Archive
Iran continued to support terrorism in 2023, according to the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2023. In the Middle East, Iran provided arms, training and/or funding to militant groups in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. Several groups took advantage of the… Read More
December 11International: Britain, France, and Germany signaled their intent to the U.N. Security Council to trigger a “snap back” of international sanctions on Iran to deter it from producing a nuclear weapon. Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the 2015 nuclear deal,… Read More
Among the central factors that led to the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad was Iran’s and Russia’s decisions to not intervene yet again to prop him up. Tehran had long used Syria as vector to project influence in the region and marshalled significant resources and manpower to… Read More
Iran has increasingly undertaken activities that “better position it” to produce a nuclear weapon if it chooses to do so, U.S. intelligence warned in a report released on Dec. 5, 2024. Iran had enough uranium that, if further enriched, could fuel a dozen nuclear weapons. The Office of the Director… Read More
December 2Diplomatic: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone to discuss the escalation in Syria following the rebel offensive. The two leaders expressed their support for the Assad regime and discussed continued cooperation under the Astana… Read More
On Dec. 3, 2024, the United States sanctioned 35 firms and vessels for transporting Iranian oil in violation of sanctions. The designated companies were based in the United Arab Emirates, Panama, India, China, and Hong Kong. The geographic spread reflected Iran’s extensive network of partners, the… Read More
November 25International: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the death sentence for Israeli leaders in response to the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for the Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant.November… Read More
On Nov. 21, 2024, the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-member board of governors censured Iran for failing to fully cooperate with the agency. Britain, France and Germany – the so-called E3 – sponsored the resolution, which was also backed by the United States. The closed-door vote was:19… Read More
On Nov. 20, 2024, the U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution condemning Iran’s government for wide-ranging human rights abuses. The resolution highlighted an “alarming increase in the application of the death penalty,” the systematic arrest and detention of dual and foreign… Read More
On Nov. 18, 2024, 44 human rights groups urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to secure the release of Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi, one of the country’s most prominent activists, on medical grounds. Since the 1990s, Mohammadi has advocated against the death penalty, solitary… Read More
November 18International: Canada’s former justice minister Irwin Cotler said that Iran had attempted to assassinate him in late October. Cotler, a long-time critic of Iran’s government, said that Canadian intelligence provided him with a security detail after they flagged him as a potential high… Read More
On Nov. 18, 2024, the European Union and Britain announced sanctions on Iran for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. Britain froze the assets of Iran’s national airline, Iran Air, in response to the transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia. “Iran’s attempts to undermine global security are… Read More
On Nov. 14, 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on 26 companies, individuals and vessels connected to a Syrian company, Al-Qatirji. The network sold Iranian oil to Syria and China to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Qods Force, the external operations arm of the Islamic… Read More
November 11International: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned Israel against launching further attacks on Iran in a statement at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders in Riyadh. He also condemned Israel for committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.Economy: Iran deepened financial… Read More
November 4Military: Two members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in a helicopter crash while carrying out an anti-terror operation in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, where clashes between Iranian armed forces and Baluchi minority rebels had mounted since late- October. The… Read More
On Nov. 8, 2024, the Department of Justice announced charges against an Iranian and two others for plotting to murder President-elect Donald Trump as well as an Iranian-American dissident residing in New York. Farhad Shakeri, an Iranian national, was tasked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps… Read More
October 28International: Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the supreme leader, said that Iran was open to cooperation with Western countries that “respect Iran’s sovereignty and treat [Iran] as an equal.” He said that the Islamic Republic will reassess its foreign policy with various… Read More
October 21International: Seven Israelis were arrested on suspicion of gathering intelligence for Iran in exchange for cash transfers from Tehran for more than two years. The suspects conducted missions in coordination with two Iranian agents and allegedly photographed Israeli military… Read More
Early Saturday morning in Tehran, Israel carried out what it called a series of “precise and targeted” airstrikes on Iranian military targets. This was the latest in a series of direct exchanges between Israel and Iran in recent months. Israel Defense Forces struck 20 sites, including air defense… Read More
On Oct. 26, 2024, Israeli warplanes struck 20 military sites across at least three provinces in Iran. More than 100 airplanes participated in the complex four-hour operation more than 1,000 miles away from Israel’s borders. The attack was a response to Iran’s second direct on Israel, a barrage of… Read More
On Oct. 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced murder-for-hire, money-laundering, and sanctions evasion charges against four Iranians. They plotted to kill a journalist and dissident residing in New York City by hiring members of an Eastern European crime group. The defendants, all of… Read More
On Oct. 25, 2024, a federal jury convicted a foreign national of conspiring to export U.S.-made mining drills to Iran in violation of sanctions. Brian Assi, also known as Brahim Assi, was a salesman for a U.S.-based heavy machinery manufacturer. He plotted with Iranians affiliated with Sakht Abzar… Read More
Iran, China and Russia were prepared to conduct information operations after Election Day to “create uncertainty and undermine the legitimacy of the election process,” the U.S. National Intelligence Council warned in a memorandum declassified on Oct. 16, 2024. “They might also consider stoking… Read More
Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Oct. 16, 2024. Israel had eliminated several senior Hamas commanders in targeted strikes in the previous year, but the mastermind of the October 7 assault evaded detection and reportedly hid in underground tunnels. Sinwar died with two… Read More
The United States expanded sanctions on Iran’s oil sector in response to Tehran’s October 1 assault on Israel. Iran had launched 180 ballistic missiles in its second direct attack on Israel in six months. “We are taking steps today to disrupt the flow of revenue the Iranian regime uses to fund its… Read More
October 14International: The European Union adopted new sanctions against Iranian individuals and firms in connection with weapons transfers to Russia. The sanctions targeted Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari, senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, three… Read More
Iran appears to still be intent on killing U.S. officials allegedly responsible for the 2020 assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Qods Force, according to an annual Department of Homeland Security (DHS) threat assessment. The report warned that Iran would also… Read More
October 7Military: CIA Director William Burns said that the United States had no evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. He also assured that the United States and its allies could detect weaponization activities. October 8International: MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said that… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More