New Articles
How the US Decides on Whom to Impose Sanctions
The following is an excerpt from the U.S. Government Accountability Office's letter to the chair of the House of Representative’s foreign affairs committee detailing the process to determine whether to impose sanctions under the…
“Happy” Video Dancers Released by Police
On May 21, six young Iranians detained for appearing in a video singing along to Pharrell William’s “Happy” were released by Tehran police. But the director of the video was not. In the YouTube clip below, three women — without…
Political Chasm Deepens Over Nuke Program
Nima Gerami Iran’s political elite has become increasingly divided over the course of nuclear negotiations with the world’s six major powers, which began last fall. The current debate appears to fall into three camps:…
Iran and IAEA: On Past Military Dimensions
On May 21, Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency reached an agreement on five additional measures to be implemented by August 25. Tehran committed to providing relevant information on past high explosive experiment and research and…
Iranian Women Flaunt Hijab on Facebook
Since May 1, hundreds of women have flaunted Iran’s tough Islamic laws by posting their pictures without a hijab, or veil, on Facebook. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist based in London, sparked the movement by posting a photo…
Report: Evin Prison Raid
Security officials assaulted dozens of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison on April 17, according to a report by Amnesty International. The perpetrators, who included Ministry of…
Tough Nuke Talks: No Progress in Vienna
On May 16, the fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers ended without any tangible progress. But negotiators from both sides emphasized that another round of talks will take place in June and that…
Rouhani Under Fire
Garrett Nada President Hassan Rouhani faces growing pressure from hardliners for trying to improve Iran’s pariah status and, even tepidly, open up Iranian society. In recent weeks, politicians and media critics have lambasted Rouhani in the run-up to the latest nuclear…
Hagel in Saudi Arabia and Israel on Iran
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke extensively about Iran at two stops of his Middle East tour. On May 14, Hagel assured Arab Gulf states that a nuclear deal with Iran would not harm their security. “We will continue to hold Iran accountable for its…
Event: Rubik’s Cube™ of a Final Agreement
The clock is ticking on a nuclear deal with Iran. The deadline is July 20. An unprecedented coalition of eight Washington think tanks is hosting three discussions on the pivotal diplomacy to coincide with the last three rounds of…
State Department Briefing on Eve of Talks
On May 13, a senior U.S. official cautioned that the beginning of the drafting process does not necessarily mean a nuclear agreement is imminent. “We do not know if Iran will be able to make the tough decisions they must to ensure…
Rouhani on Eve of Nuclear Talks
In the run-up to talks in Vienna, beginning on May 13, President Hassan Rouhani defended his approach to securing a final nuclear deal with the world’s six major powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Rouhani offered more…
Hardliners Grill Zarif on Holocaust Stance
On May 6, some 75 hardliner lawmakers grilled Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on his Holocaust stance. He had called the Holocaust a “horrifying tragedy” that “should never occur again” in an interview with a German television…
Iran Nuke Program 1: ABCs of Issues
There’s no one single formula for a nuclear deal with Iran. The United States compares negotiations to solving a Rubik’s Cube™, because so many pieces are involved—and moving one moves all the others. (The world’s most popular puzzle has 43 quintillion permutations to…
Iran Nuke Program 2: ABCs of Sites
The following is a rundown of Iran’s key nuclear sites. Each will be a subject at diplomatic talks between the Islamic Republic and the world's six major powers. Bushehr Nuclear Facility …
Iran Nuke Program 3: ABCs from Khamenei
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has voiced his opposition to nuclear weapons on several occasions during the last decade. The following are excerpted remarks in reverse chronological order. …
Iran Nuke Program 4: ABCs of Talks So Far
The following is a rundown of key events in diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013. 2013 Sept. 26 – Foreign ministers from P5+1 countries (Britain, China, France, Germany,…
Hardliners “Worried” About Nuclear Talks
Iran’s hardliners have been mobilizing against a nuclear deal in the run-up to the mid-May negotiations between Iran and six major powers in Vienna. A conference entitled “We’re Worried” – advertised as “the great gathering of…
Four Dimensions of Nuclear Chess Game
Gary Sick A government negotiating with another government is almost inevitably required to conduct a second negotiation with its own domestic constituents whose own interests will be affected by the outcome. The classic image is the negotiator facing his foreign…
Economic Trends : Month of April
Garrett Nada The biggest news in April was a gasoline price hike as President Rouhani began long-delayed subsidy reform. The cost of a liter jumped 75 percent; consumption reportedly declined by half within days. The move follows Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali…
Report: Improvement in Iran Press Freedom
Press freedom in Iran has improved for the first time since 1999, according to a new report by Freedom House marking World Press Freedom Day. Despite the marginal progress, Iran still ranked as one of the 10 least-free countries in…
US Report on Iran’s Support of Extremism
Iran used its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Qods Force and regional proxies to “implement foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence operations and create instability in the Middle East” in 2013, according to a new report by the State Department. Tehran…
Rouhani on Freedom, Economy & Nukes
On April 29, President Hassan Rouhani defended his administration’s foreign and domestic policies in a primetime address on state television. He dismissed hardliners who have opposed his outreach to the West and economic reforms…
US Targets Weapons, Oil Sanctions Evaders
On April 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned two individuals and nine entities for evading oil sanctions and aiding Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Several of the front companies were connected to Karl Lee, who was designated several years ago for…
Western Countries Flood Tehran
More than two dozen delegations of lawmakers, officials and businesspeople have visited Iran since the interim nuclear agreement was brokered in November 2013. Many Western countries and South Korea are particularly hopeful that…
Iran Fact File: Arak Heavy Water Reactor
The following fact sheet was published by Iran Fact File, a project of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. …
FM Zarif to Russia : State of Relations
Mark N. Katz Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Russia on April 22 for a ministerial meeting of Caspian Sea countries. What is the status of relations between Tehran and Moscow? Moscow and Tehran have long appeared to have good relations…
Obama Rules on UN Appointees
On April 18, President Barack Obama signed Senate Resolution 2195 into law, banning appointees to the United Nations that have “engaged in espionage or terrorist activity directed against the United States or its allies.” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sponsored the bill in…
U.N. Report: Iran Cut Nuclear Stockpile 75%
Iran is ahead of schedule in implementing the interim nuclear deal, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Tehran has cut its most sensitive uranium stockpile by 75…
Rand Report: The Days After a Nuclear Deal
On April 3, the Rand Corporation convened a day-long conference on Iran in the days after a nuclear deal. Participants concluded that that an agreement could herald a new era for Iran and its relationship with the outside world. But…