IranWatch
The Iranian regime under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become a growing threat to security and stability throughout the Middle East and around the world. Their support of terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Shiite militias in Iraq and Afghanistan undermine efforts to achieve peaceful resolutions to local conflicts, and contribute to religious and factional violence that threaten American troops and Israel.
Iran’s patronage of Hezbollah and alliance with Syria has brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war and caused untold hardship to Lebanon’s civilians. Their financial support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad strengthens these terrorist groups and gives them the means to commit heinous, violent acts against Israeli citizens, undermining efforts by both Israel and moderate forces among the Palestinians to resume peace talks.
The quest for hegemony over the Persian Gulf region by Iran through acquisition of nuclear weapons capability is a threat to the entire world. While there are disagreements over when they will achieve nuclear independence, there is little debate over their true objective. Whatever the timeline, efforts must be increased to stop Iran from successfully becoming a nuclear power.
Finally, but certainly not of less importance is Ahmadinejad’s continual calls for Israel’s destruction and his Holocaust denial rhetoric. The two are intertwined. His rejection of the truth of the Holocaust is linked to his attempt to de-legitimize the existence of the State of Israel. This destructive rhetoric poisons the minds of peoples throughout the Middle East, increasing hatred toward Jews, Israel and the West.
IranWatch will provide up-to-date information on Iran and ways you can effect change.
Steve Dishler, Senior Program Director for Israel & International Affairs is available for speaking engagements. For more information, e-mail jcrc1@juf.org.
Special Report
Confronting Iran: U.S. Options (PDF)
Convened by: American Foreign Policy Council and McCormick Tribune Foundation
This report represents the final product of the second working group on Iran organized jointly by the American Foreign Policy Council and the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The first such working group, convened in August 2006, examined the scope of Iran's global influence and potential U.S. responses to it. Confronting Iran: U.S. Options is an extension and amplification of that work— one designed to provide policymakers with concrete, actionable suggestions about how to address the growing challenge to U.S. foreign policy and American interests posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Community Response
Steve Dishler, Senior Program Director in JCRC submitted an op ed to the Daily Herald (PDF) calling for continued action and vigilance to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
A JCPA Resolution on Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program (PDF) was adopted yesterday supported by our JCRC. It asserts that a nuclear armed Iran would be a grave threat not only to the State of Israel, but also to the Middle East, to the United States and to the entire international community. The organized Jewish community is called upon to devote maximum and urgent effort in trying to get the U.S. and the international community to cooperate on a diplomatic and economic strategy that will persuade the Teheran regime to abandon its weapons program.
Illinois Initiatives
A broad, bi-partisan coalition of state legislators, led by Senator Jeff Schoenberg and Asst. House Majority Leader Rep. Lou Lang, are co-sponsoring an amendment to a bill that requires $68 billion in Illinois' state pension funds to divest their holdings in foreign companies doing business with Iran's energy sector. (US companies have been barred from doing business with Iran for almost three decades.)
View a list of companies investing in Iran's oil and natural gas sector.
News Update
- Iran economists denounce Ahmadinejad's policies, November 10, 2008, Los Angeles Times
- Treasury Revokes Iran's U-Turn License, November 6, 2008, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- India seeks 'velvet divorce' from Iran, November 5, 2008, Asia Times Online
- New Beltway Debate: What to Do About Iran, November 3, 2008, The New York Times
- Stuart Levey’s War, October 31, 2008, The New York Times
- Iran leader signals not time for thaw in U.S. ties, October 29, 2008, Reuters
- Iran's Death Row Children, October 28, 2008, canada.com
- Iran's oil party is over, economists warn, October 23, 2008, AFP
- US targets Iranian bank with sanctions, October 22, 2008, AFP
- Tax Delay Fails to Quell Iranian Protest, October 12, 2008, The New York Times
- Dubai Is the "Hole in the Net" of Sanctions on Iran, October 10, 2008, Telegraph.co.uk
- Imperative to Stop the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Now, October 10, 2008, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Iran says it will not stop uranium enrichment, October 5, 2008, Reuters
- GOP blocks Iran sanctions, October 2, 2008, JTA
- A Feast with the Beast, October 2, 2008, The Daily Standard
- More Anti-Semitic Attacks from Ahmadinejad, October 2, 2008, MEMRI
- Perkovich: If Iran Stone-Walls, Stop Trying to Negotiate, September 24, 2008, Council on Foreign Relations
- Iran president blames Wall Street turmoil on U.S. 'military engagement', September 23, 2008, Los Angeles Times
- Bipartisan Policy Center Releases Comprehensive Report on Iran, September 22, 2008, Market Watch
- IAEA shows photos alleging Iran worked on missile, September 20, 2008, AFP
- Ahmadinejad says Israel won't survive, September 18, 2008, The Associated Press
- Brussels roundtable: Iranian nuclear crisis may be irresolvable, September 18, 2008, ynetnews.com
- U.N. Agency at 'Dead End' as Iran Rejects Queries on Nuclear Research, September 16, 2008, Washington Post
- Iran renews nuclear weapons development, September 12, 2008, Telegraph.co.uk
- Guess who shouldn't come for dinner?, September 11, 2008, The Jerusalem Post
- Don’t Make Iran an Israeli Issue, September 11, 2008, Forward
- What's Missing From the Iran Debate, September 8, 2008, Washington Post
- US Sanctions 5 Iranian Companies for Nuclear Ties, August 12, 2008, VOA News
- Study Cautions Against Strike on Iran's Nuclear Facilities, August 8, 2008, Washington Post
- Iran 'to target Israel, US bases', July 12, 2008, BBC News
- French energy giant opts out of Iran, July 10, 2008, The Jerusalem Post
- Iran seeks seat on Security Council, July 9, 2008, The Washington Times
- E.U. Backs Sanctions on Iran, Freezes Bank Assets, June 24, 2008, Washington Post
- Atomic Monitor Signals Concern Over Iran’s Work, May 27, 2008, The New York Times
- Major Powers Offer Iran New Incentives, May 3, 2008, Washington Post
- U.S.: Iran Named As Top State Sponsor Of Terrorism, May 1, 2008, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty
- The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran and Its Aftermath: A Roundtable of Israeli Experts, April 2008, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
- Western scientists intrigued by photos from Iran's nuclear site, April 29, 2008, International Herald Tribune
- Iran defies UN by boosting nuclear potential, April 9, 2008, The Independent
- Israel to Redistribute Gas Masks Amid Fears of War with Iran, April 2, 2008, VOA
- Treasury Official Calls Iran 'Central Banker of Terrorism', April 1, 2008, Foxnews.com
Acton Steps
Urge your member of Congress to support the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 House Resolution 1400. The legislation closes loopholes in existing sanctions law, strengthens U.S. tools to cut off funds to Iran's nuclear program and prohibits U.S. nuclear cooperation with those aiding Iran's atomic efforts.
Iran: What Each Of Us Can Do (PDF)
Background Information
The Iranian Nuclear Threat
The Iranians are conducting a clandestine nuclear program in parallel to the public one, the aim of which is clearly the acquisition of nuclear weapons. The Israeli intelligence assessment speaks of three or four years; the Americans add another year or two to this timetable. For more information, see The Iranian Nuclear Threat by Dr. Ephraim KamQuestions and Answers About Iran's Nuclear Proliferation (PDF)
The Geopolitical Stakes of a Nuclear Iran, Realite EU
Background of Russian-Iranian Relations, Realite EU
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust Denial
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made the Holocaust a cornerstone of his foreign policy. He calls into question the facts surrounding the Nazi regime’s murder of 6 million Jews and taunts the West by claiming that they allowed the Jews to “steal” Israel from the Palestinians out of misplaced guilt. On December 11, 2006 his regime hosted a conference in Tehran challenging the facts of the Holocaust, which included an unsavory cadre of White Supremists and Holocaust deniers. This follows a cartoon contest sponsored by the regime in November whose theme was Holocaust denial. For more information, see Holocaust Denial Is No Joke and Iran Attempts To Position Itself As New Nexus For Holocaust Denial.Iran's Human Rights Record
- A Revolution Without Rights? Women, Kurds and Baha’is searching for equality in Iran, 2008, Published by The Foreign Policy Center, U.K. Women, Kurds, Baha’is and other minority groups in Iran clearly continue to face significant problems. Women suffer systemic discrimination through civil and penal codes and legal processes deliberately designed to work to their disadvantage. There are some appalling violations of human rights highlighted in the report; cases of women experiencing sexual violence or sentenced to death by stoning.
- Campaigning to end stoning in Iran, January 15, 2008
Amnesty International has issued a highly critical report highlighting the despicable practice of execution by stoning carried out by the Iranian regime.- Held in My Homeland by Haleh Esfandiari, Washington Post, September 16, 2007
- Islamic Republic of Fear
The rest of the world may be more concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But for many Iranians, the issue that has begun to outweigh other troubles, such as poverty, unemployment and the danger of war with America, is human rights.- Showing Jailed Americans, Iran TV Cites Confessions, Washington Post, July 17, 2007
- Executions Are Under Way in Iran for Adultery and Other Violations, New York Times, July 11, 2007
- Norway blasts stoning in Iran, Aftenposten, July 10, 2007
- Iran: Amnesty criticizes 'child executions,' Radio Free Europe, June 27, 2007



