Our Publications
Policy Briefs
October 22, 2018
Iran was once again on the agenda at a plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last week in Paris. The body decided not to re-impose the severe restrictions on financial dealings with Iran that were suspended in 2016, despite U.S. efforts to build a case for such action in the weeks leading up to the meeting.
Policy Briefs
July 12, 2018
On June 21, 2018, the United Nations released the fifth report by the Secretary General on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 2231. The report notes for the first time that Iran may be receiving nuclear technology outside of the licit "procurement channel" established by the JCPOA and overseen by the Security Council.
Policy Briefs
May 18, 2018
The plight of Chinese telecom giant ZTE may have eased this week, as U.S. and Chinese officials met for high-level trade talks. On April 15, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security reactivated trade restrictions and re-imposed a $300 million fine against ZTE – barring the company from procuring critical U.S. components.
Policy Briefs
May 4, 2018
In a live television presentation on April 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled information about Iran's nuclear weapons program that had been seized by Israeli agents in a January raid on a storage building in Tehran’s Shorabad District. The information, which the Prime Minister called "a secret atomic archive," is comprised of...
Policy Briefs
February 23, 2018
At its plenary meeting in Paris this week, the Financial Action Task Force decided to maintain Iran's status as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terrorist financing, while continuing to waive the most severe penalties for this listing. The 38-member body sets global standards on how to combat these threats to the international...
Policy Briefs
December 22, 2017
Events over the past week have created mounting pressure to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its missile and arms exports. On December 19, Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen fired another short-range ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia.
Policy Briefs
September 26, 2017
The 72nd United Nations General Assembly concludes this week with increased uncertainty about the future of the nuclear agreement with Iran. In his address to world leaders on September 19, U.S. President Donald Trump called the agreement "the worst and most one-sided transaction the United States has ever entered into." It appears increasingly...
Policy Briefs
November 3, 2016
The United States and its allies have interdicted five separate weapons shipments from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen since April 2015—shipments that violate U. N. Security Council resolutions. According to U.S. Vice Admiral Kevin Donergan, “We know they came from Iran and we know the destination.” The U.S. State Department has also criticized...
Policy Briefs
October 28, 2016
Another Iranian bank has received sanctions relief earlier than anticipated under the nuclear deal with Iran. The European Union’s sanctions on state-owned Bank Saderat Iran and its London-based subsidiary, BankSaderat PLC, which were originally set to last until 2023, were quietly lifted this week. The decision was made in April, in response to...
Policy Briefs
October 6, 2016
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration secretly agreed to lift United Nations sanctions on two of Iran's missile financing institutions as part of a package of controversial accommodations with Iran in January. Critics of the move have focused on an alleged "quid pro quo" in which the delisting of Bank Sepah and...