May 2011
Alireza Nader The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to provide measured support to Taliban insurgents battling U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. However, Iran also maintains close and constructive relations with the same Afghan central government… Read More
Seven companies have been sanctioned under the amended Iran Sanctions Act. The following is a State Department statement issued on May 24, 2011: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to impose sanctions on seven companies under the Iran… Read More
The following is an excerpt from Amnersty International's "State of Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, January to mid-April 2011" report: The authorities maintained severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly.… Read More
The following is a State Department statement issued on May 19, 2011: President Obama remains committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and has successfully built an international coalition to hold Iran accountable on its illicit nuclear program. With our P5+1 partners,… Read More
Jubin Goodarzi What role is Iran playing in the Syrian political crisis? In April, the United State claimed that Tehran has been helping Damascus put down the Syrian uprising. Two rounds of U.S. sanctions on Syria for human rights abuses have since named Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)… Read More
The following is a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: I am very pleased to announce a big step forward in the Obama Administration’s support of the Iranian people. Under our old visa policy, Iranian… Read More
The United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region. We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech; the freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of religion; equality for men and women… Read More
Ellen Laipson How has the Arab spring changed the strategic environment for U.S.-Iran relations? Turbulence in Arab politics will have both direct and indirect effects on U.S.-Iran relations. The uncertain outcomes–specifically which countries other than Tunisia, Egypt and possibly… Read More
Alireza Nader The Arab uprisings have dramatically transformed the Middle East. But Iran, a country of pressing concern for the United States, has remained relatively calm. Street protests following the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings quickly fizzled. And… Read More
The following is an excerpt on Iran’s human rights violations from a joint statement by Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Philo L. Dibble, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near… Read More
The following are excerpts from the annual report released April 28, 2011: The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based… Read More
Semira N. Nikou Iran’s political crisis over Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi may be over, but the drama over presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is not. … Read More
Semira N. Nikou In widely diverse responses, Iran discounted Osama bin Laden’s death while at the same time calling for a faster U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan since the pretext for going to war was eliminated. But officials and media generally did… Read More
Alireza Nader The RAND Corporation conducted a phone survey of Iranian public opinion in order to gauge Iranian attitudes on critical issues affecting U.S. interests. Respondents constituted a nationally representative sample of 1,002 members of the… Read More
Freedom House Since the protests that followed the disputed presidential election of June 12, 2009, the Iranian authorities have waged an active campaign against internet freedom, employing extensive and sophisticated methods of control that go well… Read More