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Report: Internal Tensions in Iran
Iran’s internal politics and economic situation are fraught with tension, according to data compiled by international bodies and presented by Anthony Cordesman. For example, youth unemployment is already high at some 23 percent. But…
UK to Reopen Embassy in Tehran
On June 17, Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that Britain intends to reopen its embassy in Tehran. The embassy has been closed since demonstrators stormed it on Nov. 29, 2011 to protest new British sanctions on Iranian…
US and Iranian Religious Leaders Declare Opposition to Weapons of Mass Destruction
On June 14, a group of U.S. bishops and Iranian religious leader issued a joint declaration opposing actions that endanger the health, dignity and welfare of others — including proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The…
US and Iran Leaders on Iraq Crisis
Both Washington and Tehran have indicated openness to working cooperatively to quell the Iraq crisis. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a Sunni militant group fighting the Assad regime in Syria, has recently taken significant…
US Briefs on June Vienna Talks
On June 16, the U.S. State Department provided a briefing on the upcoming nuclear negotiations between Iran and the world’s six major powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. A senior Obama administration official said that both sides…
Iran Fact File: Analysis of Iranian Breakout Calculations
A report recently published by quasi-official Iranian website NuclearEnergy.ir claims Tehran would need at least 18 months to produce enough enriched uranium for one bomb. But that timeline differs drastically from the U.S. estimate of two months because of…
So what happened? Rouhani visits Turkey
Henri Barkey Why did President Rouhani visit Turkey? On June 9-10, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made his first visit to Turkey since his election a year ago. It was the first by an Iranian leader to Turkey in 18 years. By contrast, many…
Event- Nuclear Flashpoints: US-Iran Tensions Over Timetables and Terms
A final deal with Iran will have to sort out a dizzying array of timetables and disparate interpretation of terms. Among them: How many years will an agreement last? Iran prefers a few; the U.S. is thinking decades. Breakout time - how…
Iran's Dissidents, Released But Not Freed
Robin Wright(Excerpt from The New Yorker) Rouhani’s victory, an upset, spawned great expectations of change. A pragmatic centrist, he campaigned on the promise of “hope and prudence.” After the election, in a series of speeches and…
Rouhani Visits Turkey to Boost Ties
On June 9, Hassan Rouhani became the first Iranian president to officially visit Turkey in 18 years. The primary goal of the trip was to boost economic ties with Ankara. Rouhani was accompanied by a high profile 90-member trade delegation…
Nuclear Timelines: U.S. Perspective
The following factsheet outlines the U.S.-Iran tensions over timelines and terms of a final nuclear agreement. 1) How long will a deal last? The United States, along with the other five major…
Nuclear Timelines: Iran's Perspective
In a new report, a quasi-official Iranian website has published its own timeline of how long it would take to produce enough enriched uranium for one bomb -- the so-called breakout time. It claims Tehran would need at least 18 months to produce enough…
Rouhani: Mixed Bag One Year Later
Shaul Bakhash One year after President Hassan Rouhani’s election, what are his administration’s main accomplishments? After the eight disastrous years of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration, Rouhani’s signal achievement is simply to put government…
Flurry of Diplomacy As Final Push Begins
Diplomacy is accelerating in the run-up to the July 20 deadline for a nuclear deal. Delegations from most of the world’s six major powers are holding separate meetings with Iranian negotiators. Top U.S. officials led by Deputy…
Report: Rouhani's Plan to Revive Oil Industry
President Hassan Rouhani and his oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, have launched an ambitious reform program for the oil and gas industry. They are trying to roll back the dominance of the Revolutionary Guards, halt privatization…
More “Happy” Videos Go Viral in Tehran
Iranian youth have posted several videos of themselves dancing and lip synching to Pharell William’s hit “Happy.” One version featuring three women — without hijab — and three men went viral and led to the dancers’ arrest on May 20…
G-7 Statement on Iran
On June 5, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission issued a declaration at the close of the G-7 summit in Brussels. The following is…
Khamenei at 25 Years - Defies US in Speech
On June 4, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei marked the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death with an address to hundreds at the late revolutionary leader’s mausoleum. Khamenei told Iranians that decades of “…
Khamenei at 25 Years - What is his legacy?
June 3 marks the 25th anniversary of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death —and the emergence of new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The following are comments by The Iran Primer’s original authors on Khamenei’s quarter century in power…
Khamenei at 25 Years - Thoughts and Edicts
For 25 years, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been the guiding force behind the Islamic Republic. He has constitutional authority or significant influence over both the government and military. On domestic issues, Khamenei encourages Iranians to become strong and…
Gallup Poll: Iranians Not So Happy
On June 3, Gallup rereleased its most recent rankings of positive emotions, with Iran at 93 on a list of 138 countries. Iranians reported the “highest negative emotions in the world, second only to Iraq,” according to the study.…
New Amnesty Report:Students Expelled, Jailed
Iran’s higher education institutions no longer enjoy any meaningful degree of academic freedom, according to a wide-ranging report by Amnesty International. The security and intelligence apparatus has gradually taken control of…
Economic Trends: Month of May
Garrett Nada The biggest news in May was reports of increased oil exports to Asia and discoveries of new fields. China’s imports of Iranian crude oil more than doubled in April compared to a year ago. And South Korea’s imports from…
Obama at West Point : On Iran Diplomacy
On May 28, President Barack Obama cited progress in diplomacy with Iran as an example of strong American leadership in his address to West Point military academy graduates. “It has been our willingness to work through multilateral channels that kept the world on our…
Singing Amy Winehouse in Tehran
Robin Wright (for The New Yorker) For decades, both before and after his 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini railed against “Westoxication”—the poisoning of Iran’s Islamic society by Western culture. The new theocracy banned everything from music and dancing to modern…
Javad Zarif on Iran’s Nuclear Negotiations
Robin Wright (for the The New Yorker) Iran and the six powers must address points of contention on virtually every aspect of a nuclear deal, from the future of suspect facilities to accounting for past programs, but Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has been…
Kerry on Amir Hekmati’s Detention
On May 26, Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement marking the 1,000th day of U.S. citizen Amir Hekmati’s detention in Iran. Iranian authorities arrested Hekmati—a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen born in Arizona and a former…
UN: Iran Complying with Interim Nuke Deal
On May 23, the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed in a new report that Iran is fulfilling its commitments under the interim agreement. Iran has halted its most sensitive activities and rolled back its program in other key areas. Tehran…
Zarif & Ashton Announce June 16-20 Talks
On May 26, E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that a new round of nuclear talks is scheduled for June 16 to 20 in Vienna. The last round of negotiations on May 16 between Iran and the world’s six…
US Sanctions Iranian Official for Censorship
On May 23, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iranian official Morteza Tamaddon for involvement in censorship. “The United States is keenly focused on promoting opportunities for the Iranian people to fully exercise their universal rights…