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Iran Sentences American to 10 Years
An American graduate student has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying, according to Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, and Iranian media. A U.S. citizen “was gathering intelligence and was directly guided by the U.S.,” Ejehi announced at a…
Iran Allocates Extra $600 Million to Revolutionary Guards
On July 2, Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi announced the allocation of more than $600 million to strengthen the country’s missile defense system and the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Boroujerdi, chairman of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy…
US Report: Human Trafficking in Iran
Iran’s government has taken some small steps to address human trafficking but still does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, according to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 by the U.S. Department of State. Since at least 2009, Iran has been designated Tier 3, the…
Iranians Mark Quds Day
On June 23, Iran marked “Quds Day,” an annual event to express support for Palestinians and condemn Israel. Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. Iran initiated the event in 1979, which has been held on the last Friday of the holy month of…
Khamenei Comments on US, ISIS
In June 2017, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned U.S. policy towards Iran and the region in two speeches and a meeting. He also mocked President Donald Trump and his administration. “The new White House leaders are like nascent hooligans who scare people by brandishing their knives…
US Shoots Down Iran-made Drone in Syria
On June 20, a U.S. aircraft shot down an Iranian-made drone in Syria. “The armed pro-regime Shaheed-129 UAV was shot down by a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle at approximately 12:30 a.m. after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces,” according to the U.S.-led forces fighting ISIS. It…
Iran Launches Missiles at ISIS in Syria
Updated: June 21, 2017
On June 18, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fired six mid-range missiles from western Iran at ISIS targets in the Deir el-Zour region of eastern Syria. The IRGC said the missiles targeted a key arms depot, a military command center and the group’s Deir el-Zour headquarters. At least…
Zarif, Khamenei Lash Back at Tillerson
Updated: June 22, 2017
On June 14, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson implied that the United States supports regime change in Iran, which would be a significant departure from U.S. policy under previous administrations. Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) asked Tillerson, who was testifying on the budget request for the State…
US Senate Advances Iran Sanctions Bill
Updated: June 19, 2017
On June 7, the U.S. Senate voted 92-7 to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran. The legislation aims to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior in the Middle East by sanctioning “Iran’s ballistic missile program, applying terrorism sanctions to the Iranian…
Twin Attacks in Tehran Claimed by ISIS
Updated: June 16, 2017
On June 7, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Iran’s parliament and late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum. The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for both attacks, the first in Tehran in more than a decade. At least 17 were killed…
Iran on Gulf Split
Updated: June 22, 2017
On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move. They accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, al Qaeda, Iranian-backed groups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Houthi rebels…
Report: Women Face Bias in Workplace
Women in Iran “confront an array of legal and social barriers, restricting not only their lives but also their livelihoods, and contributing to starkly unequal economic outcomes,” according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. “Iranian women’s achievements in higher education demonstrate their…
Defense Intelligence Agency on Iran
Iran “remains a significant challenge to the United States within the Middle East and Southwest Asia,” according to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment.” On May 23, DIA Director and Lt. Gen Vincent Stewart briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee on the report’s…
Iranians in US Voted for Rouhani
On May 19, Iranians living in the United States overwhelmingly voted for President Hassan Rouhani. Some 96 percent of the 30,039 voters supported him. More than 50 polling stations were set up across the country. Iranians in the Washington D.C. area cast their votes at the Iranian Interests Section…
Iran Reacts to Trump Remarks
Updated: May 25, 2017
Iranian leaders have harshly criticized U.S. foreign policy and President Donald Trump for revitalizing the U.S.-Saudi relationship on his trip to the region. In a tweet, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sarcastically referred to the Sunni kingdom as a “bastion of democracy and moderation” and…
Rouhani on US, Saudi Arabia
On May 22, President Hassan Rouhani criticized U.S. foreign policy in his first press conference since he was reelected. “Americans have always made mistakes with regard to our region – when they attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, when they imposed sanctions on us, and in Syria and Yemen,” he told…
Trump on Iran in Saudi Arabia, Israel
On May 21, President Donald Trump accused Iran of fueling “the fires of sectarian conflict and terror” in his address to leaders of 50 Muslim countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Sunni kingdom was his first stop on his first foreign trip. Trump and King Salman inaugurated a new center to monitor…
Iran Celebrates Rouhani Reelection
On May 20, Iranians took to the streets to celebrate President Hassan Rouhani’s re-election. He garnered 57 percent of the vote, compared with 38 percent for his closest rival, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi. Rouhani’s first two posts on Instagram after the election indicated his gratitude for support…
Rouhani Victory Speech
On May 20, President Hassan Rouhani thanked Iranians for reelecting him in a live television address. “The message of our people was expressed clearly in the election and today, the world knows well that the Iranian nation has chosen the path of interaction with the world, away from violence and…
The Race: Rouhani Wins Reelection
Updated: May 22, 2017
On May 20, Iran’s Interior Ministry announced that President Hassan Rouhani won a second term by a wide margin. He garnered 57 percent of the vote, compared with 38 percent for his closest rival, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi. Rouhani’s victory was a significant blow to conservatives, who were seeking a…
The Race: Election Day Scenes
Iranians began to form long lines soon after polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. They cast ballots for president as well for municipal councils nationwide. Some 56.5 million people were eligible to vote, including 1.3 million first timers, according to the Interior Ministry. The turnout in 2013…
Iran Sanctions US Firms
On May 18, Iran’s foreign ministry announced new sanctions on nine American individuals and firms in response to the latest U.S. sanctions. On May 17, the U.S. Treasury had blacklisted three individuals and four entities for supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program. "Iran condemns America's…
State Department Update on Iran’s Human Rights Abuses
On May 17, the U.S. State Department released a semi-annual report to Congress on sanctions imposed on individuals for human rights abuses committed in Iran. The following is the full text of a media note and the report.
U.S. State Department Issues Report on Human Rights Sanctions on Iran
The…
U.S. Imposes New Sanctions
On May 17, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran even as it waived sanctions as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States committed to waive nuclear-related sanctions if Iran remains in compliance with the JCPOA’s…
The Race: Banned Politicians Impact Election
Updated: May 17, 2017
Three banned politicians are having an outsized impact on Iran’s presidential election – with their legacies benefiting President Hassan Rouhani. The three – former President Mohammad Khatami, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former Parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karroubi – are all…
The Race: The Final Stretch
Updated: May 17, 2017
The pace and intensity of Iran’s presidential campaign have picked up in the final days before the May 19 vote. The election has basically turned into a two-man race between President Hassan Rouhani and conservative Ebrahim Raisi. For the first time in 20 years, the top two candidates are both…
The Race: Third Presidential Debate
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf
The third presidential debate, technically on the economy, often devolved into personal attacks over corruption, personal gains at public expense, nepotism, and association with human rights abuses. The angry sniping and name-calling played out largely between President…
The Race: A Combatant Campaign
Updated: May 15, 2017
Iran’s presidential campaign has gone from feisty to combative. President Hassan Rouhani has dared to rebuke his rivals and even scolded hardline clerics and the powerful Revolutionary Guards. At campaign rallies and in television debates, he has presented the election as a stark choice between…
The Race: It’s the Economy, Stupid
The economy is the primary issue in the 2017 presidential campaign for at least three reasons. The 1979 revolution was carried out in the name of the “oppressed,” but decades of international isolation and sanctions crippled the theocracy’s ability to deliver. As they go to the polls on May 19,…
The Race: Second Presidential Debate
The most interesting aspects of Iran’s second presidential debate, on May 5, were discussions of the nuclear deal and a nuanced but obvious question about the Revolutionary Guards. All six candidates implicitly supported the nuclear deal with the United States and five other major powers, which has…