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Supreme Leader KhameneiOn October 24, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced countries that had established diplomatic ties with Israel. “They sinned by normalizing relations with the usurping, despotic Zionist regime,” he said in a speech marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.…

October 18 The Venezuelan and Iranian foreign ministers Diplomacy: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia met with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as well as President Ebrahim Raisi, in Tehran. During a joint press conference, Amir-Abdollahian announced that the two…

As of September 2021, almost 60 percent of Iranians had positive views—in equal degrees—of China and Russia. In contrast, 85 percent reported negative views of the United States and 67 percent viewed the Biden administration’s views on Iran as “hostile.” Some 60 percent reported viewing France…

Six years after it was negotiated, Iranian public opinion was split on the 2015 nuclear deal. Some 47 percent disapproved of the agreement while 48 percent approve of it, according to a new poll by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll.com. The deal had…

A large majority of Iranians, 78 percent, had favorable views of President Ebrahim Raisi, according to a new poll by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll.com. Many Iranians, however, were critical of how the June 2021 election was conducted. Some 44…

Eighteen months after the COVID-19 outbreak, Iranians were significantly more concerned about the government’s response to the pandemic. Some 42 percent of Iranians, up from 25 percent a year earlier, said that Iran’s response has been less effective than the actions by similar countries, according…

In September 2021, 74 percent of Iranians said that the overall economic situation was "somewhat bad" or "very bad," according to a new poll by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll.com. More than 60 percent of Iranians were most concerned about…

Mahsa Alimardani is a researcher at ARTICLE19, an international human rights organization focused on freedom of expression and information. She is also a doctoral student at the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute.   Since the beginning of the Internet in the mid-1990s, how has Iran…

On October 13, Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said that the United States and its allies were considering alternative ways to constrain Tehran’s nuclear should diplomacy fail. “Every day they [Iranians] are not coming back to the table … is telling us that this is a team that may…

October 11 Trade: Adani Ports, the largest port operator in India, announced that it would cease - as of November 15 - to handle cargo from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It did not provide a reason, but the announcement followed a seizure of heroin from Afghanistan worth some $2.65 billion at a…

Between early February and mid-October 2021, the international community provided Iran with 92.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. China, Iran’s top trading partner, provided the largest amount, about 90 percent of the doses imported by Iran. Iran gained access to foreign vaccines mostly through…

Iran's 31 provincesOn October 11, Facebook announced that it had removed a network linked to the Revolutionary Guards that praised the military and criticized opposition groups. Facebook took down 93 accounts, 14 pages, 15 groups and 194 Instagram accounts that targeted primarily domestic audiences…

On October 11, Microsoft announced that a hacking group linked to Iran attempted to gain access to more than 250 accounts “with a focus on U.S. and Israeli defense technology companies, Persian Gulf ports of entry, or global maritime transportation companies with business presence in the Middle…

Politics: In his first public speech after 10 years under house arrest, opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi urged major reforms to eliminate the “flaws and shortcomings” in the Islamic Republic. Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament who ran for the presidency in 2009, was allowed to give a brief…

In a wide-ranging speech, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the United States for interfering in its neighboring regions, notably Afghanistan. The Americans “stayed in that country for 20 years killing people, committing crimes, occupying, promoting addictive drugs, and destroying the…

Mehdi KarroubiIn his first public speech after 10 years under house arrest, opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi urged major reforms to eliminate the “flaws and shortcomings” in the Islamic Republic. Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament who ran for the presidency in 2009, was allowed to give a…

Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association.   After the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the father of Iran's nuclear program, Parliament passed a new law in December 2020 requiring the government to accelerate its nuclear program. What are…

Reza H. Akbari is a MENA Program Manager at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and a doctoral student at American University, where he focuses on the history of the modern Middle East. Follow him on Twitter @rezahakbari.   Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, has had little experience in…

September 27 Diplomacy: Iraqi officials said that Baghdad had hosted Iranian and Saudi officials for a fourth round of bilateral talks – the first round since President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August. The regional rivals severed diplomatic relations in 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed Nimr al…

On September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Iran of destabilizing the Middle East and working towards a nuclear weapon. “Iran's nuclear program has hit a watershed moment, and so has our tolerance. Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning,” he warned in his debut address to…

In the early days of his presidency, Ebrahim Raisi’s top priority was fighting Iran’s fifth and deadliest wave of COVID-19. More than 38,000 new cases and 400 deaths were reported on August 5, the day that he took office. Three days later, Raisi set an example by publicly receiving his first dose…

In August, Iran began shipping badly needed fuel to Lebanon through Hezbollah, the Lebanese political movement and militia. The move demonstrated Tehran’s unwavering support for the group and defiance of U.S. sanctions. Hezbollah used the shipments to bolster its image amid Lebanon’s economic…

Toomaj SalehiOn Sept. 13, 2021, Toomaj Salehi, a popular young rapper, was arrested at his home in Isfahan and charged with propaganda against the regime. Salehi gained popularity for his songs—such as “Normal Life,” released in June 2021—that spotlighted poverty, corruption and repression in Iran…

On September 24, new Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Western reporters during the opening week of the U.N. General Assembly. In one session, only his opening remarks were on the record. In another interview with MSNBC, he provided more detailed comments on Tehran’s…

In the early days of his presidency, Ebrahim Raisi outlined two main priorities in Iranian foreign policy: improving relations with neighbors, and expanding ties with Asian powers, including China and Russia. “I extend a hand of friendship and brotherhood to all countries in the region, especially…

September 20 Sports: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulated the national volleyball team for winning the 2021 Asian Championship title.  In the Name of the Most High The brilliant victory of the National #Volleyball Team is very sweet for the Iranian nation. I sincerely thank you…

On September 21, President Ebrahim Raisi expressed support for diplomatic negotiations to restore full U.S. and Iranian compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. “We want nothing more than what is rightfully ours. We demand the implementation of international rules,” he said during his debut address…

On September 17, the Treasury Department announced sanctions, authorized under Executive Order 13224, on a network of facilitators and front companies in the Middle East and Far East that helped fund Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force. Treasury designated 11 individuals in…

September 13 Hezbollah:  Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese political movement and militia Hezbollah, said that the group received its first shipment of Iranian fuel at the Syrian port of Banias. The fuel was to be transported by trucks to Lebanon, which was in the midst of a fuel crisis…

In its quarterly report on September 7, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran was enriching uranium at levels significantly higher than allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal, which experts subsequently warned could allow Iran to amass sufficient fuel for a single nuclear…