The latest newsletter covers: Iran’s nuclear advances and risks of conflict in 2025; U.S. charges against an Iranian for murdering an American; U.S. sanctions on an Iranian organization for election interference; U.S. sanctions on Iran’s dark fleet for smuggling oil; and the news digest.
The Coming Iranian Nuclear Challenge in 2025 Iran has developed the technologies and capabilities that would allow it to move quickly to develop nuclear weapons, if the political decision were made to do so. President Masoud Pezeshkian has made clear that Tehran is willing to negotiate with the Trump administration. Other officials, however, have increasingly raised the prospect that Iran may need nuclear weapons for its security.
IRGC Captain Charged with Murder of American On Dec. 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Mohammad Reza Nouri, an Iranian national and officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), for plotting the murder of American Stephen Troell, who was working at an English language institute in Iraq in 2022.
U.S. Sanctions Iranian Organization for Election Interference On Dec. 31, 2024, the United States sanctioned the Cognitive Design Production Center, an organization under the IRGC, for attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election. “The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith.
U.S. Sanctions More of Iran's Dark Fleet On Dec. 19, 2024, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned four companies and three vessels involved in trading Iranian oil and petrochemicals worth billions of dollars. Iran continues to rely on its shadowy network to finance its “nuclear program, the proliferation of its weapons systems, and support to its proxies,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith.
News Digest: Week of January 13, 2025 During the week of January 13, Iran’s army took delivery of 1,000 new drones, President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that Iran never plotted to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, and Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif revealed that Iran had found explosive material planted on centrifuge platforms for its nuclear program.
