In April 2022, the annual U.S. assessment of arms control reported that Iran had not yet taken the steps necessary to produce a nuclear weapon even as it “continued to expand its uranium enrichment activities” far beyond the limits stipulated in the 2015 nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The report also expressed “serious concerns” about possible undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran. Tehran has failed to fully cooperate with the U.N.

On March 20, President Joe Biden and top officials wished a happy Nowruz, the Persian New year, to Iranians and others celebrating the ancient holiday around the world. Biden, unlike his predecessors, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, did not use the occasion to comment on the state of U.S.-Iran relations or criticize the Islamic Republic’s government. 

Early on March 13, Iran launched a dozen ballistic missiles into neighboring Iraq. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that it targeted Israeli “strategic centers” in the northern city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region. Iraqi and U.S. officials said that the attack was unjustified.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveiled a new ballistic missile on February 9. State media said that the missile, the Khaibar Shekan, had a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles), which could put its enemy Israel – as well as many U.S. bases in the region – well within its range. Iran’s western border is some 620 miles from Israel.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei welcomed efforts by Iranian diplomats to get U.S. sanctions lifted as part of talks on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. Negotiators are “working to lift the sanctions and persuade the other side, which is good,” he said on February 17 in a speech marking the anniversary of an uprising against the monarchy in 1978.

February 7

Regional: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett claimed that the United States endorsed Israel's right to act, kinetically or otherwise, against Iran. He cited a U.S. readout on his conversation with President Joe Biden The readout published on February 6 noted Biden’s “unwavering support for Israel’s security and freedom of action,” though not specifically in relation to Iran.

U.S. officials acknowledged modest progress in the eighth round of nuclear talks with Iran and the world’s major powers. The “negotiations in January were among the most intensive that we’ve had to date,” a senior State Department official said on January 31. “And we made progress narrowing down the list of differences to just the key priorities on all sides.” The diplomat, however, said that Iran needed to “decide whether it’s prepared to make those decisions necessary for a mutual return to compliance” with the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran entered only three athletes – two men and one woman – in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. They included:

On January 27, Saber Fakih, a 46-year-old British national, pleaded guilty to violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. In federal court in Washington, D.C., Fakih said that he conspired with four other men to export an Industrial Microwave System (IMS) and counter-drone system from the United States to Iran. The IMS, with some modifications, could be used to make a directed-energy weapon that could take down drones. U.S. sanctions forbid the export of items with possible military uses to Iran unless the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issues a license.

January 17

Regional: Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, launched drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at targets in the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi’s airport, Dubai’s airport and an oil refinery. Two Indians and one Pakistani were killed.