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On July 1, the White House press secretary issued the following statement on the European Union’s new sanctions on Iranian oil, as they went into effect.   Statement by the Press Secretary on European Union Actions on Iranian Oil   The United States welcomes the European Union’s prohibition of…

On June 28, three senior Obama administration officials gave a briefing on the growing impact of international sanctions on Iran and the new U.S. sanctions on countries that import oil from the Islamic Republic. The following are key excerpts, with factual assessments in bold: Senior…

On June 28, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a waiver on China and Singapore from facing U.S. sanctions because both have now significantly cut back on their imports of Iranian oil. The following is her statement. Today I have made the determination that two additional countries, China…

Garrett Nada After struggling for decades to combat narcotics, Iran is today both fighting and facilitating narcotics, according to reports by the United Nations, the United States and Iran. Tehran has escalated its campaign against narcotics use and trafficking with help from the United Nations…

Mark  N. KatzOn Iran, what came out of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel? What specifically did each leader want from the other?The Putin-Netanyahu summit made little progress in bridging vast differences between Russian and…

On June 20, the State Department hosted a conversation on U.S. foreign policy between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State James Baker. The following are excerpts from the discussion, which was hosted by Charlie Rose.   CLINTON: One of the real successes of…

The world’s six major powers held talks with Iran in Moscow on June 18 and 19. The following are comments from key parties to the talks. Six Major Powers  European Union foreign policy chief Lady Catherine Ashton We set out our respective positions in what were detailed, tough and frank…

 June 15, 2012 President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave NWWashington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: We are writing to share our views about discussions between the Iranian government and the P5+1 over Iran’s nuclear program.  We are concerned that, while the meetings held…

Ayesha ChughHip-hop music is increasingly the voice of underground protest against Iran’s puritanical restrictions and political repression. It’s been nicknamed Rap-e Farsi, a word-play on the music and national language. Farsi, a poetic language, is particularly conducive to rap. The Islamic…

On June 12, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Israeli President Shimon Peres held a public discussion in Washington on critical Middle East issues to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center. The following is an excerpt about Iran from their discussion…

On June 11, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued the following statement on Significant Reductions of Iranian Crude Oil Purchases: Today I have made the determination that seven economies—India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan--have all significantly…

Mehdi Khaliji   Iran’s ruling regime pays close attention to American politics in its own calculations about how to negotiate with Washington—and how to game the new diplomatic effort. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his inner circle, for example, believe that President Barack Obama…

Mehrzad BoroujerdiSince Iran’s presidential election in 2009, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has evolved into a micromanager of Iranian politics. He curtailed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies. He turned the lights off on Iran’s reformists. He emasculated all other major…

On June 7, the United States and Iran both weighed in on the deteriorating situation in Syria. The following are officials states from the White House and the Iranian mission to the United Nations.       White House Statement from the Office of the Press Secretary  The United States…

Ted Wynne  Longstanding tensions between Iran and its Arab neighbors are intensifying because of rival territorial claims over three strategic islands in the Persian Gulf--Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. Three high-profile visits since mid-April—by President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad,…

On June 1, a U.S. District Appeals Court ruled that the Obama administration must finally decide within four months whether or not to remove the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) from the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist groups. The decision was a partial victory for the controversial Iranian…

Ted WynneOn May 29, the United States charged that Iran played a role in the weekend massacre of more than 100 Syrians, including dozens of children, in the northern city of Houla. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said a commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force was “bragging” about its…

Following a report by Russian experts, Iran confirmed on May 28 that a new cyber virus codenamed “Flame” had penetrated Iran’s computer system. The new virus is unlike earlier worms because it was designed to steal information rather than to destroy systems, according to the first report…

 On May 25, 2012, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency issued a new report about Iran’s non-compliance with U.N. resolutions on its controversial nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that it is “unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear…

Michael Adler Diplomats from Iran and the world’s six major powers—the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- met in Baghdad on May 23 and 24. What did the talks produce? Nothing concrete. It was their second meeting in a new round of negotiations over concerns Iran is…

On May 24, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the annual U.S. report on worldwide human rights violations. The following is an excerpt from the section on Iran, with a link to the full report at the bottom.     EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional,…

May 21, 2012  The Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500  Dear President Obama,  We write to convey our strong support for the prevention of a nuclear weapons-capable Iran through diplomacy. We share your…

The following is a collection of comments from senior officials in Iran, the United States, Israel, the Group of Eight Industrialized Nations, and Russia about the diplomatic initiatives to resolve disputes over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. The world’s six major powers—the United States…

     The following is a survey of attitudes about Iran’s controversial nuclear program in 21 countries. The poll by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project was released on May 18, 2012, just days before the second round of talks between the world’s six major power and Iran in Baghdad.…

The following are excerpts from a speech by Vice President Joe Biden to the Rabbinical Assembly convention in Atlanta on May 8, 2012: "We will prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon by whatever means we need..." “There remains space for diplomacy. The window has not closed in terms of the…

The following is an excerpt from a new report by Alireza Nader and Scott Harold entitled “China and Iran: Economic, Political, and Military Relations” issued May 3, 2012 by the Rand Corporation. The full link is at the bottom.   The Islamic Republic of Iran’s possible…

Caroline Crouch The six oil-rich sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf are now considering political federation to unify their foreign and defense policies. The move, originally proposed last December by Saudi King Abdullah, is a response to growing regional challenges over the past 18 months,…

     On May 1, the White House issued a new Executive Order targeting foreign sanctions evaders. The following is a fact sheet on the Executive Order. Full links to the Executive Order and the letter to Congress are provided below. FACT SHEET: New executive order targeting foreign sanctions…

Ted Wynne Over the past month, different branches of the Israeli government have taken widely diverse positions on Iran, its leadership and the state of its threat to Israel. Differences between senior political and military officials—present and past—are particularly…

Ted Wynne  Iran claims it is reproducing U.S. stealth technology less than five months after capturing an RQ-170 Sentinel drone, the most advanced unmanned surveillance aircraft.  On April 22, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iranian state television, “Our experts are fully dominant over sections and…