U.S. Policy
On June 14, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement on repression in Iran and Syria to mark the second anniversary of the disputed 2009 presidential election: Two years ago this week, Iranian citizens went to the polls in the hopes of expressing their democratic rights…
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on new sanctions: In June 2009, the world watched as Iran’s security forces violently suppressed thousands of Iranians who were calling for transparency and accountability in their government. Nearly two years after Iran’s brave citizens took to the…
The State Department issued a statement June 2 on the death of Iranian Activist Haleh Sahabi at her father’s funeral: We condemn the killing of Iranian activist Haleh Sahabi in the strongest possible terms. Eyewitness and reliable accounts of Haleh Sahabi's death yesterday at her…
Seven companies have been sanctioned under the amended Iran Sanctions Act. The following is a State Department statement issued on May 24, 2011: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to impose sanctions on seven companies under the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) of 1996, as…
The following is a State Department statement issued on May 19, 2011: President Obama remains committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and has successfully built an international coalition to hold Iran accountable on its illicit nuclear program. With our P5+1 partners, we…
The following is a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: I am very pleased to announce a big step forward in the Obama Administration’s support of the Iranian people. Under our old visa policy, Iranian students and exchange visitors were eligible for visas that lasted…
The United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region. We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech; the freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of religion; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right to…
The following is an excerpt on Iran’s human rights violations from a joint statement by Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Philo L. Dibble, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in testimony…