Behnam Ben Taleblu

April 26, 2025 | |

No Clear Progress at Third Session of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks, Next Round Scheduled

Talks Continue: A third round of negotiations between the United States and Iran over the future of Tehran’s nuclear program took place on April 26 in Muscat, the capital of Oman....

March 20, 2025 | |

Trump Reportedly Gives Iran Two-Month Deadline to Negotiate Nuclear Deal

Letter Seeks Direct Negotiations With Iran: President Donald Trump reportedly gave Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two months to reach a nuclear deal with the United...

February 25, 2025 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

Ship Carrying Chemical for Missile Development Docks in Iran

America’s authoritarian adversaries continue to deepen their military ties. A container ship carrying 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate from China — a precursor chemical used to make ammonium perchlorate,...

January 31, 2025 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

The Potential Challenges of Deterring a Nuclear Iran

Excerpt Unpacking the importance of deterrence to Iranian security policy can help the United States and others to devise strategies aimed at having a deterrent effecton Tehran. Deterrence is an obsession...

November 7, 2024 | |

UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Planning Imminent Visit to Tehran

Grossi Seeks New Cooperation with Iranian Officials on Nuclear Program: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on November 6 that he may travel...

October 29, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Jonathan Schanzer, Bradley Bowman, Saeed Ghasseminejad, Elizabeth Robbins

Israel’s Retaliatory Strike on Iran and What’s Ahead

October 28, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

Iran reacts to Israel’s direct retaliation

Once again, in 2024, history was made in the Middle East. On October 25, Israel took credit for a long-expected military retaliation against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The attack reportedly...

September 19, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

Iran ‘takes the win’ in the Middle East

If anybody has learned how to “take the win” in the Middle East since Oct. 7, it has been Iran. More than a month has passed since Iranian officials promised “bloodlust”...

September 19, 2024 | |

Israeli Businessman Indicted in Iranian-Orchestrated Assassination Plot Appears in Court

An Israeli businessman accused of participating in an Iranian plot to assassinate top Israeli leaders appeared in court in the city of Beersheba on September 19. A joint statement...

August 12, 2024 | |

Iran Reportedly Will Send Hundreds of Ballistic Missiles to Russia

Iran will imminently deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia for its war against Ukraine, Reuters reported on August 9, citing two European intelligence sources. Dozens...

August 5, 2024 | |

Blinken Warns of Imminent Attack on Israel

Latest Developments U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 4 that Iran and its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah could attack Israel within 24-48 hours, Axios reported. Blinken was speaking...

July 10, 2024 | |

UN Special Rapporteur: Biden Has No Clear Iran Strategy

President Joe Biden’s administration lacks a clear Iran strategy, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for human rights in Iran said on July 9. Arguing that Tehran has “been...

June 27, 2024 | |

Iran’s Supreme Leader Pushes for ‘Maximum’ Turnout in Presidential Election Amid Voter Disillusionment

On the eve of Iran’s June 28 presidential election, the Islamic Republic’s leaders have bolstered efforts to drive voters to the polls. Yet the clerical regime faces widespread...

April 26, 2024 | |

Russia and Iran Agree to Deepen Security Ties

Russia is ready to expand military and technical cooperation with Iran, the Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti reported on April 26. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu...

April 7, 2024 | Saeed Ghasseminejad, Behnam Ben Taleblu

Biden’s tone-deaf Iran policy ignores what the Iranian people want: freedom, not terrorism

Persian New Year is over, but the Biden administration’s missteps continue. These own goals perfectly characterize Washington’s policy toward Tehran: inattentive and tone-deaf. Sending Iranians...

April 3, 2024 | Clifford D. May |

Tehran’s weapons of mass distraction

They conceal Tehran’s development of weapons of mass destruction

March 4, 2024 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

Ballistic Missiles Allow Iran to Act More Boldly

It has fired them into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, and Israel is within their roughly 900-mile range.

February 24, 2024 | |

U.S. Sanctions Iranian Entities for Helping Russia Build Drones

The U.S. Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on February 23 against hundreds of entities complicit in Russia’s war in Ukraine, including a network of Iranian entities that...

February 22, 2024 | |

Iran Has Already Sent Missiles to Russia, Report Says

Iran has already provided Russia with a significant number of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and plans to send more soon, Reuters reported on February 21. Three Iranian sources...

January 29, 2024 | |

Iran Bolsters Missile Capacity With Satellite Launches

Iran announced on January 28 that it successfully launched into space three satellites that use technology similar to that of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The achievement...