U.S. Policy
On June 12, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned an Iraqi company, South Wealth Resources Company (SWRC), for trafficking hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force. The United States had designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization on…
On June 7, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran’s largest petrochemical holding group, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), for supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. had designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization on April 8. The Office of Foreign Assets…
Patrick Shanahan became Acting Secretary of Defense on January 1, 2019, following the resignation of James Mattis. Shanahan had been serving as Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration since July 2017. He previously worked for Boeing for more than three decades, most recently as the…
U.S. lawmakers have been divided over what to do next to deal with the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The split is largely along partisan lines. Democrats voiced concern that the Trump administration was leading the United States into a new Middle East war. “The Trump…
On May 8, General Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S Central Command (CENTCOM), named Iran the “long-term, enduring, most significant threat” to U.S. forces in the Middle East. “Their hegemonic ambitions, their misbehavior, their threats to us and our partners in the region, have been…
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
First Anniversary of President Trump’s New Iran Strategy
One year ago today, President Trump announced the United States would cease to participate in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and would instead embark on a bold new strategy to end Iran’s destabilizing…
On May 8, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose sanctions on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors. The White House statement noted that those metals are “the regime’s largest non-petroleum-related sources of export revenue,” some 10 percent. The metals and mining…
On May 5, National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the deployment of a carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with…
On May 3, the State Department outlined a new list of sanctionable actions related to Iran’s nuclear program. Washington warned that “assistance to expand Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit will be exposed to sanctions.” Additionally, “any involvement in…
The U.S. State Department condemned Iran on two consecutive days for human rights abuses. On April 30, Washington denounced the “growing crackdown on women advocating for their human rights,” including the right to choose whether or not to wear hijab, the compulsory head covering. State Department…