In 2021, Iranian authorities arrested, detained, harassed, and surveilled members of minority faith groups – including Baha’i, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Sunni and Sufi Muslims. “The government convicted and executed dissidents, political reformers, and peaceful protesters on charges of ‘…
Reports
On May 18, a U.N. official warned that unilateral sanctions – including by the United States – have severely impacted government revenues, contributed to inflation and poverty, and led to scarcity of basic necessities in Iran. Alena Douhan, a U.N. special rapporteur, expressed particular concern…
Iran is “probably” plotting “covert actions against American officials” to retaliate for the U.S. assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Qods Force who was killed in a 2020 airstrike, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) warned on May 10, 2022. Tehran’s long-term…
Iran’s human rights record was extremely poor in 2021, the State Department reported. Security, judicial and political officials carried out extrajudicial killings, conducted torture and arbitrary detention, restricted free expression and religious freedom, recruited child soldiers and…
Iran’s security services and judiciary carried out widespread violations of human rights in 2021, Amnesty International said in its annual report. The following is the Iran section of the report.
IRAN 2021
Thousands of people were interrogated, unfairly prosecuted and/or arbitrarily detained…
Baha’is are facing “increasing insecurity” in Iran and other countries in the Middle East, according to a new report by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed. Some 300,000 Baha’is reportedly reside in the Islamic Republic. They are the largest non-Muslim…
On March 8, the annual U.S. intelligence assessment reported that Iran has not taken the steps necessary to produce a nuclear weapon. But it also warned that the Islamic Republic might expand its nuclear program if the United States does not lift sanctions. “Iranian officials probably will consider…
After a decade of little to no growth, Iran's economy grew modestly in 2020 and 2021, according to a new report by the World Bank. The economy began to rebound as Iran adapted to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinated the majority of its population in 2021. The recovery was…
“Iran continued to support acts of terrorism regionally and globally,” according to the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2020. In the Middle East, Iran provided arms, training and funding to militant groups in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Hezbollah, a Shiite militia and…
Three public opinion polls probed American attitudes on Iran – both as a threat and in diplomatic efforts.
• The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute found that 46 percent of Americans want the Biden administration to be “more aggressive” toward Iran.
• The Chicago Council on…