New Articles

U.S. Targets IRGC, Houthi & Hezbollah Finances

On March 26, 2024, the United States sanctioned six transportation companies, one money exchanger and two tankers for facilitating shipments and financial transactions for the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. “The United States will continue to take…

White House on Iran’s Targeting of Water Systems

On March 18, the Biden administration warned governors that hackers linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were trying to disrupt drinking water and wastewater systems in the United States. “We need your support to ensure that all water systems in your state comprehensively assess their current…

Khamenei and Raisi Speeches on Nowruz

On March 20, 2024, Iran’s leaders marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year and the first day of spring, with candid yet optimistic messages on the economy. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Iran’s resilience in the face of U.S. and European sanctions but also acknowledged that the struggling…

Nowruz: Bleak Economic Future

What was the state of Iran’s economy in March 2024 as the country celebrated the Persian New Year? What were the biggest economic challenges?Sanctions have cast a long shadow on Iran’s economy, but they have not led to an economic collapse. Iran has managed to grow its overall economy by an average…

U.S. Sanctions Networks Supplying Iran’s Military

On March 20, 2024, the United States sanctioned three networks that supplied materials and goods to Iran’s ballistic missile, nuclear and defense programs. The networks were based in Iran, Turkey, Oman, and Germany. “Through complex covert procurement networks, Iran seeks to supply rogue actors…

News Digest: Week of March 18

March 18Domestic: Armed assailants killed an Iranian border guard, Mohammad Javad Bayanati, while on duty along the border of southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province. Smugglers and terrorist groups have long operated along the border with Pakistan. International: Syrian Defense Minister…

Analysis on Iranian Politics in the New Year

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a discussion on March 18, 2024 on the results of Iran’s elections for the 290-seat Parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the clerical body charged with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader. Hardliners consolidated their…

Biden on Iran at Nowruz

President Biden marked the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian new year, on March 19, 2024 with a pledge that the United States and its allies “will hold Iranian officials to account for denying fundamental human rights.” Biden has been particularly critical of Tehran’s crackdown on thousands of…

U.S. Sanctions Ship Smuggling for the Houthis

On March 15, 2024, the United States sanctioned shipping company Vishnu Inc. and its vessel, the Lady Sofia, for smuggling goods to China. The revenue was used to support the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s Qods Force, the external operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “The…

G7 Warns Iran on Missiles to Russia

On March 15, 2024, the G7 countries warned Iran against providing ballistic missiles to Russia. “We are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” they said in a joint statement. The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany…

U.S. Sanctions Iran's Bahrain Allies

On March 12, 2024, the Treasury Department sanctioned four Iran-based operatives and a financial facilitator for the al Ashtar Brigades, an Iran-backed group committed to overthrowing Bahrain’s government. “Today’s action, taken in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, underscores our…

Biden Renews State of Emergency with Iran

On March 12, 2024, 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. In 1995, President Bill Clinton declared the state of emergency, which must be extended…

2024 U.S. Intelligence Report on Iran

On March 11, 2024, the annual U.S. intelligence assessment reported that Iran’s advanced nuclear program had not yet produced a weapon. But it warned that Tehran had accelerated production and operation of centrifuges to enrich uranium, the fuel used for both a bomb and a nuclear energy plant. Iran…

News Digest: Week of March 11

March 11International: An Iranian court ordered the United States and Tondar, an opposition group based in California, to pay $2.47 billion to victims of the 2008 bombing in Shiraz. Iran accused Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd, the creator of Tondar’s website, of orchestrating the attack.…

U.N. Report on Protest Crackdown

Iran committed serious human rights violations during the crackdown on the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, according to a U.N. fact-finding mission report released on March 8, 2024. Anti-government demonstrations broke out nationwide after the death of Mahsa Amini – young woman arrested by the…

Biden on Iran & Gaza in State of the Union

In his 2024 State of the Union address, President Biden pledged to protect U.S. personnel from the threat posed by Iran and its allies, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen. “That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in…

Gallup: U.S. Views on Iran Nuclear Threat

More than three-quarters of Americans named Iran’s potential development of nuclear weapons as a critical threat to U.S. interests, according to Gallup poll. Iran’s nuclear program came in second—with 77 percent—in a list of 13 flashpoints. The only more critical danger to Americans was…

News Digest: Week of March 4

March 4Domestic: Iran’s interior ministry announced the results of the March 1 election. Hardliners consolidated their grip on power in both Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. The 290 seats of Parliament are elected every four years. Elected every eight years, the 88-member assembly has been…

U.S. Sanctions Target Houthi Finances

On March 6, the United States targeted a revenue stream of the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group that has been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023. The Treasury and State Departments sanctioned two ship owners based in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands…

Photos: 2024 Elections

On March 1, 2024, Iranians elected 290 members for parliament and 88 senior Islamic jurists for the Assembly of Experts. Iranians posted photos and videos of empty polling stations in Tehran and other major cities. The government kept polls open for an extra six hours to encourage people to vote,…

Report: Executions Surge in Iran

Iran executed at least 834 people in 2023, a 43 percent increase compared to 2022, according to the annual report by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). Some 56 percent of the executions were drug-related. Marginalized ethnic minorities, such as the Baluch of…

Election Results: Hardliners Gain, Turnout Low

Iranian hardliners consolidated their grip on power in the March 1 election for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. The 290 seats of Parliament are elected every four years. Elected every eight years, the 88-member assembly has been charged with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader. Many…

U.S. Charges Iranian for Hacking Defense Firms

On Feb. 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Alireza Shafie Nasab, age 39, with involvement in a multi-year hacking campaign. He and his co-conspirators targeted the Treasury and State Departments as well as more than a dozen American companies, including defense contractors. They tried…

News Digest: Week of February 26

February 26International: Iranian security forces shot at and injured 20 Kurds crossing the border area of Nowsud in western Kermanshah province. Border guards have repeatedly targeted kolbars, porters who transport untaxed goods across Iran’s borders with Iraq and Turkey. “The injuries sustained…

U.S. & Britain Sanction Iranian & Houthi Leaders

On Feb. 27, 2024, the United States and Britain sanctioned the deputy commander of the Qods Force, the external operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and a member of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. The U.S. Treasury also designated the owner and operator of a ship that transported…

U.S. Sanctions Iranian Shipping to China

On Feb. 27, 2024, the United States sanctioned two companies that shipped more than $100 million in Iranian goods to businesses in China on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Defense. The Panama-flagged Kohana was on its way to China when the Treasury Department made the announcement. The vessel was…

Explainer: Disillusioned Iranians Head to the Polls

On March 1, Iranians will vote in elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a body charged with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader. Iranian leaders consider voting a national duty because it represents a commitment to the 1979 revolution and its values. “Everyone should…

U.S. Sanctions Target Iran-Russia Military Ties

On Feb. 23, 2023, the United States sanctioned Iranian and Russian companies involved in transferring munitions as well as parts, components and materials for suicide drones. Moscow has increased its capacity to manufacture Iranian-designed suicide drones. For the first time, Washington designated…

News Digest: Week of February 19

February 19International: Mehr News Agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TV BRICS at the 24th Iran Media Expo. The MoU set up further cooperation on content production and distribution across media outlets from BRICS member states, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South…

U.S. Sanctions Technology Smuggling Network

On Feb. 14, 2024, the United States sanctioned a network that smuggled U.S. goods and technology from American companies to the Central Bank of Iran and other users in the Islamic Republic. The Central Bank of Iran had previously been sanctioned for providing financial support to the Qods Force,…