Iran sent its official response to a letter sent by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump's letter had sought to open negotiations for a new nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran's policy is to engage in indirect negotiations with the United States through intermediaries. He said that Iran would enter into direct negotiations only if the United States ended its "maximum pressure" policy toward Iran. Earlier, Araqchi had said he considered Iranian negotiations with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to be indirect talks with the United States.
News Briefs
March 26, 2025
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint for $47 million in proceeds from a sale of Iranian oil. The complaint alleges the oil in question was part of an export scheme from 2022 to 2024 that benefitted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Qods Force. The oil was allegedly shipped from Iran to a storage facility in Croatia with falsified documents claiming its country of origin to be Malaysia. The storage fees were paid in U.S. dollars, causing the transactions to be conducted through U.S. banks. The oil was sold in 2024 and the United States seized the proceeds.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
March 20, 2025
A U.S. jury convicted Iranian national Rafat Amirov (a.k.a Farkhadin Mirzoev and "Rome") and Georgian national Polad Omarov (a.k.a. Araz Aliyev, Polad Qaqa, and Haci Qaqa) of attempting to murder Masih Alinejad, a U.S.-based journalist, in New York in 2022. Amirov and Omarov, who are high-ranking members of an Azeri faction of the Russian Mob, were hired by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to kill Alinejad because of her work publicizing Iranian government’s human rights abuses. The two men directed U.S. resident Khalid Mehdiyev to surveil Alinejad at her residence and attempt to murder her. The scheme was thwarted when police discovered Mehdiyev's weapon during a traffic stop.
-- U.S. Department of Justice
March 19, 2025
The U.S. military carried out a wave of strikes on Houthi training sites, command centers, and weapons facilities in Yemen. The U.S. military says the strikes are intended to restore freedom of navigation in nearby waters. U.S. President Donald Trump also warned Iran to stop arming the Houthis, who have targeted American warships and commercial vessels with drones and other weapons since late 2023.
-- New York Times
March 19, 2025
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program announced a reward of up to $15 million for information related to Chinese nationals Liu Baoxia (Emily Liu), Li Yongxin (Emma Lee), Yung Yiu Wa (Stephen Yung), or Zhong Yanlai (Sydney Chung). Starting in 2007, Liu and her associates have used China-based front companies to procure U.S.-origin dual-use electronics for entities supplying Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Shiraz Electronics Industries and Rayan Roshd Afzar. The IRGC and Iran's defense ministry have used the electronics to develop and manufacture weapons systems, including drones sold to Russia, Sudan, and Yemen.
-- U.S. Department of State
March 9, 2025
The United States rescinded a sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity imports. The waiver had been introduced in 2018 and renewed periodically since then. An advisor to the Iraqi prime minister said the rescindment would cause "temporary operational challenges" and Iraq was looking for alternative sources of supply. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that imports from Iran comprised 4% of Iraq's electricity consumption in 2023.
-- Reuters
March 7, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proposing the negotiation of a deal that would prevent Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Although the contents of the letter were not released, Trump stated publicly that the alternative to a deal was military action.
-- New York Times
February 26, 2025
The IAEA's latest reports found that Iran increased production of highly enriched uranium since December. In the past quarter, Iran's stock of uranium enriched to 60% purity grew by 92.5 kg to reach a total of 274.8 kg, which if enriched further is enough for six nuclear weapons, according to IAEA measures. Iran is now producing between 35 and 40 kg of uranium enriched up to 60% per month, up from between 6 to 9 kg a month prior to December.
-- Reuters
February 16, 2025
The Central Bank of Iraq banned five domestic banks from facilitating U.S. dollar transactions following meetings in Dubai with representatives of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. Iraqi banks are often used by Iranian actors as a source of a hard currency and a means to evade U.S. sanctions. The banned banks are Al-Mashreq Al-Arabi Islamic Bank, United Bank for Investment, Al Sanam Islamic Bank, Misk Islamic Bank, and Amin Iraq For Islamic Investment and Finance. The restrictions also cover three Iraqi payment services firms: Amawl, AL-Saqi Payment, and Aqsa Payment.
-- Reuters
February 13, 2025
The first of two vessels carrying Chinese-made sodium perchlorate, the main precursor chemical for the production of solid propellent missile fuel, docked at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to deliver its cargo. Both the Golbon and a second vessel, the Jairan, are operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and are collectively carrying a 1000-ton shipment of sodium perchlorate for the Procurement Department of the Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (SSJO). The Golbon left the Chinese port of Taicang three weeks ago, while the Jairan has yet to leave China.
-- CNN