Archive
Iran’s controversial nuclear program has once again sparked talk of a possible Israeli military strike, with the Israeli press reporting that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been seriously debating the options. In turn, the Iranians have struck a defiant tone… Read More
The following statement was released on Nov. 2 by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The committee adopted two bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening and expanding U.S. sanctions on Iran and other rogue regimes. To view Chairman Ros-Lehtinen’s full remarks during the markup, please click here.… Read More
Anthony Cordesman and Alexander Wilner of the Center for Strategic and International Studies released a new report on Nov. 2. The following is an excerpt with a link to the full report at the bottom: U.S. competition with Iran has become the equivalent of a game of three-dimensional chess, but… Read More
Shaul Bakhash
In mid-October, Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech that Iran’s executive presidency could be replaced by a parliamentary government if the interests of the state required it. The president, he implied, could be replaced by a prime minister. The remark, out of the blue… Read More
Matthew Levitt In its latest action against Iran, the Treasury Department has sanctioned six new front companies connected to Iran’s official shipping line. The six companies, based in Panama, are part of an Iranian game of cat-and-mouse designed to hide Tehran’s ownership and mask its ongoing… Read More
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton interview with Kambiz Hosseini of the Voice of America’s Parazit show on Oct. 26, 2011: QUESTION: So, Madam Secretary, thank you for taking time to answer our audience’s questions. We were supposed to do this way earlier. We assume you were too busy taking down… Read More
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton interview with Bahman Kalbasi on Oct. 26, 2011: QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, thank you very much for sitting down with the BBC. And the response to our call for questions has been overwhelming. The thousands of viewers we have across the Persian speaking… Read More
Congressional testimonies on Oct. 26, 2011 before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management. Dr. Lawrence J. Korb, Center for American Progress Action Fund It is imperative that the United… Read More
The following is an excerpt from testimony by Col. Timothy J. Geraghty, USMC (retired) on Oct. 26 before the Joint Subcommittee Hearing: Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil. Geraghty was commander of the Marine peacekeepers in Lebanon.
October 23, 2011 marked the twenty-eighth… Read More
This is a timeline of the key dates for Iran's Parliamentary Election: December 24-31, 2011 Candidate Registration period January 1-25, 2012 Candidate Vetting period Last week of January Official announcement of vetted candidates February 22-March 1, 2012… Read More
The following is an excerpt from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s interview with NBC’s Today Show on Oct. 12 about Iran’s alleged terrorism plot. QUESTION: Let’s talk about the news of the day, this plot by some members of the Quds Force to take out the Saudi ambassador at a… Read More
The following is a Press Statement from the State Department on the U.N. Human Rights Report:We welcome the first interim report by the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, and take note of his assessment regarding the Iranian government’s “pattern of systemic… Read More
Kevan Harris What’s the origin of the Islamic Republic’s biggest banking scandal? The financial conglomerate Amir Mansour Arya Investment Development Company allegedly procured several letters of credit from domestic banks totaling $2.8 billion--far above the company’s available collateral. … Read More
The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Iran released a report on Oct. 15, 2011 detailing human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. The following is a key excerpt, with a link to the full report at the end. A number of individuals and organizations provided the Special Rapporteur with first-… Read More
The following is testimony by Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Oct. 13, 2011:Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Shelby, and distinguished members of the Committee: Thank you… Read More
The following is testimony by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman before the Senate Banking on October 13, 2011: Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Senator Shelby, Distinguished Members of the Committee: thank you for inviting me to appear before you today to discuss the… Read More
The Iranian regime has lashed out at the United States over the Obama administration’s claims that Tehran was behind a plot to attack U.S., Saudi and Israeli targets in Washington and Argentina. The following are key quotes from top leaders in Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "If U.S.… Read More
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today the designation of Iranian commercial airline Mahan Air pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 for providing financial, material and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). Based in Tehran, Mahan Air… Read More
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of five individuals, including four senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) officers connected to a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir, while he… Read More
Geneive Abdo Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were put under house arrest in early February. What is their status eight months later? Mousavi was taken to a very small apartment and is under guard 24 hours a day, according to statements by his wife about one month… Read More
Interview with Hosein Ghazian Hosein Ghazian is an Iranian sociologist and former pollster who is currently a visiting scholar at Syracuse University. This is the eleventh in a series on parliamentary elections due in March 2012: How has parliament’s political role—and authority--been… Read More
Interview with Hosein Ghazian Hosein Ghazian is an Iranian sociologist and former pollster who is currently a visiting scholar at Syracuse University. This is the eleventh in a series on parliamentary elections due in March 2012: How has parliament’s political role—and authority--… Read More
Semira N. Nikou This is the tenth in a series on parliamentary elections due in March 2012: Iran’s 2012 parliamentary elections will help define the country’s political course for the next four years. The campaign is already heating up, as political groups begin to mobilize in… Read More
Press Statement Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the Iranian government’s continued repression of its people. Despite statements from Iran’s Supreme Leader and President claiming support for the rights and freedoms of Iranian citizens and… Read More
An Iranian court has imposed the death sentence on Yousef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old protestant preacher, for apostasy after he repeatedly refused to recant his Christian faith. The verdict has generated international condemnation this week. The following are excerpts from the verdict and U.S. and… Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup poll reports "suffering" in Iran has nearly doubled, up from 14% in 2008 to 26% in 2011. One factor that may play into this increase is the lack of good jobs, as Gallup finds unemployment in the country above 15% and underemployment exceeding 35%. … Read More
Interview with Ali Reza Eshraghi Ali Reza Eshraghi was a senior editor at several of Iran’s reformist dailies. He is currently editor of Iran programs at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and a Rotary World Peace fellow in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of… Read More
Kevan Harris This is the eighth in a series on parliamentary elections due in March 2012: What role does Iran’s youth play in elections? After the 1979 revolution, the voting age was lowered to 15 which automatically made youth important in elections. But since the mid-1990s, Iranian… Read More
Statement from the President on the Release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal I welcome the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from detention in Iran and am very pleased that they are being reunited with their loved ones. The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has… Read More
Interview with Fatemeh HaghighatjooBy Semira N. Nikou Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo is a former member of Iran’s parliament (2000-2004). She is currently a visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. This is the seventh in a series on parliamentary elections due… Read More