On October 26, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke to the U.N. General Assembly about the war between Hamas and Israel. Tehran has armed, financed and supported Hamas, a movement of Palestinian extremists, since it grew out of the First Intifadah in 1987. Hamas initiated the war…
Iran Policy
Iran’s top leaders applauded Hamas for its multi-pronged attack on Israel in public comments, contacts with leaders of the militant factions in Gaza, and in Iranian media. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the unprecedented operation “a devastating earthquake” and a “great calamity” for…
In his 2023 U.N. speech, President Ebrahim Raisi accused Western intelligence agencies of instigating one of the biggest psychological wars in history by provoking three months of nationwide protests after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022. The Iranian leader…
On June 11, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed openness about a nuclear agreement with the West but stipulated that the “infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched.” He also warned officials to be wary of promises by Western governments. “We were hurt in many places…
On April 18, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the proposal of holding referendums on government policies. He questioned the ability of the public to analyze issues and warned that such votes would be divisive. “For any single issue, the country would be engaged in debate and arguments…
On March 30, Washington and Tehran both declared victory after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on disputed Iranian assets frozen by the United States. The top U.N. court rejected Iran’s bid to unfreeze some $2 billion in central bank funds held in a Citibank account in New York. But…
On March 21, Iran’s leaders marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year and the first day of spring, by declaring victory over the protesters but acknowledging economic difficulties. Both Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi blamed months of “riots” on Western powers. American…
For decades, Iran has considered the United States and Israel to be among the greatest threats to the theocracy. After the 1979 revolution, the new Islamic Republic labeled the United States the “Great Satan” and Israel the “Little Satan.” Iran has engaged in a shadow war with both the United…
During his in-person debut at the U.N. General Assembly, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared that U.S. power and influence were waning. The United States “keeps equivocating militarism with security and has pursued its interests in the world at the expense of other countries.” Washington “…
In his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi backed diplomatic negotiations to restore full U.S. and Iranian compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. Raisi’s goal was to lift and “neutralize” all U.S. sanctions through talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers—Britain, China, France…