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Cartoonists Sketch Human Rights Abuses
A new book on political cartoons confronts the most sensitive issues in Iran ― including censorship, electoral fraud, torture and women’s rights. Sketches of Iran: A Glimpse from the Front Lines of Human Rights, edited by Omid…
Facebook in Iran: The Supreme Leader
Helia Ighani Iran’s supreme leader is big into social media. Over the past year, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has launched a Facebook page as well as Instagram, Google Plus and YouTube accounts ― despite government bans on Facebook…
U.S. Offers Earthquake Aid to Iran, Pakistan
On April 16, Secretary of State John Kerry offered assistance to Iran and Pakistan after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit their border. The epicenter of the quake ― Iran’s largest in more than 40 years ― was near the remote…
Report: Iran’s Economy Shrank in 2012
Iran’s economy has shrunk for the first time in more than twenty years. It shrank by 1.9 percent in 2012 and could contract by 1.3 percent in 2013, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unemployment is…
Report: Sunni-Shiite Divide Deepens
The Arab uprisings have deepened ethnic and religious tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in the Middle East, according to a new report by The Brookings Institution. The rise of sectarianism is being drive by three main factors:…
U.S.: Iran Aiding Assad in Aleppo
Iran’s role in the Syrian conflict is “especially pernicious as it helps the Assad regime build sectarian militias,” U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Iran and its proxy Hezbollah “…
Latest on the Race: Rival Conservative Coalitions
Garrett Nada In Iran, conservative candidates come in many shades. The presidential race has already produced two new coalitions among the Islamic Republic’s many hardline factions. The goal is to consolidate the political clout…
Latest on the Race: Ex-Nuke Negotiator to Run
Garrett Nada Hassan Rouhani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for 16 years from 1989 to 2005, declared his candidacy for president on April 11. Born in 1948, he also served as the lead nuclear negotiator in…
New U.S. Sanctions on Banks, Oil
On April 11, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned an Iranian businessman, a Malaysian bank and an international network of front companies that moved billions of dollars to a Revolutionary Guards company. “As international sanctions have…
G8 Statement on Iran
On April 11, the G8 urged Iran to cooperate with the United Nations on its nuclear program to avoid further isolation. Ministers from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom warned…
Where Does Nuclear Diplomacy Stand Now?
Interview with Michael Adler by Garrett Nada What was the outcome of the talks in Kazakhstan and why? The talks were basically a failure because the six world powers did not receive an answer to the proposal they made to Iran in…
U.S. Offers Earthquake Aid to Iran
On April 10, the United States offered aid to Iran one day after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the country’s south. The quake hit within 60 miles of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf coast that is home to Iran’s nuclear power…
Kerry on Nuke Talks: What’s Next?
Iran and the world’s six major powers failed to compromise on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program in the fifth round of talks since 2011. The following are remarks by Secretary of State Kerry on the nuclear talks in Almaty,…
Little Progress at Fifth Round of Nuke Talks
Iran and the world’s six major powers failed to compromise on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program in the fifth round of talks since 2011. The United States, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom ― the so-called P5…
The Arab Uprisings in Iranian Politics
Iran hailed the 2011 Arab uprisings as an “Islamic Awakening” and considered the overthrow of U.S.-backed dictators a continuation of its own 1979 revolution. A new report claims that Tehran’s goals are to foster political Islam in…
Part II: What Would it Take to Build a Bomb?
Interview with Colin Kahl by Garrett NadaWhat steps would be necessary for Iran to build a nuclear weapon? President Obama has estimated that it would take Iran “over a year or so” for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. But that…
Part I: Is Iran Slowing its Nuclear Program?
Interview with Colin Kahl by Garrett NadaColin H. Kahl served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East from 2009 to 2011. He is currently an associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security…
Khamenei Comments II: Islam’s Rules on Sports
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told athletes that they play a valuable role in promoting Iran’s values abroad and raising “national self-confidence” at home. Athletes act as ambassadors at international competitions,…
Khamenei Comments I: Nuke Research as Model for Sports
In a little noticed speech, Iran’s supreme leader urged athletes to emulate the determination of the country’s nuclear scientists. The West thought that “we would not be able to produce fuel plates and fuel rods. But our youth built…
Unusual Rivalry: Iran v. U.S. Over Ice Cream
Iranians apparently take their desserts seriously. The sweet final course of any meal even spills over into foreign policy. In the latest rivalry between Iran and the United States, a Tehran ice cream company…
U.N. Stats: Life Longer and Healthier In Iran
A new U.N. report highlights Iran’s significant progress in providing citizens with a long and healthy life, access to education and a decent standard of living. Between 1980 and 2012, Iran’s life expectancy at birth increased by 22…
U.N. Stats: Iran’s Gender Gap
A new U.N. report ranked Iran 107 out of 148 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII), which measures reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity of women. Iran’s maternal mortality ratio and adolescent fertility…
U.N. Stats: Iran's Slow Population Growth
Iran’s low fertility rate has produced a rapidly aging population, according to a new U.N. report. The rate has declined from 2.2 births per woman in 2000 to 1.6 in 2012. This has pushed the median age of Iranians to 27.1 years in…
Latest on the Race: Appeals to Khatami to Run
Garrett Nada Iran’s political limelight is increasingly focused on whether former President Mohammad Khatami will run again. On March 16, 91 reformist leaders published an open letter calling on Khatami, who was president from 1997…
Latest on the Race: Reformists Regroup to Run
Garrett Nada Iran’s reformers appear to be rejoining the political fray, with the first reform candidate entering the presidential race and new pressure on former President Mohammad Khatami to run as well. So far, the field…
Kerry Presses Iraq on Iran Flights to Syria
On March 24, Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq to inspect Iranian cargo flights for arms. Iranian flights are “helping to sustain” the Syrian regime, Kerry claimed during a previously unannounced visit to Baghdad. The…
Khamenei Open to Direct U.S. Talks
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he is not opposed to direct talks with the United States in a speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year. But he is “not optimistic” about prospects for success if negotiations take place…
Obama and Netanyahu Agree on Iran
President Obama, on his first visit to Israel since taking office, warned that the time left to solve the Iranian nuclear issue “is not unlimited.” He said that the international community will increase pressure on the regime until…
Kerry’s Iran Connection on Nowruz
On March 20, Secretary of State John Kerry sent “warm wishes for health and prosperity” to Iranians for Nowruz, the Persian New Year. He noted the contributions of Iranian-Americans and Iranian students in the United States. “I am…
U.S. General: Iran’s Influence Waning in Latin America
Iran is “struggling to main influence” in Latin America, General John Kelly told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 19. The region as a whole has not been receptive to Iran’s diplomatic and economic outreach. But the head…