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October 10 Economy: Britain sanctioned Iran’s morality police and several senior security officials involved in the bloody crackdown on protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. The new sanctions “send a clear message to the Iranian authorities — we will hold you to account for your repression…

Since the 1979 revolution, women have worked to regain rights attained during the monarchy. The status of women has improved in some fields, especially in health and education. In 1998, Iran won a U.N. award for closing the gender gap in education. In 1999, Iran won the U.N. Population Award for…

Teenage girls and women fueled nationwide protests across Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16, 2022. The demonstrations quickly evolved into calls for the ouster of the Supreme Leader and an end to the Islamic Republic. They challenged basic tenets of the theocracy by removing…

On October 6, the United States sanctioned seven senior Iranian officials for violence against protestors and curtailing internet access following the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman had been detained for “improper” clothing on September 13. Her death three days later sparked…

Rallies in support of Iranian protestors were organized in dozens of cities across six continents—from San Francisco to Seoul and Sydney, from Tunis to Tokyo—in late September and early October 2022. Demonstrators chanted “Death to the dictator” and carried signs boasting “Women, Life, Freedom.”…

On October 3, President Joe Biden endorsed Iran’s protests and pledged to impose “further costs” on the government for its crackdown after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained for “inappropriate attire” on September 13. “The United States stands with Iranian women and all…

October 3 Security: The Indian Air Force scrambled jet fighters to intercept an airliner operated by Iran’s Mahan Air headed to Guangzhou, China. The airliner pilot refused to divert to either Jaipur or Chandigarh, but the threat ended up being false. Domestic: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali…

On September 24, Iran launched several days of attacks—deploying artillery, ballistic missiles and drones—on Kurdish separatist groups harbored in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish area. The operations “will continue in order to ensure viable border security, punish criminal terrorists, and hold…

On September 29, the United States sanctioned an international network of companies for selling Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products worth millions of dollars to Asian buyers. Petrochemicals, derived from oil and natural gas, are essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels,…

World leaders widely condemned Iran’s crackdown on protests after the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained for improper hijab, or head covering. “We stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights,”…

On September 23, the Treasury Department authorized American companies to expand the range of internet services – which otherwise could be restricted by U.S. sanctions – available to ordinary Iranians. “Today we are issuing a General License to advance our efforts and commitments to ensure that the…

On September 22, the United States sanctioned Iran’s Morality Police and seven senior security officials for the death of Mahsa Amini and violence against protestors. The 22-year-old woman was detained by Morality Police in Tehran on September 13 for an “improper” hijab, or head covering. She was…

During his in-person debut at the U.N. General Assembly, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared that U.S. power and influence were waning. The United States “keeps equivocating militarism with security and has pursued its interests in the world at the expense of other countries.” Washington “…

September 19 International: During a hearing, Iran told the International Court of Justice that the United States violated international law by seizing $2 billion from Iranian government bank accounts to compensate 241 victims of the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon. Sports:…

On September 15, an Iranian dissident and two former political prisoners launched a civil lawsuit against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for complicity in their torture and false imprisonment. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, cited “severe personal injuries and other…

In mid-September 2022, protests broke out across Iran after the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman picked up for improper hijab, or head covering. She collapsed in a “reeducation” center. During the first two weeks, spontaneous demonstrations erupted in more than 90 cities in…

Six in 10 Americans support returning to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six major world powers, according to a survey by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The remainder of those polled prefer to maintain economic sanctions on Iran and stay out of the agreement, which President…

Iran was one of the few countries that failed to officially note or express condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. But its hardline press featured scathing editorials that reflected the Islamic Republic’s longstanding condemnation of monarchy as a system of government and its history of…

The United States sanctioned Ebrahim Raisi in November 2019, citing his complicity in human rights violations over three decades. The Treasury Department noted Raisi’s role in the so-called “death commission” that ordered the extrajudicial executions of between 4,000 and 5,000 political prisoners…

On September 14, the United States sanctioned 10 Iranian men and two companies for hacking computer systems and installing ransomware, which can prevent victims from getting access to their files and data unless they pay a ransom to the hackers. “Ransomware actors and other cybercriminals target…

In his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi backed diplomatic negotiations to restore full U.S. and Iranian compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. Raisi’s goal was to lift and “neutralize” all U.S. sanctions through talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers—Britain, China, France…

In his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi blamed many of the Middle East’s problems on Western powers. Foreign intervention, notably by the United States, had produced only conflict and political discord, he argued. The “idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized…

In his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to stabilize the economy, address people’s basic needs, fight corruption and to better manage water and gas resources. Raisi took weekly trips to the provinces after he took office in August 2021 to learn about the problems facing average…

September 12 Nuclear/Diplomacy: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Iran’s latest response to the E.U. draft deal on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal was “clearly a step backwards and makes the prospects for an agreement in the near term — I would say — unlikely.” He said that Tehran had…

On September 10, Britain, France and Germany warned that the intense international diplomacy—between the world’s six major powers and Iran—to revive the 2015 nuclear deal was in grave jeopardy because Tehran had abruptly backtracked from compromises in the final draft. A month earlier, the European…

On September 9, the United States sanctioned Iran’s intelligence ministry and minister for cyberattacks against the United States and its allies. “Iran’s cyberattacks targeting civilian government services and critical infrastructure sectors can cause grave damage to these services and disregard…

On September 6, Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran over an alleged cyberattack on July 15. Iran had tried to “paralyze public services and hack data and electronic communications from the government systems,” Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a statement. Tehran had allegedly directed four…

In two provocative incidents just days apart, Iranian naval forces briefly seized three U.S. drones collecting data in the international waters of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The seizures coincided with growing tensions between the United States and Iran over militia activities in Syria and…

On September 8, the United States sanctioned four Iranian companies and a defense contractor for providing drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. The move reflects a tightening of the sanctions noose around countries facilitating Vladimir Putin’s war machine. “The Russian military is suffering from…

September 5 Human Rights: Two Iranian women, Zahra Hamadani and Elham Chubdar, were sentenced to death for their activism on behalf of the LGBTQ community. They were reportedly found guilty of “corruption on Earth,” “promoting Christianity,” and “communicating with the media opposing the Islamic…