European powers expressed solidarity with the United States over the targeting of anti-ISIS coalition forces in Iraq. They highlighted their concern about Iran’s interventions across the Middle East. But they also called for de-escalation after the United States killed Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike early on January 3 (January 2 U.S. time).  “We call on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and responsibility,” said the leaders of Britain, France and Germany in a joint statement. 

On January 2, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it had killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Qods Force, in a drone strike at Baghdad’s International Airport. The Qods Force is the external operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated a foreign terrorist organization by Washington. The Pentagon alleged that Soleimani had orchestrated multiple attacks on U.S. forces and allies in late 2019, including a December 27 attack on a coalition base near Kirkuk that killed a U.S. civilian contractor.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reached out to U.S. allies in the wider Middle East and Europe to discuss the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Qods Force. In calls with top officials, Pompeo reiterated shared concerns about Iran’s interventions across the region. The following are readouts from the State Department of his conversations.  

January 3, 2019

On January 3, Secretary of State Pompeo alleged that Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Qods Force, was planning an “imminent attack” on Americans. In several interviews with the press, he argued that the United States would have been negligent if it had not killed the general in a drone strike on January 2. “The American people would have said that we weren’t doing the right thing to protect and defend American lives,” he told NBC on January 5. But he declined to offer details about the plot other than that dozens, if not hundreds, of American lives were at stake.

On December 16, the U.S. State Department warned against transferring two materials to Iran that are essential for steel production. The advisory specified that producers and exporters of graphite electrodes and needle coke, as well as shippers and port operators, could face U.S. sanctions for supporting Iran’s steel industry. “The U.S.

Amnesty International updated its death toll from the fuel price protests that erupted on November 15.

By Hadi Ghaemi

What is the state of human rights in Iran in 2019? Have any new patterns emerged? Has the regime targeted any new groups or notable people?

On November 18, 2019, The Intercept and The New York Times published 700 pages of classified Iranian intelligence cables that illustrated the depth of Tehran’s penetration of Iraqi politics, intelligence and the military.

On November 12, President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, renewed the national emergency with respect to Iran. The emergency status was first declared on November 14, 1979, shortly after the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The following is the full text of the White House press release and Trump’s letter to Congress.

The United States marked 40 years since the seizure of its embassy in Tehran by announcing new sanctions on Iran. “Forty years later, the revolutionary regime in Tehran has proven, time and again, that its first acts after gaining power were a clear indication of its evil character,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on November 4. The Treasury Department blacklisted nine members of the supreme leader’s inner circle.