Iranian opposition groups reflect diverse political grievances, ethnic tensions, and ideological trends. The regime’s most visible opponents are partially or entirely based outside Iran. Their goals are either regime change or self-determination for an ethnic group inside Iran. The government has banned, persecuted or prosecuted members of each of the five groups profiled here. Some groups have ties to neighboring governments in the region; others operate from Europe.

In 2019 and 2020, Iran failed to prevent human trafficking, prosecute its perpetrators or protect victims, the State Department said in the annual report released on June 25, 2020. Iranian officials often condoned crimes. They were also involved in recruiting children to fight for Iranian-led militias in Syria and forcing adults and children into the commercial sex trade. The annual U.S.

In 2019, Iran supported terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite groups in Iraq and Palestinian groups in Gaza, the State Department said in the annual report on terrorism released on June 24, 2020. The report also accused Tehran of helping the Assad regime crush the opposition in Syria, plotting to assassinate Iranian dissidents in Europe, and harboring al Qaeda operatives in Iran. “If Iran wants to rejoin the community of responsible nations, here is a start: Crack down on the terrorists that caused 9/11.

On June 19, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and the United States rebuked Iran for denying access to two suspect sites where it may have used or stored undeclared nuclear material. The resolution, which passed 25 to 2 with seven abstentions, called on Iran to fully cooperate with an investigation into its past nuclear work after more than a year of stonewalling. 

On June 15, the Senate unanimously approved the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (S.712). The bipartisan legislation aims to strengthen U.S. government efforts to repatriate Americans held hostage or unlawfully detained abroad. It would establish a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell and a Hostage Recovery Group, which would make policy recommendations. The bill had been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 21.

In early 2020, Europe, China and Russia rejected the Trump administration’s initiative to extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran. The disagreement deepened the divide among the six major world powers – Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States – that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. It also threatened to exacerbate the transatlantic rift – already deeper than at any time since World War II – between the United States and its European allies.

Iran’s government has continued to imprison, harass and intimidate people based on religious beliefs, according to an annual State Department report on religious freedom released on June 10. At least 90 percent of Iran’s population is Shiite. In 2019, religious minorities, such as Sunni Muslims and Sufis, as well as Bahai’s, Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, faced both government and societal discrimination.

On June 8, the United States expanded sanctions on Iran’s shipping industry. The Treasury Department blacklisted Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd, along with more than 100 ships and tankers. “IRISL has repeatedly transported items related to Iran’s ballistic missile and military programs and is also a longstanding carrier of other proliferation-sensitive items,” including items that can be used in Iran’s nuclear program, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

On June 4, Iran released Michael White, an American who had been detained for nearly two years. The U.S. Navy veteran was arrested on unspecified charges in July 2018 while visiting his girlfriend in Iran. In March 2019, White was sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the supreme leader and 10 years for posting a private photograph on social media.

On June 2, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that Sirous Asgari, a scientist who had been imprisoned in the United States, was on a plane back to Iran. “Congratulations to his wife and his esteemed family,” he wrote on Instagram. Dr. Asgari was indicted in 2016 on charges of stealing trade secrets related to research he had done at Case Western Reserve University in 2012 and 2013. The scientist, an engineer who specializes in metals and materials, had been working on a project for the U.S.