January 22
Nuclear: U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said that Iran was “pressing the gas pedal” on its uranium enrichment program by increasing monthly production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent from around seven kilograms to over 30 kilograms. He encouraged diplomacy between Iran and the new U.S. administration to limit Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Nuclear: U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called on Iran to clearly state that it has no intention to develop nuclear weapons and to make efforts to engage constructively with other countries on the issue.
International: Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he said that Iran was not a security threat to the rest of the world, and he expressed his hope that Trump will choose to be rational towards the Islamic Republic. “I hope that this time around, a 'Trump 2' will be more serious, more focused, more realistic,” Zarif said.
International: Iran’s intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib said that negotiations with the Trump administration might disadvantage Tehran. He accused the U.S. of increasing pressure on Iran to impose negotiations. “If these loud calls for negotiations, infatuation, fear, and panic dominate us, we will lose,” Khatib said.
Domestic: Iran delayed the execution of Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi following widespread public outcry from Iranian civil society members and the international community. Azizi was sentenced to death for “armed rebellion against the state” and “membership of opposition groups” in July 2024 by the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The charges were reportedly related to her activities as a social worker and for her work supporting refugees, according to experts. The delay came after the Supreme Court upheld her sentence on Jan. 14, 2025.
January 26
Diplomatic: Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi traveled to Kabul to meet with Taliban officials for the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to the Afghan capital in eight years. Officials discussed Iran’s treatment of Afghan refugees, the potential repatriation of refugees, border disputes, and plans for sharing water resources.
International: Iranian hacker group Handala broke into the electronic broadcasting systems of around 20 kindergartens in Israel and played rocket warning sirens over the loudspeakers. The hacker group took advantage of structural vulnerabilities in the systems run by a private tech firm. The hackers infiltrated another system run by the same company to send tens of thousands of messages to Israelis, claiming they had broken into the National Security Ministry’s command, but Israeli officials denied the claim.