Archive
On February 8 and 9, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran reached groundbreaking agreement on seven measures to be implemented by May 15, 2014. The measures are based on the interim nuclear deal’s framework brokered in November 2013.… Read More
On February 5, President Hassan Rouhani did a live interview that sparked controversy before it even started. Some Iranian media outlets reported that there had been a disagreement between state television and Rouhani’s office, which preferred different journalists… Read More
On February 7, the U.S. Treasury issued a general license allowing Iranians to purchase computers, cell phones, software, mobile applications and Internet services. “We are committed to promoting the free exchange of information in… Read More
On February 6, the Treasury announced sanctions targeting entities and individuals across Europe and the Middle East for evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. Some allegedly aided Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs or supported… Read More
Nasser Hadian Iran has turned the corner on Syria, its longstanding ally in the Arab world. It still wants close ties to a country that is the strategic center of the Arab world. But after three years of war, Tehran is also increasingly concerned that Syria… Read More
Nasser Hadian On the 35th anniversary of its revolution, Iran has found often novel compromises in blending Islam and modernity—politically, economically and socially. The government and most Iranians today share three goals: honoring the great Persian past and… Read More
On February 4, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on implementing the interim nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s six major powers − Britain, China,… Read More
On February 4, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the limited sanctions relief for Iran included in the interim nuclear deal.… Read More
On February 2, Secretary of State John Kerry discussed upcoming nuclear negotiations with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on the margins of the Munich Security Conference. After the bilateral meeting, Zarif told conference attendees… Read More
More than two dozen delegations of lawmakers, officials and businesspeople have visited Iran since the interim nuclear agreement was brokered in November 2013. Many Western countries and South Korea are particularly hopeful that… Read More
Hillary Clinton reportedly wrote a letter opposing new sanctions in response to an inquiry from her former Senate colleague, Carl Levin. Levin had written to Clinton in January, asking for her insight as former Secretary of State, on whether new sanctions would… Read More
On January 29, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Iran’s nuclear program and regional aspirations. Clapper warned that new sanctions could “undermine prospects of a… Read More
Garrett Nada
As an oil- hungry island nation, Japan’s position on Iran is fraught with inherent tensions. It has to balance an existential thirst for oil — to fuel industries, cars and homes — against a moral abhorrence of nuclear weapons, especially as the only country devastated by… Read More
Yun Sun
China is the quiet giant in the latest diplomatic campaign to prevent Iran from getting a bomb. As Tehran’s largest trading partner, Beijing has enormous political and economic leverage over the Islamic Republic. As a veto-wielding member of the United… Read More
On January 29, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran to strengthen bilateral economic ties and ease tensions over the Syrian crisis. Erdogan made the trip amidst a sweeping corruption probe that has led to the… Read More
On January 28, President Barack Obama warned Congress that he would veto a new sanctions bill that could jeopardize diplomacy with Iran. In his State of the Union address, Obama attributed the halting of Iran's controversial nuclear program to “… Read More
The following article first appeared in Time magazine.Robin Wright Hassan Hassani Sa’di has been dying from chemical weapons for almost 30 years. The Iranian still… Read More
On January 27, the independent group of global leaders called The Elders began a three-day visit to Iran to “encourage and advance the new spirit of openness and dialogue between Iran and the international community.” The… Read More
The majority of Americans support the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, according to two new polls. An AP-GfK survey found that 60 percent of participants approve of the agreement. But 47 percent are not confident that it… Read More
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke extensively about Iran at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The first excerpt below is from his January 24 address to the gathering. The second excerpt is from a January 23 interview… Read More
On January 23, President Hassan Rouhani invited oil companies to invest in Iran in an address to some 30 executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Without international engagement, objectives such as growth,… Read More
On January 22, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would respond positively to U.S. actions that help “eradicate animosity” between the two countries. He acknowledged the difficulty in improving U.S.-Iran relations but added that “… Read More
On January 22, President Hassan Rouhani said that Syria peace conference in Geneva “has already failed before it has started” because of the “lack of influential players in the meeting.” He criticized the gathering for inviting “… Read More
On January 20, the United Nations revoked its invitation to Iran to attend the peace talks on Syria. The following are statements by the United Nations, the State Department and Iran. Statement attributable to the… Read More
The nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s six major powers went into effect on January 20. The following are comments by the United States, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, and the European Union. As part of the deal, the… Read More
On January 19, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced that Iran had been invited to join the peace talks on Syria. The following is his statement, followed by a comment from the State Department. U.N. Secretary General's… Read More
On January 14, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) made the following speech on the Senate Floor. The statement was partly to block the proposed Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act (see link at bottom). But it also more broadly… Read More
On January 16, the White House released the details of implementing the nuclear deal signed by Iran and the world’s six major powers. The following is the White House statement with a link to the European Union's factsheet.… Read More
Iran and the world’s six major powers agreed to begin implementing the Geneva nuclear agreement on January 20. Iran and the so-called P5+1 —Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States— had reached a historic interim… Read More
On January 9, the White House warned that a new Iran sanctions bill proposed in the Senate could push the United States toward war with Iran. The “Iran Nuclear Weapon Free Act” is co-sponsored by more than one-half of the 100… Read More