Insights & Analysis

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[IranAlert] Regime Affiliates in Iran Celebrate Killing of 2 Israeli Diplomats in D.C.IranWatch
May 23, 2025

[IranAlert] Regime Affiliates in Iran Celebrate Killing of 2 Israeli Diplomats in D.C.

This is the NUFDI IranAlert—concise, timely analysis offering unique insights into breaking news and major developments inside Iran. Each short brief provides a fresh angle, highlighting trends, reactions, and overlooked internal dynamics shaping Iran and the Islamic Republic. While the Islamic...

Biden-Harris Administration Stalls on MAHSA ActIranWatch
Sep 16, 2024

Biden-Harris Administration Stalls on MAHSA Act

Today, September 16, marks the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder, which sparked the largest anti-government protests in the 45-year history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In solidarity, the Iranian diaspora in the United States lobbied lawmakers to impose human rights abuse sanctions on...

Fifty Iranian Activists Write a Letter to President Biden Asking for Help...AgainIranWatch
Aug 26, 2024·Vafa Fanaii

Fifty Iranian Activists Write a Letter to President Biden Asking for Help...Again

Written by Visiting Fellow Vafa Fanaii At the onset of the Biden administration, a group of Iranian activists wrote a letter to President Biden, drawing attention to the pro-democracy movement in Iran and expressing their opposition to the regime and its repressive policies. This letter represented...

Crime and Punishment: the Islamic Republic VersionIranWatch
Aug 2, 2024·Armita Hooman

Crime and Punishment: the Islamic Republic Version

Written by NUFDI Summer Fellow Armita Hooman Imagine seeing a man holding a bloody knife and a severed head, blood dripping from the blade as he walked around town. What would you think? How would you expect the law to punish him? Now, imagine sitting in a taxi not knowing whether the driver is a...

Skepticism, Conspiracy Theories, and the Gap Between the Iranian State and NationIranWatch
Jul 12, 2024

Skepticism, Conspiracy Theories, and the Gap Between the Iranian State and Nation

Throughout the last week, Persian Twitter has been a hotbed of opinions and videos dissecting the officially announced results of the Islamic Republic's election. Despite the announced turnout rates of 40 and 50 percent in the first and second rounds of the election respectively, viral hashtags...

Norooz is Not About GazaIranWatch
Apr 3, 2024

Norooz is Not About Gaza

In his Norooz message, President Joe Biden congratulated Iranians, including Iranian- Americans, on our new year. He pledged to continue to support Iranians in their struggle against tyranny—days after giving the tyrants $10 billion. Most curiously, he also assured his audience that he was working...

The Cost of Complacency: The Islamic Republic Gains as America Steps BackIranWatch
Mar 14, 2024

The Cost of Complacency: The Islamic Republic Gains as America Steps Back

The Islamic Republic is besting the United States. Over the past two decades, as the American public has tired of engagement in the Middle East after it peaked in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Iranian dictatorship and its terrorist proxies have won the war of wills in the...

A Letter from Evin Prison: Mahvash SabetIranWatch
Mar 14, 2024

A Letter from Evin Prison: Mahvash Sabet

The Islamic Republic has “Disqualified” us Baha’is from Living When the revolution happened, I was 26 years old, working as the principal of a school in the south of the capital [Tehran]. One day, I received word that I had been “disqualified” from my job. Around the same time, I was also...

Improving the Proposed “Iran Sanctions Enforcement Act”IranWatch
Mar 14, 2024·Navid Mohebbi

Improving the Proposed “Iran Sanctions Enforcement Act”

Subject: Improving the Proposed “Iran Sanction Enforcement Act” From: Navid Mohebbi, Policy Director at National Union for Democracy in Iran Background: Recently, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the “Iran Sanctions Enforcement Act.” This bill aims to turn...

Dignified Diplomacy, Not Capitulation: A Response to Senator Chris MurphyIranWatch
Mar 14, 2024

Dignified Diplomacy, Not Capitulation: A Response to Senator Chris Murphy

This week Senator Chris Murphy had something of a tantrum on Twitter when he was faced with backlash to the Biden administration’s recently announced deal to release $6 billion to the Islamic Republic in exchange for 5 Iranian-Americans held hostage in Tehran. As the national media began to cover...

What Brought the Saudis to the Negotiating Table with Iran?IranWatch
Apr 28, 2023

What Brought the Saudis to the Negotiating Table with Iran?

The recent Iran–Saudi Arabia rapprochement, mediated by Beijing, leaves Washington out in the cold while significantly boosting Chinese influence in the Middle East. But the United States has itself to blame, as its desire to pivot away from the Middle East and its contradictory foreign policy led...

Ten Points to Know About the MAHSA ActIranWatch
Apr 25, 2023

Ten Points to Know About the MAHSA Act

What exactly is the “MAHSA Act” and why has it galvanized unprecedented support and interest from the Iranian-American community? This comprehensive Q&A will attempt to answer frequently asked questions about the MAHSA Act, such as whether these sanctions are already in place, its impact on the...