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On Thursday, for instance, James Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a deal critic, tweeted that Iran was pushing President Joe Biden to accept terms that could let it accelerate nuclear weapons work. The White House National Security Council took the unusual step of tweeting a rebuke: Nothing here is true. We would never accept such terms.

A White House official on Friday declined to get into details when pressed on the administrations messaging plans, saying it was premature to talk about tactics or strategy since theres not yet a deal to revive the agreement.

If a deal is reached, the official added, we are fully prepared to advocate for it publicly, brief the Hill, experts and stakeholders, and coordinate with allies and partners, as we have done throughout this process and consistent with our approach to all policy priorities.

The back-and-forth this time is likely to be less intense than in 2015, when President Barack Obamas administration was mocked by the right for trying to create a media echo chamber to sell the deal to the public.

But once again, the geopolitical stakes are high, and the fight will likely center on Congress, where lawmakers will get a chance to review, in essence, the deal to revive the deal. And while the White House can once again count on a presidential veto as a backstop in the unlikely case lawmakers get enough votes to kill the revival effort, this time there will be a looming midterm election to consider.

To be clear, the negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, could still collapse or be delayed. Iran is pushing for changes to the proposed road map to restore the agreement, and the U.S. is weighing options. That said, after more than a year of talks, theres noticeable optimism among the various parties that the deal can soon be revived.

So the battle lines are hardening once more on think tank panels, television appearances and in quiet conversations in secure government facilities.

Israel, the foreign government most vocally opposed to the nuclear deal, is sending its national security adviser to Washington next week to air the countrys well-known concerns directly with the White House. Meantime, Israeli officials are turning to the media to publicize their reservations and take jabs at Biden and his aides.

In recent comments to Axios, Israeli officials even questioned whether the U.S. president and his team were fully aware of what Israelis argue are concessions included in the proposed road map to restore the 2015 agreement.

Thats the type of insinuation that draws eye-rolls and fury from people in and close to the administration, who deny there are any new concessions and say the president is fully looped in.

We are in intensive and constant discussions with Israelis on Iran, the White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, said Friday. There is no greater supporter of Israels security than Joe Biden.

Israeli leaders this time are likely to be less openly hostile than seven years ago, when then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even delivered a speech to a joint meeting of Congress in an attempt to kill the deal. The current Israeli government is led by caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and the country has an election set for later this year.

But Israeli officials have a strong ally in Washington: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC was reported to have spent tens of millions of dollars in 2015 to try to kill the original deal. When asked what AIPAC planned this year, a spokesperson didnt directly answer the question but said the group has serious concerns about the revival effort.

Meanwhile, J Street, the left-leaning pro-Israel group, plans to rally support to revive the agreement. Its representatives caution that they want to review the road map to the revival first, but if its what they expect, we have a whole campaign ready to go, said Dylan Williams, a senior vice president with the group.

That campaign will include everything from phone-calling blitzes to ads on social media, he said. The campaign is aimed largely at moderate Democrats, some of whom did not support the agreement in 2015, and new lawmakers whose positions may not yet be clear.

The 2015 Iran deal lifted many U.S. and international economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for severe restrictions on Tehrans nuclear program.

Then-President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, saying it was too narrow and time-limited. He reimposed the original sanctions on Iran and heaped on new ones as well. A year later, after other countries party to the agreement were unable to offer it sanctions relief, Iran began violating the deals terms. Although Iran has always insisted it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon, it is now much closer to that possibility.

At the same time, as the talks to restore the deal have taken place, Iran has been accused of kidnapping and assassination attempts against Americans, including former Trump-era national security adviser John Bolton. Some of those plots are believed to be in retaliation for the Trump administrations killing of top Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020. U.S. officials also are investigating whether Iran played a direct role in a recent attack that badly wounded novelist Salman Rushdie.

Michael Singh, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said such developments imposed a greater sense of realism on the debate than in 2015, when some deal advocates hoped it would prompt bigger foreign policy shifts.

What we see from the administration is more realism and more resignation, said Singh, a longtime skeptic of the agreement. I think they are less enthusiastic about it. You wont hear any arguments that this is going to transform the U.S.-Iran relations. But I think what you will hear very loudly is this is our only option.

In 2015, Obama and his aides held little back, blitzing social and traditional media to push through what they viewed as a critical piece of their foreign policy legacy. The administrations effort included more than 100 engagements between Obama and lawmakers. Ultimately, the Obama team secured enough support among Senate Democrats that Republicans couldnt break a filibuster in their attempt to stop the deal.

One reason there could be a congressional debate this time is that Congress passed a 2015 law that gave it the power to review any such agreements with Iran. Lawmakers have argued that the legislation, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act or INARA, allows Congress the right to review the deal to restore the deal.

Biden administration officials at first suggested they disagreed with that interpretation, but eventually agreed to submit whatever deal is reached in Vienna. Those discussions between Iran and the U.S. have been indirect, with European officials have been acting as go-betweens.

One organization thats already battle-hardened as far as such public relations fights go is the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The hawkish think tank has long opposed the original nuclear deal.

Joe Dougherty, a spokesperson for FDD, said the think tank plans to ramp up its use of panels, op-eds and other traditional means to get across its view that the 2015 deal should not be restored.

One of its analysts arguments, he said, is that whats being restored isnt really the original deal but a lesser deal.

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Foes and friends of Iran deal ready for another D.C. clash - POLITICO

Iran has offered its assistance to Europe in the form of oil and gas deliveries for the winter, per a statement by Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji.

According to a report in Iran Front News, the minister noted that energy prices were out of control, pointing to Germany as an example and saying businesses there might have to shut down because of excessive energy costs.

The official said Iran could help relieve the price pressure by exporting more gas to Europe but pointed out that the Europeans had done this to themselves. He also predicted that oil and gas buyers would face a difficult winter this year.

In the meantime, Iran will be exporting more oil and gas condensate to buyers in Latin America and Asia, as well as parts of Europe, Oji also said.

Iran has been expanding its oil exports despite U.S. sanctions this year, with the bulk of shipments going to China. In recent months, Russian crude has become a major competitor because, like Iranian crude, it sells at a discount. According to analysts, the Iranians simply cut their prices further to stay competitive.

"Iranian crude was facing strong competition from Russian Urals in July as the non-sanctioned barrels were offered at similar discount levels. However, as the price difference of the two widened, Chinese refiners may turn back to cheaper Iranian barrels in August," a Vortexa analyst said earlier this month, as quoted by Tehran Times.

The European Union has been trying to broker a deal between the United States and Iran on the latter's nuclear future for more than a year now and recently submitted its final proposal to the two sides.

According to a recent statement by a U.S. official, Iran had dropped another of its demands, which suggests a deal might be in sight. Yet the report comes on the heels of another, in which Iran accused the U.S. of procrastinating, so nothing is certain yet.

The return of Iran to the international oil markets would go a long way towards offsetting the effects of the upcoming European Union embargo on Russian crude, which is set to take effect later this year.By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Iran Offers To Help Europe With Oil And Gas Deliveries This Winter - OilPrice.com

TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has stated that terrorism in West Asia and Africa is a consequence of involvement by non-regional states.

In a joint news conference with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop on Tuesday in Bamako, Amir Abdollahian remarked that interference by some extra-regional countries is the reason behind formation of some terrorist groups in the West Asia region and Africa."We are of the opinion that instrumental application of terrorism should be left aside and countries be allowed to act independently," the top diplomat said.

Separately, the senior diplomat addressed the unlawful and cruel U.S. sanctions against Iran.

He said "history has shown that the U.S.'s sanctions have failed" despite the fact that "Iran has been subject to draconian American sanctions for years."

After pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), often known as the Iran nuclear deal, Washington reinstated the sanctions in 2018 and added new ones.

He brought up the matter of Iran's bilateral ties with Mali as well, adding that Tehran prioritizes collaboration with the African country in the diplomatic sphere in the areas of defense, education, and economics.

The two countries are determined to deepen their connections, he said, adding "we have a clear plan for the bilateral relations." He cited his visit to Mali as evidence of Iran's particular focus on the two nations' ties.

The trip, the first to Mali and the African continent by Amir Abdollahian as foreign minister, included a meeting of the nations' joint economic mission, where the two sides decided to increase their cooperation in areas like economy, including digital economy, transportation, rail travel, housing, urban development, and culture.

The Malian official, for his part, called the use of sanctions a catastrophic policy, adding that it was inappropriate to deploy penalties in place of dialogue.

Diop stated that it was in both countries' best interests to work together to combat foreign meddling in bilateral relations.

He said, We hope that enhancement of the relations can open up new ways for both the nations and lead to establishment of high-priority projects in our country.

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Iran FM: Terrorism in West Asia and Africa is result of foreign meddling - Tehran Times

Growing up, I hated Muharram and Safar. These two months of mourning in Shiite Islam meant the already strict enforcement of religious orthodoxy by Irans regime would be that much more brutal. This year, Muharram began on July 30 and Safar ends on September 26. Instead of commemorating the Battle of Karbala, the beginning of the first Sunni-Shiite civil war in the year 680, this year Muharram and Safar might be signifying the defeat of Iranian Islam itself.

Because the religious lunar calendar rotates around the secular solar calendar observed in Iran, every childs birthday is bound to fall during the months of mourning at some point. Once it does, it means no birthday parties for the next five or six years. Instead of celebrations with friends, wed have secret gatherings of close family. I dont know which was worse: missing the opportunity to spend time with my friends, or being forced to endure my stuffy old relatives!

In my early adulthood, my friends were more than happy to discuss and debate political issues with me, but debating religion was taboo. It wasnt that they were going to turn me in, just that they would get very personal about it. They would shout down any dissenting opinion on Islam without debate because, while political criticism of the regime was a societal norm despite the regimes best efforts, apostasy and blasphemy remained off limits. As soon as someone would come close to criticizing Islam, everybodys inner authoritarian would rush to end the discussion before it began.

Its been more than a decade since I left Iran for good, and the country has changed. Im in touch with a few friendssecular people who represented the minority viewpoint alongside meand they sometimes update me on our old peers. The young men who would tell you to shut up when criticizing religious policies and religion itself have now turned into proud blasphemers, cursing at Islam and its vanguard regime. Its a shame I can never go back to Iran, because it sounds like its much improved since I left.

The ninth and tenth of Muharram are the peak of the mourning period. When I was there, people would pour into the streets to give away nazrifood they had pledged to God they would give away on a religious holiday if a wish came true. At night, battalions of men and women would take the streets, playing mourning music, shouting religious chants, and marching. This year, the streets are empty. The battalions have shrunk to small squads, and its embarrassing for the mosque to make demonstrations.

A friend told me, Nobody goes out anymore. I asked, Literally no one? He responded, Well, a few did go out to check out girls! He wasnt kidding. With social life and gatherings limited to mourning, young men and women commit the ultimate heresy of using the holy ceremonies to find hookups. Did I come to America or did America come to Iran?

The religious people who drink socially avoid alcohol during this period as a sign of respect. One young Iranian, a friend of a friend, had sent a picture a few years ago of his hands with blisters from performing the ritualsthe one hed fallen victim to was stirring a gigantic pot of soup for hours. Another infamous one is literally beating yourself to demonstrate worshiping Hussein. A less severe ritual is theatrical storytellingnot history-tellingof the battle. This year, he was with my friend drinking. Another friend asked his septuagenarian father why he was not going back to their hometown, as he does every year during Muharram, to fulfill his nazri pledge. The old man responded, Son, I have come to realize that all these things are bullshit! Its one thing for a young person raised on hip-hop and WhatsApp to make such a statement. But from an old man, pious all his life, it is rather rareor, at least, it would have been ten years ago.

Judging by Instagramthe social medium most widely used in Iranit was as though the country was dead. Few people posted anything because there was nothing to do. And the few there were had no signs of a period of state-enforced mourning. The smattering of pro-regime young people make an effort at enthusiasm in their posts, but largely from the same handful of mosques, with diminished crowds composed almost entirely of older people. Most of their posts are not from the ceremonies but graphics and texts related to Muharram.

GAMAAN, a Netherlands-based center run by two Iranian political scientists that tracks public attitudes in Iran, reports that 67 percent of Iranians reject the idea of theocracy, and 72 percent reject having a religious figure as the head of the state. A 2020 report by the same organization found that only 32.2 percent identify as Shiite Muslims, with another 5 percent identifying as Sunni. (Contrast that with the CIA World Factbook, which reports that 9095 percent of the country is Shiite.) Nearly half identified as some form of irreligiousnone, agnostic, spiritual, or atheist. A whopping 7.7 percent called themselves Zoroastrian, far higher than the 0.03 percent of the Zoroastrian population inside Iran. Its not that Shiite Iranians are converting en masse to the religion of their pre-Islamic forbearsZoroastrianism doesnt accept converts. The better interpretation is that a significant number of Iranians claim the ancient Persian religion as a method of identifying as Persian and shedding the Muslim identity theyve come to hate.

Irans plummeting fertility rate gives more evidence of its declining religiosity. Iranians have been poor in the past, but they still had high fertility rates despite being high on the misery index. The return of poverty doesnt alone explain why the fertility rate has fallen to 1.7 children per woman of child-bearing years, but it makes sense when one considers the rise of nones. Religiously unaffiliated people, on average, have fewer children than religious people. In 1989, when I was born, Irans average fertility rate was 5.1.

The Free the Hair movement is another sign of how Islam is on the defensive. Iranian social media is replete with videos of women publicly rejecting the compulsory hijab. (After Muhammad bin Salman lifted the compulsory hijab law in Saudi Arabia, Iran spent a year as the only country in the world with this law, until the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.) More strikingly, when a religious person confronts them about this civil disobedience, a fightverbal or physicalfollows, with the bystanders almost invariably siding with the woman not covering her hair.

But none of these data are as astounding as the clergy under attack. Iranians used to respect the clerical class, either sincerely or begrudgingly. It wasnt just fear for their power but also a tradition and a custom. Nowadays, the stories that populate the news are about how pedestrians, often without cause, physically assault random mullahs on the street.

Half a century ago, secular modernizers in Iran were complaining about how Islam was an obstacle against progress. In the four decades since it seized power, the theocracy has managed to remove this obstacle, leading a proud and pious people to sour on their own religion. Before the Islamic Revolution, Iran had an Iranian state and a religious population. Now, it has a theocracy and a population increasingly embracing the non-religious components of its national heritage.

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The Islamic Republic Is Killing Islam in Iran - The Bulwark

Iran is a sovereign nation occupying an area of 1,648,195 sq. km in Western Asia.

Iran is a very rugged country of plateaus and mountains with most of the land being above 1,500 feet (460 m). The mountain ranges surround the high interior basin of the country. Of note are the Elburz Mountains in the north, and the Zagros Mountains along Iran's western borders as observed on the physical map of Iran above. Iran's highest point, Mt. Damavand reaches 18,934 ft (5,771m). It has been marked on the map by a yellow triangle and is part of the Elburz Mountain chain.

The central and eastern portion is covered by the Plateau of Iran. Marked on the map, the Dasht-e Kavir is sandstone and salty desert plateau, which in the heat of summer is one of the hottest places on the planet.

The coastal areas outside the mountain rings have some of the lowest elevations in the country.

The most significant river is the Karun, in the southwestern corner of the country. Lake Urmia (in the far-northwest) is the country's largest body of water.

Iran (officially, Islamic Republic of Iran) is divided into 31 administrative provinces (ostanha, sing. ostan). In alphabetical order, these provinces are: Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yard and Zanjan.

With an area of 1,648,195 sq. km, Iran is the 2nd largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest country in the world. Tehran is the capital and the largest city of Iran. It is also the most populous city in Western Asia as well as the countrys leading cultural and economic center.

Iran is a mountainous country in Western Asia. Iran is situated both in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres of the Earth. Iran is bordered by Armenia and Azerbaijan in the northwest; Turkmenistan in the northeast; Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east; Iraq and Turkey in the west. Iran is bounded by the Caspian Sea in the north, and by the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in the south.

Iran Bordering Countries: Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan.

Regional Maps: Map of Asia

This page was last updated on February 24, 2021

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Iran Maps & Facts - World Atlas