By Samuel M. Hickey On April 22, 2020, Iran successfully launched its first military satellite Noor-1 (“light”) into low-earth orbit and simultaneously announced its parallel military space program run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s Corps (IRGC). Noor was carried by a three-stage Qassed (“messenger”) space-launch vehicle (SLV) and the military satellite is believed to be orbiting the earth at […]
Is the United States trying to get back into the Iran Nuclear Deal?
By Samuel M. Hickey On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum titled: “Ceasing U.S. Participation in the JCPOA and Taking Additional Action to Counter Iran’s Malign Influence and Deny Iran All Paths to a Nuclear Weapon.” This Memorandum marked the United States’ official withdrawal from the nuclear deal and initiated the re-imposition […]
Trump administration doubles down on Iran nuclear treaty allegations
Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell spoke with the Al-Monitor about the State Department’s report accusing Iran of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “The problem with inserting all these concerns rather than sticking to hard and fast assessments of legal compliance … is that you’re taking this away from being a very cut-and-dry document for the […]
Trump team was right to extend Iran deal waivers
By Samuel Hickey On January 30, the Trump Administration extended four nuclear waivers allowing Russia, China and the UK to continue their work to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. While this move is good for American security, there are Iran hawks in the Senate who advocate rescinding all waivers related to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan […]
Op-ed: The US has a backup plan to kill the Iran nuclear deal. It could spark a crisis at the UN.
Research Analyst Samuel Hickey partnered with Julia Masterson at the Arms Control Association to co-author a piece explaining how the United States could kill the Iran nuclear deal via the United Nations. Early in January, the European members of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran made a risky move by triggering the deal’s dispute resolution […]
