U.S. Policy
On October 15, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that “Iran is under more pressure than ever before” thanks to new E.U. sanctions on its financial, trade, energy and transport sectors. At a separate press briefing, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland clarified…
On October 9, the United States moved to tighten loopholes in its Iran sanctions. President Barack Obama’s new Executive Order will implement additional punitive measures that he signed into law on August 10, 2012. National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor said the law sanctions…
On Sept. 28, the U.S. State Department revoked the Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK) designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The leftist group killed six Americans in Iran in the 1970s and attempted an attack against the Iranian mission to the United Nations in 1992. The State…
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York on Sept. 22 and addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26. President Barack Obama and other U.S. and world leaders condemned Iran’s positions on Syria, Israel and its nuclear program both before and after Ahmadinejad’s…
On Sept. 22, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution ruling out the policy of containing a nuclear-armed Iran. But it stipulates that it shall not be “construed as an authorization for the use of force.” Resolution 41 also urges increased diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions on Iran…
On Sept. 24, the Treasury Department submitted a report to Congress determining that the National Iranian Oil Company is an agent or affiliate of the Revolutionary Guards. The following is an excerpt from the report. The IRGC is Iran’s most powerful economic actor, dominating many…
On Sept. 20, one week before the U.N. General Assembly’s opening session, the American mission to the United Nations issued a fact sheet outlining the growing squeeze on Iran from U.N. sanctions since the passage of Resolution 1929. Iran is again expected to be a major topic when world…
On Sept. 12, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen announced that Iran’s crude oil exports have decreased by 55 percent since January 2012. “Today, the Iranian government is relegated to the backwaters of the international financial system,” said Cohen at the New York…
On Sept. 10, the State Department applauded Iran’s release of a Christian Pastor who was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010. The charges were reportedly dropped from apostasy to evangelizing Muslims, with a sentence of three years. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was released for time served,…
On August 21, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland issued the following statement condemning Iran’s new education policy. Iranian Women Excluded From Major Areas of University Study We have seen reports that 36 Iranian universities have banned women from 77 critical fields of…