U.S. Policy
Iran had an opportunity to deescalate conflict with its regional rivals and the United States during the Biden presidency, the head of U.S. Central Command said. “The new U.S. administration has signaled it will take a deliberate and thoughtful approach moving forward with its Iran policies,…
Iran’s human rights record remained dismal in 2019, according to an annual report by the State Department. Issues included executions of juvenile offenders, denial of fair trials, poor prison conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, invasion of privacy, restrictions on freedom of expression,…
On March 10, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Iran to release “all wrongfully detained Americans being held in Iran.” He warned that the United States would hold Iran accountable if any of the American prisoners died from coronavirus, which had spread to at least three Iranian prisons by…
March 9 marked 13 years since Robert Levinson went missing in Iran. Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared on March 9, 2007, during a visit to Kish Island. “For 13 years, the Iranian government has denied knowledge of his whereabouts or condition, a claim that defies credibility,” said Secretary…
In a break from two years of its maximum pressure campaign, the United States offered Iran humanitarian aid to help with the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak. “This offer of support to the Iranian people, which has been formally conveyed to Iran through the Government of Switzerland,…
On February 19, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh for three days of meetings with Saudi officials, including King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During a meeting with King Salman, Pompeo discussed “bilateral issues, including countering the…
On February 20, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook announced sanctions on five key members of Iran’s Guardian Council, an unelected panel of twelve Islamic jurists and scholars. The council disqualified more than 9,000 out of the some 14,000 candidates who registered to run in…
Trump administration officials initially said Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Qods Force, was killed in a U.S. airstrike because he was planning to attack Americans in the Middle East. On January 2, the Pentagon said Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and…
On January 2, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it had killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Qods Force, in a drone strike at Baghdad’s International Airport. The Qods Force is the external operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated a foreign…
On November 12, President Donald Trump, like his predecessors, renewed the national emergency with respect to Iran. The emergency status was first declared on November 14, 1979, shortly after the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The following is the full text of the White House press release…