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U.S. Sanctions Ships Linked to Iran’s Military
On April 4, the United States sanctioned Oceanlink Maritime DMCC, a shipping company, for smuggling on behalf of Iran’s military and defense ministry. The shipments of Iranian goods were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. “We are focused on disrupting Iran’s ability to finance its terrorist…
U.S. on Israeli Strike on Iranian Site in Syria
The United States vehemently denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility that killed senior Revolutionary Guards officers in Damascus on April 1, 2024. The Biden administration informed Iran through back channels that the attack was a surprise…
U.N. Debate: Israeli Attack on Iranian Site in Syria
On April 2, 2024, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus that killed three Revolutionary Guard generals and four other military officers. The majority of countries on the 15-member council condemned the…
Iran & Allies React to Israeli Attack in Syria
Updated: April 10, 2024
Iran reacted with outrage at the Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria, which killed three Revolutionary Guards commanders and four other military officials on April 1, 2024. Several senior officials threatened punishing revenge on Israel, while Tehran filed a formal protest at the United…
Turning Point: Israeli Attack on IRGC in Syria
Updated: April 10, 2024
On April 1, 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed three generals in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and four other officers at a consulate abutting the Iranian embassy in Damascus. The attack was an unprecedented escalation in the decades-long shadow war between Israel and Iran. The precision strike,…
Timeline of Attacks: Israel versus Hezbollah & Iran
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have played out over decades in two major wars and shadow wars in between, escalated after the conflict erupted in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Hezbollah’s bombardments started with sporadic rocket and mortar fire but gradually increased in scale and frequency…
News Digest: Week of April 1
April 1International: An Israeli airstrike killed three generals in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and four other officers at a consulate abutting the Iranian embassy in Damascus. The attack was an unprecedented escalation in the decades-long shadow war between Israel and Iran. The precision strike,…
U.S. Targets IRGC, Houthi & Hezbollah Finances
On March 26, 2024, the United States sanctioned six transportation companies, one money exchanger and two tankers for facilitating shipments and financial transactions for the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. “The United States will continue to take…
White House on Iran’s Targeting of Water Systems
On March 18, the Biden administration warned governors that hackers linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were trying to disrupt drinking water and wastewater systems in the United States. “We need your support to ensure that all water systems in your state comprehensively assess their current…
Khamenei and Raisi Speeches on Nowruz
On March 20, 2024, Iran’s leaders marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year and the first day of spring, with candid yet optimistic messages on the economy. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Iran’s resilience in the face of U.S. and European sanctions but also acknowledged that the struggling…
Nowruz: Bleak Economic Future
What was the state of Iran’s economy in March 2024 as the country celebrated the Persian New Year? What were the biggest economic challenges?Sanctions have cast a long shadow on Iran’s economy, but they have not led to an economic collapse. Iran has managed to grow its overall economy by an average…
U.S. Sanctions Networks Supplying Iran’s Military
On March 20, 2024, the United States sanctioned three networks that supplied materials and goods to Iran’s ballistic missile, nuclear and defense programs. The networks were based in Iran, Turkey, Oman, and Germany. “Through complex covert procurement networks, Iran seeks to supply rogue actors…
News Digest: Week of March 18
March 18Domestic: Armed assailants killed an Iranian border guard, Mohammad Javad Bayanati, while on duty along the border of southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province. Smugglers and terrorist groups have long operated along the border with Pakistan. International: Syrian Defense Minister…
Analysis on Iranian Politics in the New Year
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a discussion on March 18, 2024 on the results of Iran’s elections for the 290-seat Parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the clerical body charged with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader. Hardliners consolidated their…
Biden on Iran at Nowruz
President Biden marked the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian new year, on March 19, 2024 with a pledge that the United States and its allies “will hold Iranian officials to account for denying fundamental human rights.” Biden has been particularly critical of Tehran’s crackdown on thousands of…
U.S. Sanctions Ship Smuggling for the Houthis
On March 15, 2024, the United States sanctioned shipping company Vishnu Inc. and its vessel, the Lady Sofia, for smuggling goods to China. The revenue was used to support the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s Qods Force, the external operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “The…
G7 Warns Iran on Missiles to Russia
On March 15, 2024, the G7 countries warned Iran against providing ballistic missiles to Russia. “We are prepared to respond swiftly and in a coordinated manner including with new and significant measures against Iran,” they said in a joint statement. The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany…
U.S. Sanctions Iran's Bahrain Allies
On March 12, 2024, the Treasury Department sanctioned four Iran-based operatives and a financial facilitator for the al Ashtar Brigades, an Iran-backed group committed to overthrowing Bahrain’s government. “Today’s action, taken in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, underscores our…
Biden Renews State of Emergency with Iran
On March 12, 2024, President Biden renewed the national emergency with respect to Iran, which gives the president broad powers to unilaterally impose sanctions or other punitive measures and regulate trade. In 1995, President Bill Clinton declared the state of emergency, which must be extended…
2024 U.S. Intelligence Report on Iran
On March 11, 2024, the annual U.S. intelligence assessment reported that Iran’s advanced nuclear program had not yet produced a weapon. But it warned that Tehran had accelerated production and operation of centrifuges to enrich uranium, the fuel used for both a bomb and a nuclear energy plant. Iran…
News Digest: Week of March 11
March 11International: An Iranian court ordered the United States and Tondar, an opposition group based in California, to pay $2.47 billion to victims of the 2008 bombing in Shiraz. Iran accused Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd, the creator of Tondar’s website, of orchestrating the attack.…
U.N. Report on Protest Crackdown
Iran committed serious human rights violations during the crackdown on the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, according to a U.N. fact-finding mission report released on March 8, 2024. Anti-government demonstrations broke out nationwide after the death of Mahsa Amini – young woman arrested by the…
Biden on Iran & Gaza in State of the Union
In his 2024 State of the Union address, President Biden pledged to protect U.S. personnel from the threat posed by Iran and its allies, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen. “That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in…
Gallup: U.S. Views on Iran Nuclear Threat
More than three-quarters of Americans named Iran’s potential development of nuclear weapons as a critical threat to U.S. interests, according to Gallup poll. Iran’s nuclear program came in second—with 77 percent—in a list of 13 flashpoints. The only more critical danger to Americans was…
News Digest: Week of March 4
March 4Domestic: Iran’s interior ministry announced the results of the March 1 election. Hardliners consolidated their grip on power in both Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. The 290 seats of Parliament are elected every four years. Elected every eight years, the 88-member assembly has been…
U.S. Sanctions Target Houthi Finances
On March 6, the United States targeted a revenue stream of the Houthis, the Yemeni rebel group that has been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023. The Treasury and State Departments sanctioned two ship owners based in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands…
Photos: 2024 Elections
On March 1, 2024, Iranians elected 290 members for parliament and 88 senior Islamic jurists for the Assembly of Experts. Iranians posted photos and videos of empty polling stations in Tehran and other major cities. The government kept polls open for an extra six hours to encourage people to vote,…
Report: Executions Surge in Iran
Iran executed at least 834 people in 2023, a 43 percent increase compared to 2022, according to the annual report by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). Some 56 percent of the executions were drug-related. Marginalized ethnic minorities, such as the Baluch of…
Election Results: Hardliners Gain, Turnout Low
Updated: May 13, 2024
Iranian hardliners consolidated their grip on power in the March 1 election for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. The 290 seats of Parliament are elected every four years. Elected every eight years, the 88-member assembly has been charged with selecting and overseeing the supreme leader. Many…
U.S. Charges Iranian for Hacking Defense Firms
On Feb. 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Alireza Shafie Nasab, age 39, with involvement in a multi-year hacking campaign. He and his co-conspirators targeted the Treasury and State Departments as well as more than a dozen American companies, including defense contractors. They tried…