U.S. Policy
On February 27, President Barack Obama told Bloomberg View that the world’s six major powers have nothing to lose from nuclear talks with Iran. If the two sides fail to agree, “the worst that will have happened is that we will have frozen their program for a six-month period. We’ll have much…
On February 22, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman (left) assured Israeli journalists that Washington is “clear-eyed about the enormous challenges that lay ahead” in final nuclear talks with Iran. The world’s six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia…
On February 14, the U.S. State Department urged Iran’s government to release of former presidential candidates and Green Movement opposition leaders. Mir Hossein Mousavi (left) and Mehdi Karroubi (right) —a former prime minister and former speaker of parliament—remain under house arrest for…
On February 7, the U.S. Treasury issued a general license allowing Iranians to purchase computers, cell phones, software, mobile applications and Internet services. “We are committed to promoting the free exchange of information in Iran and to enabling individuals in Iran to communicate…
On February 6, the Treasury announced sanctions targeting entities and individuals across Europe and the Middle East for evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. Some allegedly aided Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs or supported terrorism. “The global targets designated today play key roles…
On February 4, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on implementing the interim nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s six major powers − Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. The…
On February 4, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the limited sanctions relief for Iran included in the interim nuclear deal. The following are excerpts from his statement. …
On January 28, President Barack Obama warned Congress that he would veto a new sanctions bill that could jeopardize diplomacy with Iran. In his State of the Union address, Obama attributed the halting of Iran's controversial nuclear program to “American diplomacy, backed by pressure,” …
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke extensively about Iran at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The first excerpt below is from his January 24 address to the gathering. The second excerpt is from a January 23 interview with Al Arabiya. Today, we believe that there are…
The nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s six major powers went into effect on January 20. The following are comments by the United States, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, and the European Union. As part of the deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced it will double…