U.S. Imposes New Sanctions

Treasury seal

On May 17, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran even as it waived sanctions as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States committed to waive nuclear-related sanctions if Iran remains in compliance with the JCPOA’s terms.

The Arms Control Association welcomed the decision in a statement:

The Race: Banned Politicians Impact Election

Three banned politicians are having an outsized impact on Iran’s presidential election – with their legacies benefiting President Hassan Rouhani. The three – former President Mohammad Khatami, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former Parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karroubi – are all reformists. Khatami has been banned from media appearances and travel. Mousavi and Karroubi, who both ran for president in 2009, have been under house arrest since 2011 for supporting the Green Movement protests two years earlier.

Some of the information in this article was originally published on May 16, 2017.

Poll: Economy to Dominate Presidential Race

The economy is the most important issue for Iranian voters in the upcoming election, according to a new study by IranPoll.com. Some 42 percent of respondents said unemployment is the number one challenge that the next president should address, followed by youth unemployment and other economic problems. Citizens’ perceptions about the economy are likely to play a critical role in the May 19 presidential election.

Trump Orders Review of Iran Sanctions

On April 18, the Trump administration announced the launch of an interagency review of whether sanctions relief for Iran, as part of the nuclear deal, is vital to U.S. national security interests. Iran committed to significantly curbing its nuclear program and taking greater steps towards transparency in exchange for sanctions relief as part of the 2015 agreement, also known as at the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Some of the information in this article was originally published on April 19, 2017.

G7 Countries Support Nuclear Deal

On April 10-11, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the European Union met in Lucca, Italy to discuss pressing issues that impact global peace and security. The so-called Group of Seven (G7) is an informal bloc of industrialized democracies expressed support for the Iran nuclear deal and called on Tehran to comply with its international human rights obligations. The following is the relevant excerpt from the G7’s final communique from the meeting.