October 28

Justice: The Iranian lawyer of two French citizens detained in Tehran said prosecutors had provided no evidence of espionage or security-related charges. Roland Marchal was arrested in June while visiting his Iranian-French colleague Fariba Adelkhah, who was also detained. The attorney said the cases were still under review by the prosecutor and have not gone to trial. 

As commander of Iran’s elite Qods Force, Qassem Soleimani has become one of the most powerful military leaders in the Middle East. He has reportedly masterminded major military operations, bombings and assassinations since he took over the external operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1998.

After Turkey’s invasion of Syria on October 9, Iran called on its longstanding ally and neighbor to rethink its plan to create a buffer zone inside Syria. “We are calling on our friendly and brotherly neighbor Turkey to act with more patience and restraint, and to revise its decision and chosen path,” Rouhani said in an interview with the Islamic Student News Agency. “We have openly said that the only solution to ensure safety and security in southern Turkey and northern Syria is the presence of the Syrian army.”

By Andrew Hanna

In April 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan signed an agreement to develop the Iranian port of Chabahar as a shipping hub with rail links that connected India to Afghanistan through Iran—and circumvented Pakistan. Chabahar is on the Gulf of Oman and is Iran’s only port with access to the Indian Ocean.

On October 4, Microsoft reported that a group it calls Phosphorus made more than 2,700 attempts to identify email addresses of current and former U.S. officials, accounts associated with a U.S. presidential campaign and journalists covering political campaigns. Microsoft said it believed the group “originates from Iran and is linked to the Iranian government.” Phosphorus attacked 241 of the accounts between August and September. “Four accounts were compromised as a result of these attempts; these four accounts were not associated with the U.S.

Iranian newspapers, which reflect a broad spectrum of political views, provided positive coverage of President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly opening. Even the hardline newspaper, Kayhan, which is often critical of Rouhani, ran an editorial titled “Mr. Rouhani! Bravo.” Newspapers highlighted Rouhani’s many meetings with foreign leaders, emphasizing that Iran is not isolated despite U.S. sanctions. They also portrayed Rouhani as steadfast for refusing to meet with Trump for negotiations while Iran is under sanctions.

Since May 2018, President Trump has sought a new and broader deal with Iran that would cover its controversial nuclear program as well missile tests, regional intervention, support for terrorism, and human rights abuses. French President Emmanuel Macron has launched behind-the-scenes diplomacy to define the parameters of a new deal, while preserving the 2015 pact in the meantime. The following are comments from Iran and the six world powers that were party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and a timeline of key diplomatic developments.

On September 14, a drone and missile attack damaged a processing facility and oil field in Abqaiq and Khurais, Saudi Arabia. The Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility, but U.S. and Saudi officials claimed the attacks originated outside of Yemen.

Since May 2019, the United States has added at least 14,000 more troops to the Middle East in response to tensions with Iran. As of March 2020, there were between 60,000 to 80,000 U.S. troops deployed in and around the Persian Gulf. This number includes forces positioned in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gulf countries.

On September 18, Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry held a press conference to display material evidence allegedly proving Iranian involvement in attacks on two oil facilities. “Despite Iran's best efforts to make it appear so, their collaboration with their proxy in the region to create this false narrative is clear,” said Saudi military spokesman Colonel Turki al Malki.