Our Publications
Policy Briefs
August 9, 2013
On June 14, 2013, Hassan Rouhani won Iran’s presidential election; he was sworn in on August 4. Rouhani has been described as a relative moderate among the candidates competing for the presidency. His victory was greeted with caution by the United States and its partners. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States is "ready...
International Enforcement Actions
August 8, 2013
Shahab Ghasri, a naturalized Swedish citizen of Iranian origin, was found guilty of violating international sanctions against Iran. The verdict was delivered by a Swedish district court in February 2013; Ghasri was given a three month suspended jail sentence. Between February and April 2011, Ghasri attempted to sell vacuum pumps and corrosion-...
International Enforcement Actions
June 5, 2013
On May 13, 2013, A Nigerian court sentenced Azim Aghajani, allegedly a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and his Nigerian accomplice Ali Usman Abbas Jega, to five years in prison for their role in an arms smuggling case. Aghajani and Jega were charged with falsifying shipping documents and hiding mortars and rockets among 13...
Articles and Reports
May 13, 2013
There has been a lot of talk about Iran making a sudden dash for the bomb. The fear is that, with its thousands of gas centrifuges and its tons of enriched uranium, Iran might be able to make a bomb’s worth of nuclear fuel before the U.S. or any other country could intervene to stop it.
In a speech in September at the United Nations, Israeli...
Articles and Reports
May 13, 2013
There has been a lot of talk about Iran making a sudden dash for the bomb. With its thousands of gas centrifuges, and its tons of enriched uranium, Iran might be able to make a bomb’s worth of nuclear fuel before any other country, such as the United States, could intervene to stop it—that is the fear. In September, Israel’s Prime Minister...
International Enforcement Actions
May 11, 2013
Iranian national Saeid Mohabat was extradited from Cyprus to the United States on charges of attempting to purchase F-4 and F-5 plane parts from the United States for shipment to Iran. Mohabat was in phone and e-mail contact with an undercover American agent posing as a supplier of pitot static tubes, which are used to measure air speed. The deal...
International Enforcement Actions
May 6, 2013
Two Iranian nationals were sentenced to life in prison in a Kenyan court on charges of preparing a terrorist attack against Western targets. The men, Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi, were arrested on June 19, 2012 and subsequently charged with possession of explosives, preparing to commit a felony, and intent to commit grievous...
International Enforcement Actions
March 15, 2013
Yemeni authorities seized a 130-foot dhow carrying surface-to-air missiles, explosives, and bomb-making equipment that originated from an Iranian military port and may have been intended for an insurgent group in Yemen. The seized cargo included 10 Chinese man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADs) labeled QW-1M possibly assembled by the China...
Articles and Reports
February 25, 2013
North Korea’s nuclear saga is a cautionary tale for anyone attempting to bargain with the Islamic Republic. Before making any halfway deal, U.S. and European diplomats should insist that Iran remove itself from the path that North Korea so easily followed. If Iran wants to convince the world that it has no desire to acquire nuclear weapons, then...
Roundtables
February 21, 2013
There has been a flurry of speculation recently about what to expect from nuclear talks with Iran to be held next week in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Back in December, the United States and its partners dusted off a proposal they had put to Iran earlier in 2012, with the hope that the increasing economic stress caused by sanctions would pull a more...