The IAEA recently visited Parchin, an Iranian military site which had been off limits for the past decade. The head of the agency lauded the Iranian government for what he described as significant progress in governmental cooperation with the IAEA. The UN watchdog also analyzed samples from the facility and “observed” recent renovations in the…
Iranian and Chinese diplomats recently convened in Beijing to discuss increased cooperation across a number of political and economic sectors in the coming years. With the removal of sanctions looming, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif noted that the country would like to play host to a growing number of Chinese firms and attract Chinese investment…
Democrats in the US Senate blocked a Republican effort to derail the nuclear deal yesterday. By doing so, the Democrats have essentially ensured that the recently signed nuclear accord will take effect and that President Obama will not have to veto efforts to stop it. The deal has naturally been a prominent issue since it…
The Financial Times has an interesting piece on the perceptions of US and other Western companies among the Iranian populace. The article asserts that Iran’s roughly 80 million consumers are eager to see sanctions removed and for US firms to begin operations in the country. They also expressed interest in the arrival of German and…
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that his government will “soften” its stance vis-à-vis civil society organizations and nonprofits. The government’s stance towards NGOs had over the past 12 years hardened due to how increasingly politicized the organizations had become during the former Iranian Khatami administration. The government is expected to pass a new bill in…
Iran will resume diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom following a two year hiatus. The two countries have agreed to reopen embassies in London and Tehran and to begin to work toward a stronger commercial relationship. Seemingly in accordance with this policy, Iran announced that it would open two new banks in London: the Melli…
The Iranian government plans to release new oil contracts by the end of 2015, according to Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh. The announcement will come at a year-end conference in London, the minister said, and will include at least 50 new oil and gas projects worth an estimated $185 billion. The contracts will form…
EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini is currently in Tehran to hold talks with Iranian leadership there. The two sides will hold talks concerning how the nascent nuclear deal will be implemented, as well as on potential areas of cooperation. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has indicated that energy, human rights and regional security concerns such…
Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamanei announced that relations between Iran and the US will not improve as a result of the nuclear accord. The remarks, given on Iranian state-controlled television, indicated that the accord comes out of a marriage of convenience and that new areas of collaboration between the two sides would not be explored. Khamanei…
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to endorse the nuclear deal brokered with Iran last week. The vote is of course not a surprise as it concerns a deal brokered by its five permanent members and Germany. However, the vote has been acclaimed as symbolically important to the process of generating political support for…
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