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Timeline: Iran’s Nuclear Program Since 2018

Between 2018 and 2023, Iran breached several of the most stringent restrictions imposed by the nuclear deal with the world’s six major powers. It enriched uranium to almost 84 percent—far higher than the 3.67 percent allowed by the deal or what would be needed for a civilian nuclear reactor to…

JCPOA Five Years Later: Alternatives

Five years after the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the unique international diplomacy, which originally brought together the world’s six major powers to prevent Tehran from getting the bomb, had seriously eroded. New flashpoints diverted attention to other hotspots. By May 2023, the…

JCPOA Five Years Later: Iran's Escalations

Iran achieved an escalating series of advances in its nuclear program—bringing it within days of so-called “breakout” capability—in the five years after the U.S. withdrew from the historic deal originally negotiated by the world’s six major powers. By May 2023, Iran had exceeded several of the key…

U.S. Sanctions Iran’s IRGC for Hostage-Taking

On April 27, 2023, the United States announced new sanctions on Iran for taking Americans and Iranian-Americans hostage. The Treasury Department specifically designated four senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO), including: Mohammad…

Timeline: Assassinations of Iranian Clerics

Since 1979, more than a dozen Iranian clerics have been killed in bombings, shootings and stabbings by a variety of attackers, including opposition groups. The biggest single attack was shortly after the revolution when a bomb went off at the Islamic Republican Party headquarters. More than 70…

News Digest: Week of April 24

April 24 International: Iran shipped more than 300,000 Iranian artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition to Russia in the previous six months, officials told The Wall Street Journal. Tehran had emerged as Moscow’s top military backer amid the war against Ukraine.  International: Iran-…

Timeline: Iran-Ukraine Relations

Iran’s military support for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has soured diplomatic relations between Tehran and Kyiv. In September, Ukraine downgraded formal ties with Iran for providing armed drones to Russia. By the end of 2022, Russia had used hundreds of drones on Ukrainian military positions…

U.S., British & E.U. Sanctions for Rights Abuses

On April 24, the United States, Britain, and the European Union sanctioned more than a dozen Iranian government and security officials, particularly those linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as a mobile service provider. The listed men and company had suppressed and…

Supreme Leader Rejects Referendums

On April 18, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the proposal of holding referendums on government policies. He questioned the ability of the public to analyze issues and warned that such votes would be divisive. “For any single issue, the country would be engaged in debate and arguments…

Explainer: Iran’s Strategic Pivot to Russia

Updated: May 18, 2023
Nasser Hadian is a U.S.-educated professor of political science at the University of Tehran and a former visiting professor at Columbia University.   Why has Iran grown closer to Russia and China under President Ebrahim Raisi? How does the shift reflect Iran’s foreign policy more broadly? Iran…

U.S. on Sexual & Gender Violence in Iran

Iranian security officials deliberately and systematically used sexual and gender-based violence against protesters—including children—after nationwide demonstrations erupted in September 2022, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported in April 2023. The government…

U.S. Sweeping Sanctions on Hezbollah Network

On April 18, the United States sanctioned 52 people and companies based in nine countries for assisting Nazem Said Ahmad, a financier for Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political party backed by Iran. The list included six members of Ahmad’s family, 14 associates, and 32 companies. They…

U.S. Sanctions Network Supplying Drone Parts

On April 19, the United States sanctioned an Iranian man and six companies based in Iran, China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia that procured electronic components for Iran’s drone and military programs. The network was linked to Pardazan System Namad Arman (PASNA), an Iran-based company designated in…

G7 Foreign Ministers Condemns Iran

On April 18, the G7 countries and the European Union criticized Iran’s “unabated escalation” of its nuclear program and proliferation of weapons to militant proxies, Russia and others. The world’s most advanced economies also called on the Iranian government to end its crackdown on protesters,…

News Digest: Week of April 10

April 10 International: A bipartisan group of 130 U.S. lawmakers urged the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. In a letter, the group described Iran as “a leading state sponsor of terror,” and warned that Tehran “has freely and…

News Digest: Week of April 3

Updated: April 10, 2023
April 3 International: Israel reportedly launched a fourth round of strikes in Syria in less than a week. Israel targeted military sites near Damascus controlled by Iran-backed militias, hitting a radar system in Sweida and a glass factory near al Kiswah. Two civilians were reportedly killed. …

Profiles: Iran’s Intelligence Agencies

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has spawned more than a dozen disparate intelligence agencies that engage in domestic and foreign surveillance. They separately report to different government ministries, branches of the military, or police forces. Under the constitution, the Supreme National…

U.N. Report: Rights Abuses in Iran

In March 2023, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran deplored the “brutal response” of the government to nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. The Islamic Republic had killed hundreds of protesters, including children, since the demonstrations began. Javaid Rehman…

News Digest: Week of March 27

March 27 Diplomacy: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian agreed to meet during the month of Ramadan. The two discussed bilateral ties in a second phone call since Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations in March 2023…

U.N. Court Rejects Iran’s Case to Unfreeze Assets

On March 30, Washington and Tehran both declared victory after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on disputed Iranian assets frozen by the United States. The top U.N. court rejected Iran’s bid to unfreeze some $2 billion in central bank funds held in a Citibank account in New York. But…

U.S. Report: Iran’s Support for Terrorism

Iran was the “leading state sponsor of terrorism,” according to the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2021. The Ministry of Intelligence and Security facilitated a “wide range of terrorist and other illicit activities” in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. And the elite Qods…

U.S.-Iran Confrontation in Syria

Updated: March 25, 2023
Between 2017 and 2023, Iranian-backed militias have launched dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq. Tensions escalated in March 2023 after a series of exchanges near U.S. positions in Syria when an Iranian drone attack killed a U.S. contractor and injured five troops and another…

News Digest: Week of March 20

Updated: March 27, 2023
March 20  International: The European Union sanctioned eight men and one organization, and Britain designated seven men for human rights abuses, particularly during the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. The designations reflected growing international disgust over the Islamic…

Nowruz: Iran Declares Victory Over Protests

On March 21, Iran’s leaders marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year and the first day of spring, by declaring victory over the protesters but acknowledging economic difficulties. Both Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi blamed months of “riots” on Western powers. American…

U.S. Sanctions Network Supplying Drone Parts

On March 21, the United States sanctioned three men and four organizations that procured equipment for Iran’s drone and weapons programs. The network, based in Iran and Turkey, had links to the Ministry of Defense. One firm was owned by the ministry. Two of the men tried to acquire European-made…

Nowruz: U.S.-Iranian Astronaut at the White House

On March 20, Lt. Col. Jasmin Moghbeli, an Iranian-American astronaut leading NASA's summer 2023 mission to the International Space Station, was a featured speaker with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the first annual White House Nowruz reception. In her remarks, Moghbeli expressed…

Nowruz: Bidens Celebrate the Persian New Year

On March 20, President Joe Biden hosted the inaugural Nowruz reception at the White House, where he lauded Iranian women who were “fighting for their human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Biden welcomed the Persian new year, which he said “reminds us of hope and what that lies ahead from these…

E.U. and Britain Sanction Iran for Rights Abuses

On March 20, the European Union sanctioned eight men and one organization, and Britain designated seven men for human rights abuses, particularly during the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. The designations reflected growing international disgust over the Islamic Republic’s…

State Department Report on Human Rights in Iran

Iran’s human rights record was extremely poor in 2022, particularly after nationwide protests erupted in September after the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, the State Department reported. Security, judicial, and political officials carried out unlawful killings and arbitrary detentions,…

Nowruz: Photos of the Celebrations

Iran marked Nowruz, the Persian new year, on March 21, 2023. The holiday, which falls on the spring equinox, dates back to the sixth century B.C. and is celebrated by all of the Islamic Republic’s religious sects. Many of the season’s traditions have roots in Zoroastrianism, an ancient monotheistic…