Since the 1979 storming of the embassy and seizure of American diplomats in Tehran, the United States has imposed wave after wave of sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over time, the sanctions have grown from Executive orders aimed at Iranian support for terrorism into a far more comprehensive congressional and international regime that focuses on Iran’s nuclear program. As negotiations over this program continue, legal analysis of non-proliferation agreements, sanctions law and the respective foreign policy powers of Congress and the President have become inextricably linked to the diplomatic initiative with the Islamic Republic.
Latest in Iran
In light of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's Nov. 20 identification of those connected to the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps printing of counterfeit Yemeni money, there are two actors worth paying attention to: Iran and the EU.
A case study in assessing the benefit of sanctions.
What should Europe do to save the deal?
The scope of new measures related to Iran are far more limited than President Trump’s statement would indicate.
Trump can exercise his right to decertify the Iran deal due to policy considerations, not material breach, thanks to Congress.
Trump's focus on the Iran deal misses the bigger issue: the need for a U.S. strategy to persuade Tehran to play a constructive role in the region.
To have serious consequences for the JCPOA, decertification requires an additional step: Congress or the White House would have to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Countering Iran requires gains “on the ground” from tangible measures such as sanctions and, where necessary, the use of force, and also requires gaining the moral high ground of legitimacy in the war of ideas.
Iran's understanding of the Islamic State's terrorist attacks in Tehran this week is contextualized by the Islamic Republic's early history.
This week's arrest of two Hezbollah/IJO agents might best be understood as one small part of a larger, complex policy framework that usually is glimpsed only through the lens of its diplomatic aspects.