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44 Rights Groups Urge U.N. Intervention for Narges Mohammadi
On Nov. 18, 2024, 44 human rights groups urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to secure the release of Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi, one of the country’s most prominent activists, on medical grounds. Since the 1990s, Mohammadi has advocated against the death penalty, solitary…
E.U. & British Sanctions on Iran for Supporting Russia
On Nov. 18, 2024, the European Union and Britain announced sanctions on Iran for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. Britain froze the assets of Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, in response to the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia. “Iran’s attempts to undermine global security are…
U.S. Sanctions Syrian Network Funding Qods Force & Houthis
On Nov. 14, 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on 26 companies, individuals and vessels connected to a Syrian company, Al-Qatirji. The network sold Iranian oil to Syria and China to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Qods Force, the external operations arm of the Islamic…
News Digest: Week of November 11
November 11International: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned Israel against launching further attacks on Iran in a statement at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders in Riyadh. He also condemned Israel for committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.Economy: Iran deepened financial…
News Digest: Week of November 4
November 4Military: Two members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in a helicopter crash while carrying out an anti-terror operation in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, where clashes between Iranian armed forces and Baluchi minority rebels had mounted since late- October. The…
U.S. Charges Iranian for Plot to Kill Donald Trump
On Nov. 8, 2024, the Department of Justice announced charges against an Iranian and two others for plotting to murder President-elect Donald Trump as well as an Iranian-American dissident residing in New York. Farhad Shakeri, an Iranian national, was tasked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
News Digest: Week of October 28
October 28International: Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the supreme leader, said that Iran was open to cooperation with Western countries that “respect Iran’s sovereignty and treat [Iran] as an equal.” He said that the Islamic Republic will reassess its foreign policy with various…
News Digest: Week of October 21
Updated: October 23, 2024
October 21International: Seven Israelis were arrested on suspicion of gathering intelligence for Iran in exchange for cash transfers from Tehran for more than two years. The suspects conducted missions in coordination with two Iranian agents and allegedly photographed Israeli military…
Israeli Strike on Iran: Implications
Early Saturday morning in Tehran, Israel carried out what it called a series of “precise and targeted” airstrikes on Iranian military targets. This was the latest in a series of direct exchanges between Israel and Iran in recent months. Israel Defense Forces struck 20 sites, including air defense…
Israel Strikes Iran: World Reaction
Updated: November 3, 2024
On Oct. 26, 2024, Israeli warplanes struck 20 military sites across at least three provinces in Iran. More than 100 airplanes participated in the complex four-hour operation more than 1,000 miles away from Israel’s borders. The attack was a response to Iran’s second direct on Israel, a barrage of…
U.S. Charges Iranians in Murder-for-Hire Case
On Oct. 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced murder-for-hire, money-laundering, and sanctions evasion charges against four Iranians. They plotted to kill a journalist and dissident residing in New York City by hiring members of an Eastern European crime group. The defendants, all of…
U.S. Convicts Businessman for Conspiring to Export Drill Rigs to Iran
On Oct. 25, 2024, a federal jury convicted a foreign national of conspiring to export U.S.-made mining drills to Iran in violation of sanctions. Brian Assi, also known as Brahim Assi, was a salesman for a U.S.-based heavy machinery manufacturer. He plotted with Iranians affiliated with Sakht Abzar…
U.S. Intelligence on Foreign Threats to Elections
Iran, China and Russia were prepared to conduct information operations after Election Day to “create uncertainty and undermine the legitimacy of the election process,” the U.S. National Intelligence Council warned in a memorandum declassified on Oct. 16, 2024. “They might also consider stoking…
Sinwar’s Death: World Reaction
Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Oct. 16, 2024. Israel had eliminated several senior Hamas commanders in targeted strikes in the previous year, but the mastermind of the October 7 assault evaded detection and reportedly hid in underground tunnels. Sinwar died with two…
U.S. Expands Sanctions on Iran’s Oil Sector
The United States expanded sanctions on Iran’s oil sector in response to Tehran’s October 1 assault on Israel. Iran had launched 180 ballistic missiles in its second direct attack on Israel in six months. “We are taking steps today to disrupt the flow of revenue the Iranian regime uses to fund its…
News Digest: Week of October 14
Updated: October 19, 2024
October 14International: The European Union adopted new sanctions against Iranian individuals and firms in connection with weapons transfers to Russia. The sanctions targeted Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari, senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, three…
Department of Homeland Security on Iran Threat
Iran appears to still be intent on killing U.S. officials allegedly responsible for the 2020 assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Qods Force, according to an annual Department of Homeland Security (DHS) threat assessment. The report warned that Iran would also…
News Digest: Week of October 7
October 7Military: CIA Director William Burns said that the United States had no evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. He also assured that the United States and its allies could detect weaponization activities. October 8International: MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said that…
U.S. Arrests Iranian-American for Sanctions Evasion
On Oct. 7, 2024, U.S. authorities arrested Kambiz Eghlabi, a 50-year-old man from Los Angeles, for conspiring to send digital and physical gift cards loaded with U.S. dollars to Iran in violation of sanctions. Eghbali, a dual Iranian and U.S. citizen, had been charged with conspiracy to commit bank…
Supreme Leader Urges Resistance Against Israel
In two defiant sermons, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other militias will “not retreat” from the battle against Israel despite the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders. “The resistance will be victorious,” he told…
Tehran & Allies: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Iran launched a massive two-wave attack on Israel with at least 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1, 2024. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) invoked the right to self-defense under the U.N. charter following Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah…
U.S. & World: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
U.S. and European leaders reiterated their support for Israel in the aftermath of Iran’s massive missile barrage on Oct. 1, 2024. Several world leaders warned that the Middle East was on the brink and called for diplomatic solutions to both the war in Gaza and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as well…
Jerusalem: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Israel and its international allies and partners thwarted a massive Iranian attack on Oct. 1, 2024. Israeli political and military leaders pledged retaliation. Iran “made a big mistake – and it will pay for it,” warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will keep to the rule we have…
Explainer: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Iran launched at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in a massive two-wave assault on Oct. 1, 2024. Millions of civilians sought protection in bomb shelters. The risk of a regional war mounted as Jerusalem pledged retaliation. Iran “made a big mistake – and it will pay for it,” warned Israeli…
News Digest: Week of September 30
September 30International: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Tehran for talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. “I believe that there is enormous potential for expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, industry, trade, and cultural and…
Nasrallah Assassination: U.S. & World Reaction
President Joe Biden said that the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, from an Israeli airstrike was a “measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.” He reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and…
Nasrallah Assassination: Iran & Allies React
Iran and Hezbollah condemned Israel for the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Tehran’s most important ally in the Middle East, on Sept. 27, 2024. Hezbollah responded with barrages of rockets in subsequent days. Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem pledged to continue…
Nasrallah Assassination: The News
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s most important ally in the Middle East, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27, 2024. Israel’s ability to cripple Hezbollah in a matter of weeks called Iran’s longstanding “forward defense” doctrine into question. For decades, the…
U.S. Sanctions Iranians for Election Interference
On Sept. 27, 2024, the United States sanctioned seven Iranians, five men and two women, for attempting to interfere in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections. One was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the rest were employees of Emennet Pasargad, a sanctioned company.…
U.S. Sanctions IRGC and Hezbollah Smuggling
On Sept. 25, 2024, the United States sanctioned four companies and nine vessels for shipping Iranian oil and liquid petroleum gas to Syria and East Asia for the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political movement and militia backed by Tehran. Iran was reliant on oil and gas sales to “…