Archive
Since at least 2009, Iran has smuggled increasingly sophisticated weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. By 2015, the Qods Force, the external operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, were sending missile components for local assembly. The weapons – along with training and military advisors –… Read More
The United States has long struggled to deal with Iran’s network of allies and proxies short of military confrontation. Financial sanctions have been an important tool for disrupting illicit activities. Since 2014, the United States has sanctioned at least 13 Houthi officials and dozens of… Read More
What are the Houthis' political views and goals?Houthi leaders have long offered vague or contradictory statements about their political vision for Yemen as the group has evolved from a religious movement into an insurgency and the country’s dominant political and military force. The Houthi… Read More
What have the Houthis attacked in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the Gaza war began in October 2023?During the first eight months of the conflict, the Houthis attacked U.S. Navy or commercial vessels more than 190 times, according to the Pentagon. Experts at The Washington Institute for Near… Read More
The Houthis are a political movement and militia that emerged out of a religious revival among Yemen’s Zaydi Shiites in the 1990s. They got their name from a powerful tribal clan led by the Houthi family. Since 2004, the Houthis have challenged the Yemeni central government, which has long been… Read More
The following is a press statement from State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller released on July 12, 2024.United States Imposes Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Chemical Weapons Research and DevelopmentThe Department of State is today imposing sanctions on Hakiman Shargh Research Company for its… Read More
July 8International: In a letter to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian pledged to maintain Iran’s support for groups opposed to Israel. “I am certain that the resistance movements in the region will not allow this regime to continue its warmongering and criminal… Read More
On July 9, 2024, the U.S. director of national intelligence revealed that Iran was trying to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.” Avril Haines said that actors tied to Tehran were encouraging protests over the war in Gaza by posing as activists online and even… Read More
Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist politician and a cardiac surgeon, won Iran’s snap presidential election on July 5, 2024. He was born in 1954 to a religious family in the northwestern city of Mahabad in West Azerbaijan province. He graduated from Urmia Agricultural Technical High School in the… Read More
In a clear challenge to regime hardliners, Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist and cardiac surgeon, won Iran’s snap presidential election on July 5. The elections were called after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19. The runoff had been considered a tight race, but Pezeshkian… Read More
The following are reactions from world leaders to Masoud Pezeshkian's victory in the July 5 runoff for president. Russia and ChinaRussian President Vladimir Putin on July 6“I hope that your tenure as president will contribute to a reinforcement of constructive bilateral cooperation between our… Read More
The following are statements by Masoud Pezeshkian during the seven presidential debates and immediately after his victory in the July 5 runoff. Masoud Pezeshkian On the Role of Government“When we ignore people's rights and do not want to listen to their voices, expecting them to come to the polls… Read More
July 1International: Victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel sued Iran, Syria, and North Korea for providing Hamas with funds, weapons, and training used in the unprecedented attack. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in New York on behalf of over 125 victims and their relatives,… Read More
In the final debates of Iran’s snap presidential election, the two front runners engaged in often feisty arguments about the way forward for the Islamic Republic. The two debates were held on July 1 and 2; each lasted more than two hours. The following are excerpts from the two debates, the first… Read More
The final two candidates in Iran's second-round presidential election were Saeed Jalili, a hardliner, and Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist. Both candidates were loyal to the supreme leader and the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Yet they offered disparate ideas on foreign policy, the… Read More
The following are comments by U.S. officials on Iran's 2024 presidential election. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on July 8“We’re not in a position where we’re willing to get back to the negotiating table with Iran just because they elected a new… Read More
In a stunning blow to Iran’s theocracy, the majority of voters—some 60 percent—boycotted the snap presidential election held on June 28, 2024. It was the lowest turnout since the 1979 revolution ended more than two millennia of dynastic rule. The election also illustrated the wide split among… Read More
Supreme Leader KhameneiIranians voted for a new president at some 58,000 polling stations in mosques, schools, and religious shrines – as well as 340 polling stations abroad -- on June 28, 2024. Thirty stations opened in the United States for the local Iranian diaspora. Photos of the day captured… Read More
On June 27, 2024, the United States announced new sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear advances. Tehran had expanded its capacity to enrich uranium to high levels that had no credible civilian purpose. “We remain committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and we are prepared to use… Read More
Human rights activists, writers, filmmakers, relatives of protesters slain in government crackdowns, and political prisoners appealed to Iranian voters to boycott the snap presidential election on June 28. The statements reflected the core issue in the election—turnout. The regime has long invoked… Read More
In five nationally televised debates, Iran’s six presidential candidates sparred over foreign policy, the economic crisis and U.S. sanctions, personal freedoms, corruption and government efficiency. The debates, in a stunningly short campaign period between June 11 and 28, occasionally got feisty… Read More
Iran’s media was consumed by the snap presidential election during a campaign that lasted a mere 18 days. Five of the six candidates were hardliners of differing degrees, but the media gave the lone reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, disproportionate coverage. Front pages featured photos of… Read More
On June 25, 2024, the United States sanctioned a network, including 44 companies and four men, that illicitly moved billions of dollars and generated revenue for Iran’s defense ministry and Revolutionary Guards. The firms, including shell companies and exchange houses, were spread across Iran, the… Read More
June 24International: Jordanian police discovered and detonated explosives hidden in a commercial warehouse southeast of Amman. Security sources told Reuters that Iran was behind a plot to destabilize the kingdom, a key ally of the United States in the region. On June 22, police had found… Read More
Iran’s government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so,” according to the State Department’s annual report on human trafficking. “Officials continued to perpetrate and condone trafficking crimes with impunity… Read More
On June 14, 2024, the G7 countries urged Iran to reverse its nuclear advances, stop transferring weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, and cease its destabilizing actions in the Middle East. The leaders of the world’s most advanced economies said that Iran had no credible civilian… Read More
June 10International: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani reasserted Iran’s claims to three islands and a disputed oil and gas field in the Persian Gulf. "The Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are an inseparable and eternal part of the territory of the Islamic… Read More
The Guardian Council approved only six out of 80 candidates from across the political spectrum who registered to run for president in Iran's June 28, 2024 presidential election. Two of the six candidates had previously been disqualified from running -- one of them twice. The unelected body of six… Read More
On June 5, 2024, the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-member board of governors censured Iran for failing to cooperate with the agency. Britain, France and Germany sponsored the resolution, which was also backed by the United States. The vote was 20 in favor, 12 abstentions and two against. Russia and… Read More
Iran will hold snap elections on June 28, 2024 after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19. The next president will inherit a daunting set of challenges. At home, the unpopular government faced persistent inflation, high unemployment, and discontent over the lack of… Read More