New Articles
Haniyeh Assassination: The News
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the exiled wing of Hamas and its chief negotiator on issues of war and peace, was assassinated on July 31 during a visit to Tehran for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. He had also met just hours earlier with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali…
News Digest: Week of July 29
July 29International: U.S. officials accused Iran of heading a campaign to undermine former President Donald Trump’s candidacy in the November 2024 election. The election security update from the Office of the Director of Natonal Intelligence warned:Iran is continuing efforts to fuel distrust in U.…
U.S. Sanctions Suppliers of Iran’s Missile & Drone Programs
On July 30, 2024, the United States sanctioned five men and seven companies based in Iran, China and Hong Kong for helping subordinates of Iran’s defense ministry procure critical components for missiles and drones. “Today’s action exposes additional key front companies and trusted agents through…
Houthi Explainer: Military Arsenal
Iran has smuggled increasingly sophisticated weapons to the Houthis in Yemen since at least 2009. By 2015, the Qods Force, the external operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, were sending missile components for local assembly. The weapons – along with training and military advisors – helped…
Houthi Explainer: U.S. Sanctions
The United States has long struggled to deal with Iran’s network of allies and proxies short of military confrontation. Financial sanctions have been an important tool for disrupting illicit activities. Since 2014, the United States has sanctioned at least 13 Houthi officials and dozens of…
Houthi Explainer: Leaders and Goals
What are the Houthis' political views and goals?Since the 2000s, Houthi leaders have issued vague or contradictory statements about Yemen's political future as their religious movement evolved into an insurgency – and, as of 2015, the dominant political and military force in Sanna after ousting the…
Houthi Explainer: Conflict in the Red Sea
What have the Houthis attacked in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the Gaza war began in October 2023?During the first eight months of the conflict, the Houthis attacked U.S. Navy or commercial vessels more than 190 times, according to the Pentagon. Experts at The Washington Institute for Near…
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…
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…
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 Khamenei
Iranians 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…
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…
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…