Home / Foreign Policy

Iran

Timeline

2015.07.14Trump calls the newly-announced Iran nuclear deal "terrible", and says Obama negotiated the agreement "from desperation." nbcnews.com (See also Nuclear Weapons)
2016.11.30CIA director John Brennan warns Trump that ending the Iran nuclear accord would embolden hardliners in Iran and potentially set off a Middle East arms race. nytimes.com (See also Nuclear Weapons)
2017.01.16This is the full transcript of Donald Trump’s interview with Michael Gove and Kai Diekmann, former chief editor of the German newspaper Bild. thetimes.co.uk (See also First 100 Days, Germany, United Kingdom, Trade, Syria, Afghanistan, ISIS, Russia, NATO, Israel, Ireland, European Union, Mexico, China, Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslim Registry)
2017.01.17Iranian President Hassan Rouhani calls Trump's talk of renegotiating U.S.-Iran nuclear accord "meaningless" and "mainly slogans." cbsnews.com (See also Nuclear Weapons)
2017.01.24Trump expected to sign several executive orders restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries on Wednesday January 25. reuters.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Jeff Sessions)
2017.01.25Trump is readying executive orders to stem refugees from ‘terror-prone’ regions and on the U.N. to halt funding for any organizations that give full membership to the Palestinian Authority, supports abortion programs or evades international sanctions against Iran or North Korea. washingtontimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Immigration, Syria, United Nations, North Korea)
2017.01.29Trump’s Muslim travel bans will continue to be enforced by the The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), despite a New York judge placing a temporary stay on it being executed. independent.co.uk (See also First 100 Days, Department of Homeland Security, Muslim Immigration Ban, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen)
2017.02.01National Security Adviser Mike Flynn says Iran is "on notice," but the White House announced no new military action or other responses to what he called its provocations. npr.org (See also First 100 Days, Michael Flynn)
2017.02.02Trump's National security adviser Michael Flynn says the White House putting Iran ‘on notice’ following missile test and says recent actions underscored Tehran’s destabilizing behavior. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Michael Flynn)
2017.02.02US president describes a world ‘in trouble’ in speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, amid a growing number of disputes with foreign leaders theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Australia, Mexico, Johnson Amendment, Attacks on Civil Liberties, LGBTQIA, Affordable Care Act, Department of the Treasury, Russia, Yemen, Mike Pence)
2017.02.03Trump administration imposes new sanctions on a dozen companies and 13 individuals, including Iranian and Chinese nationals, targeted in response to a January missile test and support for Houthi rebels. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, China)
2017.02.09The Atlantic's Karim Sadjadpour outlines ways Trump administration could potentially lead U.S. into war with Iran. theatlantic.com (See also First 100 Days, Foreign Policy)
2017.03.13A hotel in Azerbaijan that Trump helped build appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. newyorker.com (See also The Trump Organization, Ivanka Trump, Conflicts of Interest, Azerbaijan, Corruption)
2017.03.13Trump's hotel in Azerbaijan is linked with corruption and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. newyorker.com (See also Trump Business, First 100 Days, Conflicts of Interest)
2017.04.09A joint command center made up of the forces of Russia, Iran and militias supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday said the U.S. strike on a Syrian air base on Friday crossed "red lines." reuters.com (See also Syria, Russia)
2017.06.28The Trump administration is expected to announce how it will implement its modified travel ban, following the Supreme Court's decision lifting a stay on the executive order imposed by two lower courts, barring travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. npr.org (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslims, Foreign Policy, Syria, Legal Activity)
2017.07.14A federal court judge agreed once again to partially halt the ban of certain foreign nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries on a nationwide basis - a direct rebuke to the government's attempt to limit the close family members allowed in the US - allowing "grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States" to gain entry into the country. cnn.com (See also Legal Activity, Muslim Immigration Ban, Syria, Yemen, Supreme Court)
2017.07.22Congress agrees on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, posing a difficult veto dilemma for Trump. washingtonpost.com (See also Russia, North Korea, Foreign Policy, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.08.03Trump blamed Congress for the United States’ poor relationship with Russia, a day after he signed sanctions legislation that he said was flawed and unconstitutional. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Russia, Assaults on Government, North Korea, Russian Meddling in Election)
2017.09.24The Trump administration announced new restrictions on visitors from eight countries — an expansion of an existing travel ban that has spurred fierce legal debates over security, immigration and discrimination, adding Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the new indefinite ban. washingtonpost.com (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Racism, Nationalism, North Korea, Foreign Policy)
2017.09.29Two months after signing it, Donald Trump has not begun enforcing a law imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, Senators John McCain and Ben Cardin, and with just two days to go, his administration has not provided information related to Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors required under the measure. reuters.com (See also Russia, North Korea)
2017.10.05Donald Trump has plans to decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, opening the door for Iran to start up its nuclear program, despite General Mattis saying that he thought it would be in US security interests to remain in the deal. axios.com (See also James Mattis, Foreign Policy)
2017.10.08Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged in an interview on Sunday that President Trump was treating his office like “a reality show,” with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation “on the path to World War III.” nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, North Korea, False Statements, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, John Kelly)
2017.10.11Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest-ranking national security leaders, leading to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling him a "moron." nbcnews.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Foreign Policy, Department of State, North Korea, Afghanistan, Mike Pence, Steven Mnuchin)
2017.10.13European leaders pushed back sharply Friday against Donald Trump’s decision to strip White House backing from the Iran nuclear deal, saying the move would weaken U.S. credibility, drive a wedge within the Western alliance and hurt global efforts to address dangers from Tehran to North Korea. washingtonpost.com (See also Foreign Policy, North Korea, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.10.17A federal judge largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of their travel ban, which was set to bar various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Issues, Immigration, Muslim Immigration Ban, Syria, North Korea)
2017.12.04A divided U.S. Supreme Court let Donald Trump’s travel ban take full effect while legal challenges go forward, allowing the US to bar or restrict entry by people from six mostly Muslim countries, even if they have a relationship with a U.S.-based person or institution. bloomberg.com (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslims, Nationalism, Racism, Yemen, Syria, Supreme Court)
2017.12.11Despite the deaths of as many as half a million people in the Syrian civil war, the Trump Administration is now prepared to accept President Bashar al-Assad’s continued rule until Syria’s next scheduled Presidential election, in 2021, reversingrepeated U.S. statements that Assad must step down as part of a peace process. newyorker.com (See also Russia, Syria, Reversals, Foreign Policy, Rex Tillerson)
2018.03.21A cooperating witness in the special counsel investigation worked for more than a year to turn a top Trump fund-raiser into an instrument of influence at the White House for the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. nytimes.com (See also Saudi Arabia, Rex Tillerson, Corruption, Department of State)
High on the agenda of the two men — George Nader, a political adviser to the de facto ruler of the U.A.E., and Elliott Broidy, the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — was pushing the White House to remove Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, backing confrontational approaches to Iran and Qatar and repeatedly pressing the president to meet privately outside the White House with the leader of the U.A.E.
2018.05.01The Trump administration embraced Israel's claims that Iran entered a nuclear deal with the world's major powers under false pretenses, a start divergence from its European allies, who said the disclosures broke little new ground and reinforced, rather than weakened, the case for the 2015 deal. nytimes.com (See also Reversals, Israel)
2018.05.08Donald Trump said he is pulling the United States out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, despite last-ditch efforts by Britain, France and Germany to convince him the accord could be “fixed.” washingtonpost.com (See also Foreign Policy, Reversals, Steven Mnuchin)
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration was revoking licenses for Boeing and Airbus, which were among the biggest deals since the nuclear accord,as Boeing had planned to sell IranAir about 80 aircraft worth about $17 billion; Airbus had agreed to sell 100 aircraft worth about $19 billion.
2018.05.09Donald Trump’s national security team is weighing the elimination of the top White House cybersecurity job, as the nation faces growing digital threats from adversaries such as Russia and Iran. politico.com (See also Russia, Cybersecurity)
2018.05.11One of the State Department’s top experts on nuclear proliferation resigned this week after Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, in what officials and analysts say is part of a worrying brain drain from public service generally over the past 18 months. foreignpolicy.com (See also Resignations and Dismissals, Nuclear Weapons)
2018.07.22Donald Trump threatened Iran, warning of severe “consequences,” as rhetoric between the two countries’ presidents escalated dramatically through an all-caps message on Twitter addressed to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior)
2018.07.31Iranian officials reacted skeptically on Tuesday to Donald Trump's comments that he's willing to negotiate with his Iranian counterpart, saying instead that if Trump wants talks, he needs to rejoin the international nuclear deal he unilaterally pulled out of earlier this year. msn.com (See also Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons)