News Digest

November 25 Diplomacy: General Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused the United States, Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia for instigating protests that began of November 15. He threatened to “destroy” the enemies of the state. “If you cross our red line, we will…
November 18 Economics: The government announced that 12 people had been killed in clashes with security forces during protests against a sudden fuel price hike. But activists claimed that at least 40 people had died.  Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei claimed that attendance in demonstrations had…
November 11 Nuclear: In its quarterly report, the world’s nuclear watchdog said that Iran had violated the 2015 nuclear deal by increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also reported that its inspectors had found traces of uranium “at a location…
November 4 Foreign Policy/Society: More than 1,000 rallies were held across Iran to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy. Outside of the former U.S. mission, thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America,” as army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi condemned…
October 21 Justice/Diplomacy: Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran sent the United States a list of names for a proposed prison swap. Tehran did not publicize the list, but Zarif said he hoped to hear “good news” regarding the release of Iranian scientist Masoud Soleimani. The United…
October 14 Economics: Iran’s oil ministry released images of the tanker Sabiti, which clearly showed two holes in its hull just above the waterline. President Hassan Rouhani claimed a foreign government was responsible for the October 11 attack, which occurred in the Red Sea some 60 miles away…
October 7 Justice/Espionage: Iran said Yulia Yuzik, a Russian journalist detained last week in Tehran, was arrested for a visa violation and not for spying as initially reported. Russia had summoned the Iranian ambassador on October 4 to discuss the case. Politics: Josep Borrell, the incoming E.U…
October 1 Justice/Politics: Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of President Hassan Rouhani, was sentenced to five years in prison on corruption charges. He had been arrested in 2017 and was the subject of multiple investigations. Fereydoun had long been accused of corruption by hardliners. But Rouhani…
October 28International: Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the supreme leader, said that Iran was open to cooperation with Western countries that “respect Iran’s sovereignty and treat [Iran] as an equal.” He said that the Islamic Republic will reassess its foreign policy with various…
September 23Nuclear: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran was ready to resume nuclear talks. “If the other parties are ready, we can restart the negotiations during this trip,” he wrote on X. He announced that he would remain in New York for several days after the U.N. General Assembly to…