Iran

Iran’s Next President

The regime’s efforts to ensure the election of a president closely allied with Iran’s Supreme Leader succeeded with the victory of Ibrahim Raisi in Friday’s vote. The low voter turnout indicates widespread resentment at the regime’s narrowing of the candidate field to favor Raisi, foreshadowing potential future unrest. As president, …

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Iran Ignores Demands by IAEA for Monitoring Extension

Iran has refused to engage with the United Nations’ watchdog tasked with monitoring its nuclear facilities, after an interim pact between the two that temporarily extended oversight over Iran’s activities following the Iranian parliament’s ending of a previous agreement, expired over the weekend. The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday …

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Iran president-elect takes hard line, refuses to meet Biden

Iran’s president-elect staked out a hard-line position Monday in his first remarks since his landslide election victory, rejecting the possibility of meeting with President Joe Biden or negotiating Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support of regional militias. The comments by Ebrahim Raisi offered a blunt preview of how Iran might …

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Bennett appears to hint at Israeli involvement in attack on Iran nuclear site

In one of his first speeches as PM, leader says that while Israel will defend itself, it will also work with allies to block an Iranian bomb, breaking from Netanyahu’s policy Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appeared to hint at Israel’s role in a recent attack on an Iranian nuclear site …

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The Hard-Liners Won in Iran. That’s Not All Bad News.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that Iran’s elections are insignificant. Regardless of who wins, the argument goes, in the end, it’s the supreme leader who calls the shots. That is shortsighted. Yes, the coronation of Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi as president in one of the least competitive elections in …

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Engaging Iran Remains Vital after Presidential Election

What distinguished these elections in Iran? o Iranian election since 1979, when the Islamic Republic was founded, has been free and fair by international standards. There were nonetheless two key differences between the 2021 presidential election and the others held since 1997, when Iran started orchestrating more competitive races and …

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Iran’s Rouhani blames hard-liners for deadlock with US

The statement was yet another sign of frustration from the outgoing president, who has found hard-liners closing windows on a deal between his government and the United States. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani blamed “parliamentary bureaucracy” for the delay in the lifting of US sanctions that have almost brought the Iranian …

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Raisi’s Election Is Galvanizing Both Sides of the Iran Nuclear Deal Debate

As the regime-anointed candidate in Iran’s presidential election charade last Friday, Ebrahim Raisi’s victory was thoroughly expected. Even so, it managed to be jarring. It’s not every day a country chooses a man accused of crimes against humanity for such a powerful post, with all signs pointing to Raisi acquiring …

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After Kohavi meeting, US reaffirms commitment to not let Iran get nukes

IDF chief blasts American plans to rejoin nuclear deal in meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi that US President Joe Biden has a “commitment to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” according to …

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