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On August 8, President Hassan Rouhani submitted to Parliament the names of 17 men for ministerial posts in his new cabinet. Two key figures — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was responsible for negotiating the nuclear deal, and Oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, who has upped oil…

Iranian officials have reacted angrily to new U.S. sanctions, signed into law by President Donald Trump on August 2. The bill, which also deals with Russia and North Korea, directs the President to impose sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile or WMD programs, the sale or transfer to Iran of…

On August 3, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed Hassan Rouhani as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, kicking off his second term. Rouhani won 57 percent of the vote, compared with 38 percent for his closest rival, in the May 19 election. The supreme leader called on him to…

After years of wide-ranging differences, relations between Iran and Qatar deepened almost overnight after a Saudi-led coalition broke ties with Doha and imposed a blockade on the small sheikhdom. On June 5, 2017, five nations – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt and…

On August 2, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill imposing sanctions on Iran and Russia. It also increased the President’s ability to sanction individuals connected to North Korea. Congress had voted overwhelmingly to pass the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which…

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with military leaders Since President Donald Trump took office, Iran has conducted two ballistic missile tests to varying degrees of success. It also tested a rocket space-launch vehicle that can deliver satellites into orbit. Iran has the largest and most…

Since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the United States has imposed sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities for connections to Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for terror or human rights abuses. The first set of sanctions came just two weeks after President Trump’s…

On July 20, Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo said that Iran’s implementation of the nuclear deal has been “grudging” and “minimalist.” At the Aspen Security Forum (an annual gathering of government officials, industry experts and journalists), he argued that the nuclear deal has not…

Majorities of Iranians think President Hassan Rouhani has been successful in improving foreign relations and getting sanctions removed. But the president, reelected in May, has a mixed record on domestic issues, according to a new study by the Center for International and Security Studies at…

Iranian approval of the nuclear deal increased during the May 2017 presidential election. “Two in three Iranians approve of the agreement, while about a third oppose it,” according to a new study by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll. But most…

This is part three of a series based on interviews with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a one-on-one interview with Robin Wright and another with a group of American journalists (including Wright) on July 18 in New York City. The following are excerpted remarks on tensions in the…

This is part two of a series based on interviews with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a one-on-one interview with Robin Wright and another with a group of American journalists (including Wright) on July 18 in New York City. The following are excerpted remarks on the conflict in Syria…

This is part one of a series based on two interviews with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a one-on-one interview with Robin Wright and another with a group of American journalists (including Wright) on July 18 in New York City. The following are excerpted remarks on the nuclear deal…

Iran has carried out acts of cyberterrorism against foreign governments and the private sector, according to a new State Department report. Tehran maintains funding for terrorist groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza as of 2016, and has provided weapons and training to militant groups opposed to the…

On July 13, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif arrived in New York City to attend a series of international meetings and U.N. forums. He discussed the nuclear deal and regional tensions in several interviews and appearances. The following are excerpted remarks.   Council on Foreign…

On July 17, President Donald Trump agreed to recertify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. It was the second time he has done so since taking office. Trump reluctantly agreed only after arguing with his top national security advisors less than a week before the legal deadline, according to The…

July 14 marked two years since the world’s six major powers reached a deal with Iran over its controversial nuclear program. The agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States significantly limited Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.…

On July 17, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two Iranian nationals were charged in the hacking of a Vermont company best known for software for aerodynamics analysis and projectile design. Mohammed Reza Rezakhah, 39, stole or unlawfully cracked pieces of valuable software and then…

An American graduate student has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying, according to Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, and Iranian media. A U.S. citizen “was gathering intelligence and was directly guided by the U.S.,” Ejehi announced at a…

On July 2, Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi announced the allocation of more than $600 million to strengthen the country’s missile defense system and the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Boroujerdi, chairman of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy…

Iran’s government has taken some small steps to address human trafficking but still does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, according to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 by the U.S. Department of State. Since at least 2009, Iran has been designated Tier 3, the…

On June 23, Iran marked “Quds Day,” an annual event to express support for Palestinians and condemn Israel. Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. Iran initiated the event in 1979, which has been held on the last Friday of the holy month of…

In June 2017, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned U.S. policy towards Iran and the region in two speeches and a meeting. He also mocked President Donald Trump and his administration. “The new White House leaders are like nascent hooligans who scare people by brandishing their knives…

On June 20, a U.S. aircraft shot down an Iranian-made drone in Syria. “The armed pro-regime Shaheed-129 UAV was shot down by a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle at approximately 12:30 a.m. after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on Coalition forces,” according to the U.S.-led forces fighting ISIS. It…

On June 18, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fired six mid-range missiles from western Iran at ISIS targets in the Deir el-Zour region of eastern Syria. The IRGC said the missiles targeted a key arms depot, a military command center and the group’s Deir el-Zour headquarters. At least…

On June 14, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson implied that the United States supports regime change in Iran, which would be a significant departure from U.S. policy under previous administrations. Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) asked Tillerson, who was testifying on the budget request for the State…

On June 7, the U.S. Senate voted 92-7 to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran. The legislation aims to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior in the Middle East by sanctioning “Iran’s ballistic missile program, applying terrorism sanctions to the Iranian…

On June 7, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Iran’s parliament and late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum. The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for both attacks, the first in Tehran in more than a decade. At least 17 were killed…

On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move. They accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, al Qaeda, Iranian-backed groups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Houthi rebels…

Women in Iran “confront an array of legal and social barriers, restricting not only their lives but also their livelihoods, and contributing to starkly unequal economic outcomes,” according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. “Iranian women’s achievements in higher education demonstrate their…