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Iranian Generals Dismiss US Military Option
Three top Iranian military commanders have dismissed remarks by U.S. officials who have claimed Washington retains the ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. The commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Ali Jafari, said Western powers would attack Iran if they…
“Madam Secretary” and the Real Iran Deal
An American flag was flown in Tehran last weekend--and, in a first, wasn't set on fire. My piece in @NewYorker. http://t.co/zfDMZeJHQD— Robin Wright (@wrightr) May 6, 2015 In a new article for The New Yorker, Robin Wright reports that officials involved in nuclear talks say that diplomacy is…
Report: Gulf States Outspend Iran on Military
The Arab Gulf states have a “decisive advantage over Iran in both the size of their recent military spending and the size and quality of their arms transfers and imports of military technology,” according to a new report by Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.…
Iran's Economy, By the Numbers
Increasingly strict U.S. and E.U. sanctions during the last decade, coupled with corruption and mismanagement under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), took a toll on Iran’s economy. But President Hassan Rouhani made significant headway in stabilizing the economy after he took office in 2013…
After Sanctions: Iran Oil & Gas Boom?
Cameron Glenn As the world’s six major powers negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, U.S. and European oil companies are already eyeing the potential benefits of reinvesting in Iran’s petroleum sector. If sanctions are eased, they are well positioned to provide the advanced technology and equipment…
Congress Acts: Senate Passes Corker Bill
On May 7, the Senate passed legislation that would require Congress to approve and then vote on a final nuclear deal with Iran. The “Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015” passed 98-1 – only Tom Cotton (R-AR), a vocal opponent of the nuclear talks, voted against it.The White House initially…
Democrats to Obama: Stay on Course
On May 7, Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and David Price (D-NC) sent a letter to President Obama expressing support for the nuclear negotiations with Iran. It was signed by 150 Democratic members of Congress. The letter urged the president to "stay on course" and move…
Khamenei: Iran Will Not Tolerate US Threats
On May 6, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that negotiating with the world's six major powers on the nuclear dispute “under the shadow of threat” is unacceptable for Iran. “How dare U.S. officials threaten Iran militarily? In 2007, I said that hit-and-run attacks are no longer possible…
American CEOs Eye Iran
Interview with Christopher Schroeder How often do you travel to Iran? I have gone on two trips to Iran, in spring of 2014 and 2015. They were coordinated by a small group of members of the Young Presidents’ Organization and World Presidents’ Organization — a global network of some 22,000 CEOs…
Report: Impact of Sanctions on Iran
Sanctions have constricted Iran’s economy and played a role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program, according to Kenneth Katzman in an updated Congressional Research Service report. International sanctions have caused a decline in Iran’s GDP, oil production and exports,…
US Tries to Sell Israel on Iran Deal
On April 30, Secretary of State John Kerry told Israel’s Channel 10 News that the United States will not “disappoint Israel” and will only sign a nuclear deal if it closes off all of Iran’s potential pathways to a bomb. “I say to every Israeli today we have the ability to stop them if they decided…
Khamenei on Labor Day
On April 29, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei highlighted the important role laborers play in Iran’s economy. In his address for International Labor Day, Khamenei called for resolving “problems such as delays in paying their salary, dismissals, problems related to providing and the like.” He…
Biden Defends Blueprint for Iran Deal
On April 30, Vice President Joe Biden pushed back against critics of the blueprint for a nuclear deal with Iran. He argued that an agreement would have the “toughest transparency and verification requirements, which represent the best possible check against a secret path to the bomb.” The following…
Treasury on Iran Deal and Sanctions
On April 29, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew outlined how the United States could ensure Iran’s compliance with the terms of a nuclear deal. He said the United States could keep the “sanctions architecture in place while providing relief through waivers” to preserve the ability to “reimpose sanctions…
Cotton vs Zarif: War of Tweets
On April 29, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif quipped that sanctions relief as part of nuclear deal would be codified in a U.N. Security Council resolution, “which will be mandatory for all member states whether Senator [Tom] Cotton likes it or not.” Cotton has been a vocal critic of…
Report: Iran Seventh Most Censored Country
Iran is the world’s seventh most censored country, according to a new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The ranking is based on Iran’s detention of journalists, censorship laws, and internet restrictions compared to other countries. The following are the report’s main findings on…
Zarif Interview with Charlie Rose
In a wide-ranging interview with Charlie Rose, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed nuclear talks, ISIS, U.S.-Iran relations, jailed journalists in Iran and other issues. The following are video clips from the interview, which aired in two parts, followed by key excerpts.
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Nuclear…
Zarif in New York: Nuke Deal, ISIS, Syria
On April 29, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said negotiators from Iran and the world’s six major powers will be working “nonstop” to meet a June 30 deadline for a final nuclear deal. “It’s not a perfect agreement. It’s not perfect for us, it’s not perfect for the United States, it’s…
Iran, Yemen and the Houthis
Updated: January 11, 2021
Iran is widely accused of backing the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite movement that has been fighting Yemen’s Sunni-majority government since 2004. The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014 and seized control over much of north Yemen by 2016. Yemeni officials and Sunni states have…
North Korea & Iran Nuclear Deals Compared
Differences outweigh similarities in comparing the blueprint for a nuclear deal with Iran and the 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea, according to George Perkovich, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The 1994 Agreed Framework between the United States…
Nuke Talks: Latest from Iran, P5+1
On April 23, Iran and the world’s six major powers began three days of nuclear negotiations in Vienna. Negotiators are working to draft a final agreement by June 30, but disagreements remain about the timing of sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear research and development, and the scope of…
Kerry on Iran Soil
In another first, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iran’s foreign minister at the Upper East Side residence of Iran’s U.N. ambassador. The two were in New York to attend a U.N. conference on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty. It was the first time Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif…
U.S. to Reform Jews on Iran Deal
On April 27, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman discussed ongoing nuclear talks with Iran at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Biennial Leadership Policy Conference. “We believe that the parameters, announced two weeks ago in Lausanne, offer the best chance at…
Zarif Addresses UN Arms Conference
On April 27, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons in an address to the 2015 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) conference in New York. In his role as chair of the coordinating bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, an…
Latest US Polls on Iran Deal
The following are key findings from recent polls asking Americans about the blueprint for a nuclear deal announced on April 2 by Iran and the world’s six major powers and the talks in general. AP-GfK Poll A survey conducted by AP-GfK from April 23-27 found that a slight majority of Americans…
Kerry, Moniz Op-ed
As the United Nations conducts its five year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Earnest Moniz said it remains “at the heart of the global effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and it has helped keep the world safe for…
U.S.-Iran Trade After Sanctions
Garrett Nada A gradual lifting of sanctions on Iran could reopen the Middle East’s second largest economy (after Saudi Arabia) to U.S. and Western companies. Many European companies were active in Iran until 2010, but American companies have avoided doing business in the Islamic Republic for…
House Foreign Affairs Committee: Verification Needed in Nuke Deal
On April 22, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing focused on verification measures in a potential nuclear deal with Iran. Chairman Ed Royce argued that “the issue of inspections and verification will be central to how Congress judges any final agreement.” In his testimony, David…
UN: Iran Complying with Interim Nuke Deal
On April 20, the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported that Iran has continued to meet its commitments under the interim nuclear agreement with the world’s six major powers. The report found that Iran was not enriching uranium above the five percent level or making "any further advances" at its enrichment…
Iran and Afghanistan Strengthen Ties
On April 19, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Tehran for a two-day visit with Iranian officials, his first since taking office in September. He was accompanied by six other Afghan officials, including Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and National Security Advisor Muhammad Hanif Atmar.…