U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a new report critical of Iran’s human rights record. Executions were down in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. But Tehran “has not taken any measures to halt executions or instituted a moratorium on the death penalty,” the secretary general noted. He also expressed particular concern over the pattern of arbitrary arrests and convictions of journalists and online activists.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff visited Iran and found that the economy has “rebounded strongly” since the nuclear deal was implemented and sanctions were lifted in January 2016. But Iran still needs to take several steps to ensure continued economic growth and reintegration into the global financial system. The following is the full text of the IMF statement.
On September 26, Iran released retired university professor Homa Hoodfar from Evin prison. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Iranian authorities confirmed the release of the dual-national who had been held since June.
On September 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized the United States for not sending a clear message to European banks that they are free to do business with Iran. In a wide ranging conversation with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, he also discussed the war in Syria, tensions with Saudi Arabia, extremism, the nuclear deal and other pressing issues. The following is an excerpted transcript from the Council on Foreign Relations event held in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
On September 22, President Hassan Rouhani gave wide ranging comments on the nuclear deal’s implementation, U.S.-Iran relations, the Syrian war, Saudi Arabia, extremism, and more. He spoke to journalists after delivering an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The following are excerpted remarks arranged by topic.
On September 21, President Hassan Rouhani called for a political solution to the Syrian civil war in an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd.
On September 19, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz discussed the status of the Iranian nuclear deal and progress on implementation at the Council on Foreign Relations. The following are excerpts from the transcript of the conversation moderated by Graham T.
Israeli leaders expressed varying degrees of hostility to the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world's six major powers. But they largely adapted to the reality of the deal and shifted their focus to nonnuclear areas of concern, according to a new brief by Dalia Dassa Kaye at the Rand Corporation.
On September 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has been living up to its commitments as part of the nuclear deal, specifically as codified in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231. For example, Iran has not surpassed limits on its stock of enriched uranium or heavy water. As with earlier quarterly reports, however, this one did not include details about every restriction in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
On September 12, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the last 280 members of a controversial Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), had been transferred from Iraq to Albania. Founded in 1965 as an urban guerilla group, it opposed the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The leftist group killed six Americans in Iran in the 1970s. The MEK participated in the 1979 Revolution but later broke with revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini over ideology and direction.
