This week the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Iran for “continued, systemic violation of fundamental rights” and called on its member states to prioritize human rights in their dealings with Iran. Despite the continuing nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries, the Islamic...

The daily Iran news bulletin published by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) yesterday conveyed Persian-language remarks from a top Iranian official declaring that the Hassan Rouhani government was committed to leveraging the private sector in order to stabilize and then boost Iran’s economy, a day after Rouhani himself gestured toward the same theme in...

According to Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is not an agent of change. In fact, Rouhani “represents the resilience of Iran’s revolutionary elites and their resolve to preserve their grip on power.” In Ottolenghi’s analysis released last week, Not-So-Revolutionary...

Reuters reported Wednesday afternoon that Russia and Iran were advancing on a scheme that would see the Iranians bartering roughly 500,000 barrels of oil a day in exchange for Russian goods, a plan that the outlet said would “enable Tehran to boost vital energy exports in defiance of Western sanctions” and which the White...

Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are moving to enact legislation that would prevent Iran from securing a visa for its newly appointed ambassador to the United Nations, just a day after Businessweek had already described the choice of Hamid Aboutalebi as creating a “dilemma” for President Barack Obama’s diplomacy toward the...

Iran’s Fars News outlet reported on Tuesday that Tehran is aggressively courting foreign investors, conveying statements made by Valiollah Afkhamirad, the head of Iran’s Trade Development Organization, that the interim Joint Plan of Action (JPA) inked last November in Geneva had created “a suitable atmosphere… [for] investors in Iran and they have become highly...