Garrett Nada's Blog
History: U.S.-Iran at the World Cup
November 23, 2022
Iran and the United States face off at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar on November 29. The match coincided with escalating tensions over failed diplomacy to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, and the government crackdown on months of protests. The match…
Explainer: Iran’s Drone Exports Worldwide
November 16, 2022
Iran has developed a robust drone industry after decades of importing defense equipment for domestic use by both security and military forces. By the fall of 2022, Tehran had also exported drones or drone technology to at least five countries on four continents as well as to at least seven proxy…
World Demonstrations Support Iran Protests
October 5, 2022
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.”…
Protests Erupt After Death in Detention
September 19, 2022
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…
Year One: Raisi on the U.S. & the West
September 14, 2022
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…
US-Iran Tensions in Syria: 2022
August 26, 2022
In August, tensions flared between the United States and Iran in Syria. The United States launched airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in response to drone and rocket attacks on bases housing U.S. troops on August 15. “We've sent a very loud and clear message and a proportional message, that any…
Putin Visits Tehran for Strategic Talks
July 20, 2022
On July 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran to boost ties with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts. The trip came just three days after President Biden toured the region to rally support against Iran. Relations between Russia and Iran have steadily improved, according to Gallup…
Biden on Iran in Mideast Trip
July 18, 2022
In his first trip to the Middle East as president, Joe Biden renewed his pledge to never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. “There will be no nuclear Iran. This is not only a threat to Israel, but to the world,” Biden said on July 14. During the four-day tour, Biden visited Iran’s main regional…
Amnesty International: Executions Spike in Iran
June 7, 2022
In 2021, Iran executed at least 314 people – more than any other country except China – according to Amnesty International’s annual report on the death penalty. The increase was linked to death sentences for drug-related offenses. Executions “routinely followed grossly unfair trials, with ‘…
Iran Deal: U.S. Sanctions on the IRGC
April 13, 2022
Since 2007, the United States has sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—as well as its proxies and foreign companies that support it—under at least eight executive orders and six laws. “Of the 107 sanctions the Biden administration has imposed on Iran, 86 of those – some three-…