Archive
On January 8, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died of a heart attack at age 82. He held top positions in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. He was president for two terms from 1989 to 1997. He was chairman of the Assembly of Experts, a panel of more than 80 clerics and… Read More
On January 5, Secretary of State John Kerry released an exit memo with an overview of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy over the last eight years. The following is an excerpt on Iran from the memo with other remarks from January 2017.
Verifiably Preventing Iran from Obtaining a… Read More
Nearly two thirds of Americans oppose withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal to negotiate a better one, according to a new survey from the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation (PPC). “Though President-elect [Donald] Trump campaigned on ripping up the deal and seeking to… Read More
On January 2, 37 top scientists from the United States wrote to President-elect Donald Trump urging him not to scrap the Iran nuclear deal. The agreement “provides a strong bulwark against an Iranian nuclear-weapons program,” they wrote. “We urge you to preserve this critical U.S. strategic asset… Read More
In December 2016, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif published a lengthy article titled “How to Handle the Enabling Conditions for Extremism and Terror” in the Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs. The following are excerpts.
Global, Internal and Regional Enabling Conditions
The situation… Read More
On December 15, the White House announced that a bill extending the Iran Sanctions Act for 10 years would become law without President Obama’s signature. The administration had previously said that Obama would likely sign it. The White House said that the extension, “while unnecessary, is entirely… Read More
On December 6, President Rouhani warned the incoming Trump administration against trying to renegotiate or tear up the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). His speech at Tehran University, was broadcast nationally on state television. Other officials have… Read More
On December 1, the U.S. Senate voted 99-0 to extend the Iran Sanctions Act, which targets the Islamic Republic’s banking, defense, and energy sectors. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation. The law allows the president to waive those sanctions, as Obama has done with some sanctions… Read More
CIA Director John Brennan warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that tearing up the nuclear deal would be “the height of folly.” In an interview with the BBC, Brennan said that backing out of an agreement made by a previous administration would be unprecedented. During the U.S. presidential… Read More
At a press conference on November 14, President Obama discussed how the 2016 election might affect the historic Iran nuclear deal. The following is an excerpt of a question about the deal’s future after Donald Trump assumes the presidency and Obama’s reply.
Q: President-elect Trump threatened to… Read More
From August through October, Iran took additional steps toward reintegration with the world economy. It courted foreign investors in various sectors of its economy, such as energy, mining, and automobile production. The modest influx of cash back into the Iranian market and anticipation of more… Read More
On October 24, Chatham House, a prominent London-based think tank, named Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as co-recipients of an annual prize. Members of the institution vote for person, persons or organizations who have made “the most significant… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
Latin America
Some U.S. officials and some in Congress have expressed concerns about Iran’s… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
Russia
Iran appears to attach increasing weight to its relations with Russia, which is a… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
Iran’s relations with countries in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia vary significantly, but… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
The Gulf States
Iran has a 1,100-mile coastline on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
Iran has pursued a wide range of defense programs, as well as a nuclear program that the international… Read More
The following are excerpts from a recently published report by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, on Iran’s foreign and defense policies.
Iran’s Policy Motivators
Iran’s foreign and defense policies are products of overlapping, and… Read More
Iranian media and leaders have been closely following the U.S. presidential election. Not only have they criticized the candidates’ policies, but they have also derided the political atmosphere and American democracy. “Did you see the debate and the way of their speaking, accusing and mocking each… Read More
On October 7, the U.S. Treasury Department updated its frequently asked questions document on the lifting of U.S. sanctions as part of the nuclear deal. Regulations on dollar-denominated transactions between foreigners and Iran were relaxed. The “update was intended to clarify the scope of… Read More
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a new report critical of Iran’s human rights record. Executions were down in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. But Tehran “has not taken any measures to halt executions or instituted a moratorium on the death penalty,” the… Read More
International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff visited Iran and found that the economy has “rebounded strongly” since the nuclear deal was implemented and sanctions were lifted in January 2016. But Iran still needs to take several steps to ensure continued economic growth and reintegration into the global… Read More
On September 26, Iran released retired university professor Homa Hoodfar from Evin prison. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Iranian authorities confirmed the release of the dual-national who had been held since June. She is believed to be in poor physical condition, due to a rare… Read More
On September 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized the United States for not sending a clear message to European banks that they are free to do business with Iran. In a wide ranging conversation with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, he also discussed the war in Syria, tensions with… Read More
On September 22, President Hassan Rouhani gave wide ranging comments on the nuclear deal’s implementation, U.S.-Iran relations, the Syrian war, Saudi Arabia, extremism, and more. He spoke to journalists after delivering an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The following are… Read More
On September 22, President Hassan Rouhani called on "certain countries in the region" to stop "bombarding their neighbors and put an end to their support for Takfiri terrorist groups" in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly. In particular, he urged Saudi Arabia to "cease and desist… Read More
On September 21, President Hassan Rouhani called for a political solution to the Syrian civil war in an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “The rule of the ballot box and the rule of the Syrian people and the will of the Syrian people should be the sole determinant of the future of… Read More
On September 19, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz discussed the status of the Iranian nuclear deal and progress on implementation at the Council on Foreign Relations. The following are excerpts from the transcript of the conversation moderated by Graham T. Allison,… Read More
Israeli leaders expressed varying degrees of hostility to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world's six major powers. But they largely adapted to the reality of the deal and shifted their focus to nonnuclear areas of concern, according to a new brief by Dalia Dassa… Read More
On September 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has been living up to its commitments as part of the nuclear deal, specifically as codified in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231. For example, Iran has not surpassed limits on its stock of enriched uranium or… Read More