Our Publications
Policy Briefs
September 22, 2016
According to a July 2016 report by the U.N. Secretary General, Iranian firms participated in a defense trade show in Iraq last March, in potential violation of U. N. Security Council resolution 2231. Under the resolution, prior approval is required by the Security Council for any arms transfer to or from Iran; none was sought. What's more, one...
Policy Briefs
September 7, 2016
The controversy over the Iran nuclear agreement was reignited last week, after a new report revealed secret exemptions Iran received in order to meet the requirements of the agreement. The response to the report has been predictably polarized...
Policy Briefs
July 12, 2016
The House of Representatives approved two measures last week aimed at blocking Boeing from selling commercial aircraft to Iran. The vote comes a few weeks after Boeing announced a preliminary agreement to sell commercial aircraft to Iran Air, Iran's national carrier, in a deal worth an estimated $25 billion. Iran Air was removed from the U.S.
Policy Briefs
June 10, 2016
The U.S. Treasury Department released new guidance on June 8 that appears intended to reassure European and other non-U.S. banks wary of doing business with Iran. In an updated explanatory document published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Treasury Department stated that the U.S. financial system will remain open to foreign banks...
Policy Briefs
May 20, 2016
On May 9, a senior Iranian defense official announced the recent test of "a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a margin of error of 8 meters." Iran's defense minister quickly refuted the specifics of this claim, but not the test itself. This appears to be the latest in a series of Iranian missile tests since last October, all of which...
Policy Briefs
April 20, 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met in New York on April 19 amid dissatisfaction on both sides about the implementation of the nuclear agreement. Iran has voiced frustration with the slow pace of financial sanctions relief promised by the agreement, and Mr.
Policy Briefs
March 17, 2016
This week, the United Nations published some guidance about a critical part of the nuclear agreement with Iran: the procurement channel. Sales to Iran of items controlled by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and of non-listed items with nuclear applications must pass through this channel, following a review by the newly created Procurement...
Policy Briefs
January 18, 2016
Iran and the P5+1 announced on January 16 that Iran had met its obligations under the terms of the nuclear agreement and would immediately receive a first round of sanctions relief. “Implementation Day” of the agreement arrived sooner than expected, as Iran rushed to limit the scope of its nuclear work and stockpiles, including by diluting or...
Policy Briefs
January 8, 2016
Last week, the White House backtracked on plans to impose new financial sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program. The Wall Street Journal reported on December 30 that the Treasury Department was preparing to sanction 11 companies and individuals that helped Iran’s missile developers illicitly procure key items from foreign suppliers.
Policy Briefs
December 10, 2015
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its long-awaited final report on Iran’s alleged past nuclear weapons work on December 2. This report is likely to be the Agency’s last word on its investigation into what it calls “the possible military dimensions [PMD] to Iran’s nuclear program.” The Agency found that Iran had a “...