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U.S. Arrests Iranian-American for Sanctions Evasion
On Oct. 7, 2024, U.S. authorities arrested Kambiz Eghlabi, a 50-year-old man from Los Angeles, for conspiring to send digital and physical gift cards loaded with U.S. dollars to Iran in violation of sanctions. Eghbali, a dual Iranian and U.S. citizen, had been charged with conspiracy to commit bank…
Supreme Leader Urges Resistance Against Israel
In two defiant sermons, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other militias will “not retreat” from the battle against Israel despite the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders. “The resistance will be victorious,” he told…
Tehran & Allies: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Iran launched a massive two-wave attack on Israel with at least 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1, 2024. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) invoked the right to self-defense under the U.N. charter following Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah…
U.S. & World: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
U.S. and European leaders reiterated their support for Israel in the aftermath of Iran’s massive missile barrage on Oct. 1, 2024. Several world leaders warned that the Middle East was on the brink and called for diplomatic solutions to both the war in Gaza and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as well…
Jerusalem: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Israel and its international allies and partners thwarted a massive Iranian attack on Oct. 1, 2024. Israeli political and military leaders pledged retaliation. Iran “made a big mistake – and it will pay for it,” warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will keep to the rule we have…
Explainer: Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel
Iran launched at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in a massive two-wave assault on Oct. 1, 2024. Millions of civilians sought protection in bomb shelters. The risk of a regional war mounted as Jerusalem pledged retaliation. Iran “made a big mistake – and it will pay for it,” warned Israeli…
News Digest: Week of September 30
September 30International: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived in Tehran for talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. “I believe that there is enormous potential for expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, industry, trade, and cultural and…
Nasrallah Assassination: U.S. & World Reaction
President Joe Biden said that the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, from an Israeli airstrike was a “measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.” He reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and…
Nasrallah Assassination: Iran & Allies React
Iran and Hezbollah condemned Israel for the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Tehran’s most important ally in the Middle East, on Sept. 27, 2024. Hezbollah responded with barrages of rockets in subsequent days. Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem pledged to continue…
Nasrallah Assassination: The News
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s most important ally in the Middle East, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27, 2024. Israel’s ability to cripple Hezbollah in a matter of weeks called Iran’s longstanding “forward defense” doctrine into question. For decades, the…
U.S. Sanctions Iranians for Election Interference
On Sept. 27, 2024, the United States sanctioned seven Iranians, five men and two women, for attempting to interfere in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections. One was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the rest were employees of Emennet Pasargad, a sanctioned company.…
U.S. Sanctions IRGC and Hezbollah Smuggling
On Sept. 25, 2024, the United States sanctioned four companies and nine vessels for shipping Iranian oil and liquid petroleum gas to Syria and East Asia for the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political movement and militia backed by Tehran. Iran was reliant on oil and gas sales to “…
Pezeshkian in New York
In his debut address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Masoud Pezeshkian said that he wants Iran to play a “constructive role in the evolving global order.” He also signaled willingness to engage with Western powers on reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, which curbed Iran’s controversial…
News Digest: Week of September 23
September 23Nuclear: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran was ready to resume nuclear talks. “If the other parties are ready, we can restart the negotiations during this trip,” he wrote on X. He announced that he would remain in New York for several days after the U.N. General Assembly to…
Graphics: Hezbollah-Israel Attacks & Arsenals
In solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians, Hezbollah launched a new offensive on Israel, a day after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. In the first year of the Gaza War, Hezbollah launched more than 8,800 rockets, missiles and drones at Israel. Israel launched more than 8,000 strikes. They were mostly…
Israeli Attacks: Reaction by Hezbollah, Iran & Allies
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah vowed revenge for Israel’s twin cyberattacks on the pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives that injured thousands and killed more than three dozen on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024. "The enemy transgressed all boundaries and red lines" and…
World Reaction to Israeli Attacks on Hezbollah
Updated: September 19, 2024
Reaction to Israel’s twin cyberattacks on the pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives—injuring thousands and killing dozens – varied widely based on political ties. The United States and European Union warned that hostilities across the Middle East, already volatile because of the…
Israeli Cyberattacks Cripple Hezbollah
In unprecedented covert operations, Israel triggered explosions on thousands of pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters and followers in back-to-back attacks on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024. Both attacks targeted Hezbollah in at least three strongholds—Beirut, the eastern Bekaa…
U.S. Sanctions 12 Iranians for Repression
On Sept. 18, 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on 12 Iranians linked to repression in Iran and abroad. They included members of the Revolutionary Guards, the Prisons Organization, and Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The announcement came two days after the anniversary of the death of…
U.N. Report on Oppression of Women in Iran
Iran has ramped up enforcement of the Islamic dress code in the two years since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for allegedly improper hijab (head covering). Iran has been “encouraging, sanctioning and endorsing human rights violations against women and girls…
U.S. & Allies Mark Anniversary of Amini’s Death
The United States and its allies pledged support for Iranians on the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in police detention for alleged “improper” hijab, or headscarf, in 2022. “We call on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease…
News Digest: Week of September 16
September 16Military: President Pezeshkian refuted allegations that the missile the Houthis launched at central Israel on September 15 was supplied by Tehran. "It takes a person a week to travel to Yemen (from Iran), how could this missile have gotten there? We don't have such missiles to provide…
United States and E3 Sanction Iran Air
Updated: September 14, 2024
On Sept. 10, 2024, the United States, Britain, France, and Germany announced new sanctions on Iran after accusing it of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for the first time. The “supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the…
New Negotiations? Iran Comments
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has often issued important signals about Iran’s willingness to deal with the world’s major powers, including the United States, on nuclear issues. On Aug. 27, 2024, he told Pezeshkian’s cabinet that there was “no barrier” to engaging with Iran’s “enemy,” a term…
Pezeshkian Cabinet: Profiles
Iran’s parliament approved all 19 cabinet nominees submitted by President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who won the snap presidential election in July 2024. His cabinet was more diverse than the previous cabinet of President Ebrahim Raisi, the hardliner who died in a helicopter crash in May 2024.…
U.S. Charges Man linked to Iran for Murder Plot
On Aug. 6, 2024, the Department of Justice announced charges against Asif Merchant — a 46-year-old Pakistani national with ties to Iran — for plotting the assassination of a politician or U.S. officials. Merchant had spent time in Iran before traveling from Pakistan to New York in approximately…
Microsoft: Iran Trying to Influence U.S. Election
Groups linked to Iran’s government have stepped up efforts to interfere in the 2024 U.S. election, according to a Microsoft report released on Aug. 9, 2024. They have spread disinformation and polarizing messages using covert news sites and social media. The goal appeared to be to sow chaos and…
U.S. Intelligence on Iran’s Nuclear Advances
Iran has conducted research that “better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned in a July 2024 report. The assessment also noted an increase in statements by Iranian officials about the possibility of Tehran…
U.S. Charges Two Iranians and One Pakistani for Arms Smuggling
On Aug. 8, 2024, the United States announced charges against two Iranian nationals, brothers Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei, and one Pakistani national, Muhammad Pahlawan, for smuggling Iranian weapons. The two brothers allegedly worked for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Pahlawan captained a…
Tehran’s Three Pivotal Militia Allies
Iran has armed, trained and funded militias movements since the 1979 revolution. It fostered allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and disparate Shiite militias in Iraq, from their early days. It also tapped into existing groups with overlapping goals, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad…