Fires sank Iran’s largest warship and damaged part of an oil refinery, the latest in a string of mishaps at Iranian military and nuclear facilities apparently targeted by Israel. The cause of the fires is unknown (New York Times)
UN: Unable to Access Data on Iranian Nuclear Program
UN nuclear inspectors reported that they have been unable to access important metrics about Iran’s nuclear activity since February 23, forcing them to estimate rather than report precisely on the country’s nuclear stockpile (Associated Press)
Iran Blocks Moderate Presidential Candidates
The country’s Guardian Council blocked two prominent moderate candidates from running in next month’s presidential election. A top reformist, Azar Mansouri, said reformists are “deprived of an active participation” (Financial Times)
Iran Extends Nuclear Monitoring Deal
Iran agreed to a one-month extension on an agreement that places cameras from the United Nations’ nuclear agency at its atomic sites. Separately, negotiations are underway in Vienna that aim to bring the United States and Iran back to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal (Associated Press)
Nuclear Talks With Iran Continue
Senior diplomats from several countries said they were optimistic following a round of talks in Vienna yesterday aimed at resurrecting the 2015 nuclear deal. Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted that a deal is “within reach” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Hard-Line Head of Iran’s Judiciary Registers Run for President
Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line cleric who heads Iran’s judiciary and is close with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was among the final candidates to register for next month’s presidential election. Iran’s Guardian Council will vet the candidates and announce a final list next week (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iran’s Ahmadinejad Seeks to Run for President Again
Hard-line former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has filed to run for a third term in next month’s elections. He developed Iran’s nuclear program during his tenure in office from 2005 to 2013, leading to heightened tensions with Western countries, and his reelection in 2009 triggered mass protests. He was barred from running in 2017 (Radio Farda)
Candidates Begin Registering for Iran’s Presidential Race
Iran opened a five-day registration process for candidates in next month’s presidential election. President Hassan Rouhani is not eligible to run for reelection (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Fourth Round of Iran Nuclear Deal Talks Begins in Vienna
The fourth, and possibly final, round of talks over a potential U.S. return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal kicked off today in Vienna (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Ahead of the talks, a senior U.S. official said both countries could return to compliance with the deal within weeks, though significant gaps remain (New York Times)
U.S., Iran, UK Deny Report of Prisoner Swap
Iran’s foreign ministry said it cannot confirm a state TV report of an imminent prisoner swap with the United States. Washington and London denied the report, which also said a British-Iranian citizen, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, would be released following a debt payment from the United Kingdom (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Fires Warning Shots at Iranian Military Vessels
The Pentagon said that the U.S. Navy fired warning shots toward Iranian military vessels in the northern Persian Gulf on Monday, the first such incident in nearly four years (Politico)
Separately, the U.S. Navy said that American and Iranian warships had an “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, the first such incident in roughly a year (Al Jazeera)
Report: Iran Installed New Centrifuges at Nuclear Facility
Iran installed additional advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility in further violation of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the deal, Tehran is only allowed to use older generations of centrifuges to enrich uranium (Reuters)
EU Official: Iran Nuclear Talks in Vienna Making Progress
Discussions about a possible U.S. return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and an Iranian return to compliance with the agreement continued in Vienna yesterday. Officials agreed to create a third working group to discuss the possible sequencing of steps to be carried out by the United States and Iran, an EU statement said (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Top Iranian General Dies
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, a high-ranking officer responsible for Iran’s regional military efforts and internal security, died at sixty-five of heart disease. Hejazi had served as the deputy commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iran Nuclear Deal Talks in Vienna End
Talks in Vienna aimed at resurrecting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal came to a close. Two working groups will continue discussions to negotiate the United States’ lifting of sanctions and Iran’s return to compliance with the agreement (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iran to Increase Uranium Enrichment Following Natanz Attack
Iran will boost its uranium enrichment to a new high of 60 percent and add new centrifuges in response to an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, President Hassan Rouhani announced. He said Tehran will continue to participate in negotiations, which resume today, aimed at resurrecting the 2015 nuclear agreement and will retaliate against Israel if evidence is found linking it to the Natanz attack (Al Jazeera)
Separately, Israeli defense sources said that Iran was behind an attack yesterday on an Israeli-owned ship near the United Arab Emirates (Haaretz)
Iran: Natanz Attack Complicates Nuclear Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that Sunday’s attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment site will affect ongoing negotiations in Vienna on the United States’ return to the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has blamed Israel, and Washington has denied involvement in the attack (Associated Press)
Iran Blames Israel for Blackout at Major Nuclear Facility
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israel of attacking Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which had launched new centrifuges for enriching uranium a day earlier, and vowed that Iran would take revenge (Al Jazeera)
The details of the attack remain unclear, with Iranian officials saying there was a blackout at the site. They said centrifuges were damaged but uranium enrichment has not stopped (Washington Post)
Israel has refused to confirm or deny responsibility, but unnamed Israeli and U.S. officials said that the country was involved (New York Times)
Iran Nuclear Deal Talks to Continue
Chinese and Russian envoys said today that discussions about the 2015 nuclear agreement will resume next week after progress was made in Vienna on Tuesday in bringing the United States and Iran back into compliance with the deal (Reuters)
U.S., Iran Inch Toward Return to Nuclear Deal
Signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement met in Vienna yesterday and agreed to form two working groups (New York Times)
One will focus on returning Iran to compliance with the deal, which it has increasingly violated, and the other will explore how the United States, which left the deal in 2018, can return to the agreement by lifting sanctions on Iran. U.S. and Iranian officials called the talks “constructive” (Al Jazeera)
Separately, an explosion damaged a ship reportedly linked to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Red Sea. The country’s foreign ministry confirmed the explosion but said that the vessel was a civilian ship (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
An unnamed U.S. official said that Israel attacked the ship in retaliation for Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels (New York Times)
Talks on Reviving Iran Nuclear Deal Begin in Vienna
The United States and Iran join the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement today for talks aimed at bringing the two countries back into compliance with the deal (Al Jazeera)
Iranian officials have refused to participate in direct talks with U.S. officials until Washington lifts heavy sanctions reimposed by President Donald Trump when he withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018. The Joe Biden administration maintains that Iran should stop enriching uranium beyond its agreed-to levels before it lifts any sanctions. European representatives are expected to act as intermediaries between Iran and the United States today (New York Times, NPR)
Iran, World Powers Discuss U.S. Return to Nuclear Deal
Iran and the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear agreement held talks today to discuss the United States’ possible reentry to the deal and agreed to meet in Vienna on Tuesday to continue discussions (Reuters)
U.S. officials are expected to attend next week’s talks (Wall Street Journal)
Iran, China Ink Cooperation Deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was visiting Iran, signed a twenty-five-year agreement expected to increase bilateral trade and military cooperation (Al Jazeera)
Iran Doubles Down on Nuclear Deal Position
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reaffirmed his country’s commitment to only returning to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, which it has increasingly violated, after the United States lifts all sanctions against Iran (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)