Iran Watch is a comprehensive website published by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. The site tracks Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran's efforts to evade the sanctions aimed at inhibiting this development. The website serves to increase awareness of the strategic situation in Iran by making information and analysis of Iran’s weapon potential available to policymakers, the media, scholars, and the general public.
Iran Watch contributes to the Wisconsin Project’s research and public education mission, which is designed to prevent strategic trade from contributing to the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. The Wisconsin Project is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C., founded in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin.
Iran Watch includes the following components:
- Open-source profiles of hundreds of Iranian Entities linked to proliferation and their foreign Suppliers
- A Library of documents drawn from U.S. and foreign government agencies, international organizations, and research institutes offering a range of perspectives on Iran
- Histories of Iran’s Weapon Programs
- Policy Briefs recommending how to counter Iran’s weapons development and reinforce sanctions
- Detailed Reports documenting Iran’s ongoing development of unconventional weapons and the international efforts to stop these programs
- Analyses of International Enforcement Actions against Iranian sanctions evaders
- The Iran Watch Listen podcast, consisting of interviews with experts on Iran
- News Briefs summarizing events related to Iran reported in the press
- A monthly Newsletter to which visitors can Subscribe
The principal researcher for Iran Watch is Valerie Lincy, who is the Project's Executive Director. Valerie graduated from Smith College and received a master's degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. Before joining the Wisconsin Project, she worked in the Paris bureau of The New York Times and at several Washington-based nonprofits. Valerie is a Gender Champion in Nuclear Policy.
John Krzyzaniak, a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project, and John Caves, a Senior Research Associate, are the primary contributors to Iran Watch and are responsible for updating the site. Prior to joining the Wisconsin Project, John Krzyzaniak worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. John Caves previously served as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army and held research positions at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Institute for the Study of War.
Gary Milhollin, the President of the Wisconsin Project, provides editorial and technical guidance for Iran Watch.
Additional contributors to Iran Watch include Research Associate Austin Bodetti, Senior Research Associate Treston Chandler, and Deputy Director Meghan Peri Crimmins.
The site has also benefited from the contributions of past researchers, including Simon Chin, Ashley Curtis, Abby Eineman, Jerrica Goodson, Simon Mairson, Mana Mostatabi, and Warren Marshall.