Iran Policy Pulse

IAEA Nuclear Assessment

• 🔥 Nuclear Program Unchanged: IAEA report states Iran's nuclear program is relatively unchanged since the war began, with...

A rare on-the-ground interview with Sadegh Zibakalam, the jailed reformist academic banned from teaching and speaking, offers direct insight into internal Iranian views on the Islamic Republic's leadership and stalled negotiations with Washington.

The IAEA's first report since the U.S.-Israeli conflict began over three months ago finds no major changes to its assessment of Iran's nuclear program.

US and Iranian officials paint wildly different pictures of nuclear negotiations.

• Iranian FM Araghchi declared "no progress has been made" and...

Trump's redefinition of ceasefire as "shooting in a more moderate manner" raises doubts about the Iran conflict's trajectory. With ongoing missile activity and unresolved nuclear talks, the war's achievements and path to peace remain unclear.

Both pieces trace Iran's classic tactics in current talks with Trump.

• Iran pivoted demands from nuclear dismantlement to reopening the Strait of...

A high-level panel with Amb. Pickering, Amb. Mudallali, and Dr. Ulrichsen will assess his Foreign Affairs peace proposal, US-Iran tensions, Lebanon's instability, and GCC strategic responses within shifting global dynamics.

Nuclear Talks and Sanctions Policy

• 🔥 White House Stance on Relief: The White House states no sanctions relief will be on the table until the...

US government branches display conflicting approaches to Iran nuclear talks.

• Executive branch optimism: Rubio reports Iran now willing to negotiate...

Iranians in Tehran insist the US and Israel will surrender despite ongoing tensions, as Iran launched drone strikes on Kuwait killing one and injuring...

A Council on Foreign Relations panel examines how the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz crisis are disrupting global oil, gas, and commodity markets, with long-term implications for the petrodollar system and energy transition.

US sanctions now target Iran's crypto sector, designating Nobitex—processing over 50% of Iranian digital inflows in 2025—along with three other...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and increasingly active in...

Iran has threatened to suspend negotiations with the US if Israel continues military operations in Lebanon, underscoring Tehran's refusal to accept a...

Sanctions and Hormuz Stance

• 🔥 US Sanctions Position: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the US won’t lift Iran sanctions for reopening...

• Domestic navigation: Three months after war, Iran's leadership manages wartime governance, elite dynamics, and public sentiment.
• Regional...

Three perspectives highlight core challenges in Iran nuclear negotiations:

• IAEA chief Grossi stresses the agency must serve as ‘indispensable...

Negotiation Proposals

• 🔥 New Deal Drafts: Diplomats report multiple US-Iran deal drafts that include a $300 billion fund for Iran and a 60-day...

Negotiations center on a 60-day ceasefire extension that includes a pause in multi-front fighting, with possible extension or framing as an "end of...

President Pezeshkian’s reported resignation offer amid IRGC dominance highlights domestic fractures that layer complexity onto nuclear negotiations, while the US stresses its moral obligation to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.