U.S. Policy

Two years after the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo marked the anniversary by comparing the Islamic Republic to Nazi Germany and calling on the international community “stop the world’s leading state sponsor of anti-Semitism.” In a statement, Pompeo said…
On March 23, the State Department issued a fact sheet disputing Iran’s claims on the scope of its COVID-19 crisis. It came one day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected U.S. aid to help combat the coronavirus outbreak. Khamenei also had cited a baseless conspiracy theory that COVID-…
On March 19, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wished a happy Nowruz, the Persian New Year, to all those celebrating around the world, including in Iran. Trump blasted Iran’s leaders for corruption and human rights abuses. “The Iranian people deserve leaders who listen to,…
On March 17, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new sanctions on a petrochemical smuggling network and Iran’s nuclear program. He also blasted Tehran's response to the coronavirus outbreak. “The Wuhan virus is a killer and the Iranian regime is an accomplice,” Pompeo said. He urged the regime…
On February 25, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on 13 foreign companies and individuals for supporting Iran's missile program. The entities were based in China, Iraq, Russia, and Turkey. The State Department said that the action was based on a periodic review required under the Iran,…
On February 21, a global financial watchdog returned Iran to its blacklist. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body of 36 countries that sets standards for countering the financing of terrorism and money laundering, cited Iran’s failure to comply with international norms…
On February 14, the House Foreign Affairs Committee released the Trump administration’s legal justification for killing Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Qods Force. Administration officials had said that Trump approved the drone strike, carried out on January 3 near Baghdad…
On February 13, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it had seized a large cache of Iranian-made weapons from a dhow in the Arabian Sea. The military equipment, which included surface-to-air-missiles and anti-tank missiles, was “identical” to the weapons systems captured by the United States in…
On February 13, the United States charged five individuals with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Justice Department alleged that the five defendants planned to use a Polish shell company to illicitly purchase Iranian oil and sell it to a refinery in China. “With the goal of…
On May 6, President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill to limit his authority to conduct military action against Iran. He called it a “very insulting resolution” that was “based on misunderstandings of facts on law” in a statement. Trump also claimed the bill was "introduced by Democrats as part…