Mohammad Mokhber: Khamenei’s Confidant
On May 19, 2024, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. Mohammad Mokhber, the first deputy president, will serve as interim president until Iran holds elections for a new president. Iran...
Mostazafan Foundation
US-based Iranian professor under fire for hiding facts about 1988 massacre
Several activists and human rights organizations have launched a campaign against Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, Iran’s former ambassador to the United Nations who now serves as a professor at Oberlin College...
Op-eds
Tehran Can Afford to Fight COVID-19 Even Without Sanctions Relief
The Iranian government is leading an international campaign to pressure the United States to lift sanctions. American and European negotiators of the ill-fated Iran nuclear deal, along with dozens of pressure...
Insights
Should the United States Lift Sanctions on Iran to Address Its Coronavirus Outbreak?
Iran is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. The Islamic Republic’s leadership has engaged in a massive campaign aimed at lifting sanctions imposed on it for its malign activities,...
Memos
U.S. Maximum Pressure Campaign Should Target Tehran Stock Exchange and Khamenei’s Business Empire
The office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced last week that additional entities under its control would go public on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), enabling them to access capital more effectively....
Policy Briefs
Iran’s Supreme Leader Promotes a Presidential Contender
The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed...
Policy Briefs
Khamenei’s New Appointment Tests White House Sanctions Policy
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Parviz Fattah on Monday to lead the Mostazafan Founda...
Policy Briefs
New Sanctions May Deal Heavy Blow to Supreme Leader’s Business Empire
President Trump issued a new executive order last week that mandated sanctions on Supreme Leader Ali Khame...
Policy Briefs
The IRGC Took Over Iran’s Telecoms Industry with a Disinformation Campaign. Then, It Used the Industry to Amplify Its Own Lies
Spreading disinformation is one of the tools that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has used to eliminate rivals since it first entered Iran’s economic arena. Disinformation campaigns are...
Op-eds
Midterm Assessment: Iran
Iran’s New Central Bank Governor Tied to Sanctioned Entities
On July 25, Abdolnasser Hemmati replaced Valiollah Seif as the governor of the Central...
Policy Briefs
EU Extends Human Rights Sanctions on Iran
The European Union last week e...
Policy Briefs
Hit Ayatollah Khamenei in His Pocketbook
The Trump administration already has offered rhetorical support to Iran’s antigovernment protesters. Now, nearly a month after the demonstrations began, how can the U.S. provide material he...
Op-eds
After Nuclear Deal, Iran Looks to Profit in Syria
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s powerful, ideological military force, is one of the country’s most influential institutions, with major stakes in key sectors of the econ...
Op-eds
Orange Telecom Mulls Partnership with IRGC-Controlled Firm
The French telecom company Orange is in negotiations to buy shares of the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran (MTCI...
Policy Briefs
Who Really Controls Iran’s Economy?
The looming nuclear deal will soon unshackle Iran’s economy from the burden of Western sanctions. Who stands to benefit from this opening? While Iran’s public sector, state-c...
Op-eds
The Iranian ‘Deep State’ is Trying to Buy an Oil Refinery in Switzerland
Iranians hit the streets earlier this month to celebrate a nucle...
Op-eds
The Ayatollah’s Windfall
Co-authored by Saeed Ghasseminejad If any proof was needed that the nuclear compromise hammered out in Geneva last month between Iran and the six world powers is a mi...
Op-eds
Seeing Through the Sheep’s Clothing
Co-authored by Saeed Ghasseminejad In his address to the United Nations, Benjamin Netanyahu described Hassan Rouhani as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but you’d ha...
Op-eds
Iran’s Man In Manhattan
Tracing Ambassador Khazaee's interest in Fifth Avenue.