violently challenged Israel’s right to exist since their creation in the 1980s. Both have a similar agenda—to defeat Israel and create an Islamic state in historic Palestine. “The day that enemies usurp part of…

Iran Says U.S. Will “Not Be Spared From This Fire”

On October 26, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke to the U.N. General Assembly about the war between Hamas and Israel. Tehran has armed, financed and supported Hamas, a movement of Palestinian extremists, since it grew out of the First Intifadah in 1987. Hamas initiated the war…