New Articles
Israel: The Iran Threat & Options
Updated: September 11, 2023
For decades, Israel has considered the Islamic Republic to be its greatest adversary. Several governments, led by both the left-wing Labor Party and the right-wing Likud Party, have centered their foreign policies around the threats from Iran, ranging from its nuclear program to its creation of a…
E.U. Sanctions Iran for Human Rights Violations
On January 23, the European Union sanctioned 18 Iranian government and security officials for the brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. The group of 27 nations, including some of the world’s largest economies, also imposed sanctions on 19 government bodies and…
U.S. Sanctions for Crackdown on Protests
On January 23, the United States sanctioned a senior intelligence official and nine commanders or board members affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for human rights abuses in the crackdown on protests ignited in September 2022. Five of the men worked with the IRGC…
News Digest: Week of January 23
January 21
Economy: The Iranian rial fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar. One dollar was trading for 447,000 rials. It traded for 430,500 rials the previous day. Iran was struggling to deal with rampant inflation and the long-term impact of international sanctions.
January 23…
Human Rights Watch on Iran: Repression in 2022
Iran’s security forces and judiciary carried out extensive violations of human rights in 2022, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report. Authorities harassed journalists and civil society activists and discriminated against women and minorities. The judiciary conducted unfair trials and…
Comments: Biden & U.S. Officials on Iran in 2023
Updated: August 10, 2023
In 2023, the Biden administration condemned Iran for advancing its nuclear program, supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, cracking down on protesters, and backing militant proxies across the Middle East. Officials lauded the Iranian people, who faced suppression and intimidation from the…
News Digest: Week of January 16
January 16
International: Thousands of protestors marched to the E.U. parliament in Strasbourg in support of Iranian protesters. On the same day, the words “Stop Executions in Iran” were displayed in a light show on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
International: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol…
Iran Executes Former Cabinet Official
Updated: May 1, 2023
On January 14, 2023, Iran executed Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister (2000-2004), after he was convicted of spying for Britain and “corruption on earth.” Akbari, who served in the reformist government of President Mohammad Khatami, also had British citizenship after a decade living…
Christine Abizaid on Iran
In confirmation hearings in June 2021, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Christine Abizaid warned that the United States faced an “intensifying confrontation with Iran,” which the United States viewed as the foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Iran employed terrorism as a key…
Timeline: U.S. Sanctions & Iran's Drones to Russia
Updated: April 19, 2023
The United States and its allies have faced a problem in countering Iran’s drones since the 2010s, when Tehran increasingly deployed unmanned aircraft to harass adversaries across the Middle East. But Iran’s UAV arsenal became even more of a flashpoint after it exported drones to Russia in August…
A Hostage’s Plaintive Letter to President Biden
Updated: January 22, 2023
On January 16, Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, appealed to President Joe Biden to do more to free him and other Americans held in Iran. “In the past I implored you to reach for your moral compass and find the resolve to bring the US hostages in Iran home. To no avail,” he wrote in an…
News Digest: Week of January 9
January 7
Human Rights: Iran executed two more men arrested in connection with anti-government protests. The two men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, were convicted for allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during a protest. In total, Iran has executed four men since…
Explainer: Timing of Key Sunsets in Nuclear Deal
Updated: October 18, 2023
International restrictions on Iranian weapons—which include “sunset clauses” with expiration dates—were imposed by the 2015 nuclear agreement and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the deal. The clauses cover Iran’s nuclear program, missile production, arms trade, and…
Explainer: Can the Iran Deal Be Resuscitated?
Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association.
Is restoring the nuclear deal with Iran—brokered in 2015 and abandoned by the United States in 2018—still possible after almost two years of stalled diplomacy?
From a technical perspective, restoring…
U.S. Sanctions Iranians for Drone Supply to Russia
On January 6, the United States sanctioned six executives of an Iranian firm that produced drones exported to Russia for use against Ukraine. It also sanctioned the director of an organization that managed Iran’s ballistic missile program. “Iran must cease its support for Russia’s unprovoked war of…
News Digest: Week of January 2
Updated: January 6, 2022
January 2
Nuclear Negotiations: Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri told reporters that the nuclear negotiations were not at a stalemate and were continuing. Bagheri headed Iran’s delegation in indirect talks with the United States, which were last held in August 2022. …
Iran Commemorates Soleimani Assassination
In early January, Iran marked the third anniversary of the U.S. assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Qods Force, with official speeches, commemorative rallies, major media coverage, and inflammatory threats. Soleimani, who was considered a military hero for…
Iran in 2023: Pivotal Year Ahead
In early 2023, Iran faced the greatest array of challenges since the early days of the revolution. At home, the unpopular government was dealing with enduring protests, soaring inflation, and energy shortages. Abroad, Iran was increasingly isolated over its human rights record, controversial…
U.S. Sanctions for Serious Human Rights Abuses
On December 21, the United States sanctioned Iran’s prosecutor general, four military officials and one company for the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. Iranian authorities “have killed hundreds of peaceful protestors, including dozens of children, and arbitrarily…
Iran in 2022: Protests, Politics & Russian Alliance
Hadi Semati is a former professor in the faculty of Law and Political Science at Tehran University and a former scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is now an independent analyst.
What were the key political events or developments in Iran in…
Iran in 2022: Cusp of Nuclear Threshold
Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association.
What actions did Iran take in 2022 to advance its nuclear program? How did Iran’s nuclear capabilities change in 2022?
Iran significantly expanded its uranium enrichment program in 2022. One of the…
Iran in 2022: Volatile Economy
Henry Rome is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, focusing on the Iranian economy, sanctions and nuclear diplomacy. Follow him @hrome2.
What was the state of Iran’s economy at the end of 2022? What were the prime challenges?
Iran’s economy was stuck in a period of…
News Digest: Week of December 19
December 19
Security: Three members of the Basij paramilitary and an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member were killed in Saravan, Sistan and Baluchistan province. State media reported that they were killed in a clash with a “terrorist group.” For years, Baluch separatists have operated in the…
Iran in 2022: U.S. Sanctions
In 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran for issues ranging from missile production to oil smuggling and from violence against protesters to drone exports to Russia. It sanctioned dozens of government officials, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the…
Iran in 2022: Quotes by Biden & Top U.S. Officials
In 2022, the Biden administration condemned Iran for advancing its nuclear program, cracking down on protesters, exporting drones to Russia, and supporting militant proxies across the Middle East. It worked with European and Middle East countries to confront the multipronged threat posed by…
New E.U. and British Sanctions on Iran
In mid-December, the European Union and Britain separately imposed punitive sanctions on dozens of Iranian security and government officials as well as state media employees for the brutal crackdown on nationwide protests ignited on September 16. The group of 28 nations, including some of the world…
U.S. Bests Iran in Wrestling World Cup
On December 11, the U.S. wrestling team won the 2022 World Cup 6-4 in a hard-fought series of individual matches with Iranian wrestlers in Coralville, Iowa. The win came two weeks after Team USA beat Iran 1-0 in soccer at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The two wins marked a reversal of sports…
U.S. Sanctions for Human Rights Abuses
On December 9, the United States sanctioned 17 Iranian law enforcement, prison, and government officials for the ongoing crackdown. “We reiterate our condemnation of Iran’s brutal acts of violence against peaceful protestors, ongoing denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and pervasive…
U.N. Bounces Iran from Women’s Rights Body
On December 14, the U.N. Economic and Social Council removed Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women. The United States had submitted the motion in response to Iran’s repression of women and girls, including protesters in 2022. No country had ever been ousted from the panel before. The vote…
Whither the Reformists?
Hadi Semati is a former professor in the faculty of Law and Political Science at Tehran University and a former scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is now an independent analyst.
What is the state of Iran’s reformist faction—which had…