New Articles
Houthi Explainer: Ties to Iran
The Houthis are a political movement and militia that emerged out of a religious revival among Yemen’s Zaydi Shiites in the 1990s. They got their name from a powerful tribal clan led by the Houthi family. Since 2004, the Houthis have challenged the Yemeni central government, which has long been…
U.S. Sanctions Target Iran’s Chemical Weapons Research
The following is a press statement from State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller released on July 12, 2024.United States Imposes Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Chemical Weapons Research and DevelopmentThe Department of State is today imposing sanctions on Hakiman Shargh Research Company for its…
News Digest: Week of July 8
July 8International: In a letter to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian pledged to maintain Iran’s support for groups opposed to Israel. “I am certain that the resistance movements in the region will not allow this regime to continue its warmongering and criminal…
U.S. Intelligence: Iran Exploiting Gaza Protests
On July 9, 2024, the U.S. director of national intelligence revealed that Iran was trying to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.” Avril Haines said that actors tied to Tehran were encouraging protests over the war in Gaza by posing as activists online and even…
Pezeshkian: Profile of President-elect
Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist politician and a cardiac surgeon, won Iran’s snap presidential election on July 5, 2024. He was born in 1954 to a religious family in the northwestern city of Mahabad in West Azerbaijan province. He graduated from Urmia Agricultural Technical High School in the…
Pezeshkian: Implications of Win
In a clear challenge to regime hardliners, Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist and cardiac surgeon, won Iran’s snap presidential election on July 5. The elections were called after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19. The runoff had been considered a tight race, but Pezeshkian…
Pezeshkian: World Reaction
The following are reactions from world leaders to Masoud Pezeshkian's victory in the July 5 runoff for president. Russia and ChinaRussian President Vladimir Putin on July 6“I hope that your tenure as president will contribute to a reinforcement of constructive bilateral cooperation between our…
Pezeshkian: On the Issues
The following are statements by Masoud Pezeshkian during the seven presidential debates and immediately after his victory in the July 5 runoff. Masoud Pezeshkian On the Role of Government“When we ignore people's rights and do not want to listen to their voices, expecting them to come to the polls…
News Digest: Week of July 1
July 1International: Victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel sued Iran, Syria, and North Korea for providing Hamas with funds, weapons, and training used in the unprecedented attack. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in New York on behalf of over 125 victims and their relatives,…
Final Debates: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
In the final debates of Iran’s snap presidential election, the two front runners engaged in often feisty arguments about the way forward for the Islamic Republic. The two debates were held on July 1 and 2; each lasted more than two hours. The following are excerpts from the two debates, the first…
Final Candidates: Iran’s 2024 Presidential Election
The final two candidates in Iran's second-round presidential election were Saeed Jalili, a hardliner, and Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist. Both candidates were loyal to the supreme leader and the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Yet they offered disparate ideas on foreign policy, the…
Pezeshkian: U.S. Reaction
Updated: July 8, 2024
The following are comments by U.S. officials on Iran's 2024 presidential election. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on July 8“We’re not in a position where we’re willing to get back to the negotiating table with Iran just because they elected a new…
June 28 Results: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
In a stunning blow to Iran’s theocracy, the majority of voters—some 60 percent—boycotted the snap presidential election held on June 28, 2024. It was the lowest turnout since the 1979 revolution ended more than two millennia of dynastic rule. The election also illustrated the wide split among…
Photos of Voting: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
Supreme Leader KhameneiIranians voted for a new president at some 58,000 polling stations in mosques, schools, and religious shrines – as well as 340 polling stations abroad -- on June 28, 2024. Thirty stations opened in the United States for the local Iranian diaspora. Photos of the day captured…
U.S. Sanctions Three Firms Selling Iranian Oil
On June 27, 2024, the United States announced new sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear advances. Tehran had expanded its capacity to enrich uranium to high levels that had no credible civilian purpose. “We remain committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and we are prepared to use…
Boycott Calls: Iran’s 2024 Presidential Election
Human rights activists, writers, filmmakers, relatives of protesters slain in government crackdowns, and political prisoners appealed to Iranian voters to boycott the snap presidential election on June 28. The statements reflected the core issue in the election—turnout. The regime has long invoked…
Issues Debated: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
In five nationally televised debates, Iran’s six presidential candidates sparred over foreign policy, the economic crisis and U.S. sanctions, personal freedoms, corruption and government efficiency. The debates, in a stunningly short campaign period between June 11 and 28, occasionally got feisty…
Front Pages: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
Iran’s media was consumed by the snap presidential election during a campaign that lasted a mere 18 days. Five of the six candidates were hardliners of differing degrees, but the media gave the lone reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, disproportionate coverage. Front pages featured photos of…
U.S. Sanctions Shadow Banking Network
On June 25, 2024, the United States sanctioned a network, including 44 companies and four men, that illicitly moved billions of dollars and generated revenue for Iran’s defense ministry and Revolutionary Guards. The firms, including shell companies and exchange houses, were spread across Iran, the…
News Digest: Week of June 24
June 24International: Jordanian police discovered and detonated explosives hidden in a commercial warehouse southeast of Amman. Security sources told Reuters that Iran was behind a plot to destabilize the kingdom, a key ally of the United States in the region. On June 22, police had found…
U.S. Report on Human Trafficking in Iran
Iran’s government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so,” according to the State Department’s annual report on human trafficking. “Officials continued to perpetrate and condone trafficking crimes with impunity…
G7 Warns Iran on Nuclear Advances
On June 14, 2024, the G7 countries urged Iran to reverse its nuclear advances, stop transferring weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, and cease its destabilizing actions in the Middle East. The leaders of the world’s most advanced economies said that Iran had no credible civilian…
News Digest: Week of June 10
June 10International: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani reasserted Iran’s claims to three islands and a disputed oil and gas field in the Persian Gulf. "The Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are an inseparable and eternal part of the territory of the Islamic…
Candidates: Iran's 2024 Presidential Election
The Guardian Council approved only six out of 80 candidates from across the political spectrum who registered to run for president in Iran's June 28, 2024 presidential election. Two of the six candidates had previously been disqualified from running -- one of them twice. The unelected body of six…
IAEA Board of Governors Censures Iran
On June 5, 2024, the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-member board of governors censured Iran for failing to cooperate with the agency. Britain, France and Germany sponsored the resolution, which was also backed by the United States. The vote was 20 in favor, 12 abstentions and two against. Russia and…
Primer: Iran’s 2024 Presidential Election
Updated: June 25, 2024
Iran will hold snap elections on June 28, 2024 after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19. The next president will inherit a daunting set of challenges. At home, the unpopular government faced persistent inflation, high unemployment, and discontent over the lack of…
Amnesty International: Executions Spike in Iran
Iran executed at least 853 people in 2023, a 48 percent rise compared to 2022, according to Amnesty International’s annual report on the death penalty. Iran executed more people than any other country except China. “The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up…
U.S. Sanctions Suppliers of Iran’s Drone Program
On May 31, 2024, the United States sanctioned four Iranian companies and one executive for involvement in procuring parts for or producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The firms were linked to Rayan Rosh Afzar Company, which the Treasury Department had sanctioned for weapons proliferation in…
Timeline: Iran's Nuclear Challenges and the IAEA
Updated: June 5, 2024
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's inspections and monitoring regime for Iran is considered the toughest ever negotiated. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tasked with monitoring and verifying a series of commitments made by Tehran—first in 1974 under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (…
Raisi's Death: Photo Essay
On May 19, 2024, President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated a dam on the border with Azerbaijan with his counterpart Ilham Aliyev. On the way back to the Iranian city of Tabriz, about 80 miles to the south, his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of East Azerbaijan province. Raisi, Foreign Minister…