As the U.S. continues to apply sanctions aimed at curbing Iranian oil exports—most recently on June 25—the regime in Tehran continues to get around them. One underreported tactic involves using Chinese shipyards to repair and maintain its fleet of tankers.

Despite being the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and a major human rights abuser, the Islamic Republic receives unexpected rhetorical and in-person support from various Western sources. Part two of this miniseries of blog posts looks at Code Pink.

For years, Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was promoting the narrative that Hezbollah is the "protector of Lebanon" from potential Israeli aggression.

Despite being the world’s biggest backer of terrorism and human rights abuses, the Islamic Republic receives external rhetorical support from some unlikely quarters in the West.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has deep roots, threatening both regional stability and the security of Israel. 

Media outlets in Beirut have reported that British diplomats recently delivered harsh warnings to their Lebanese counterparts: if Hezbollah continues its attacks on northern Israel, Israel will scale up its military campaign against Lebanon by mid-June. 

The “UANI Top 10 Iran Sanctions Targets” is a monthly product that seeks to expose and restrict the nefarious activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, both inside and outside of the country. Using primary data and intelligence, UANI experts identify and publish a list of 10 individuals and entities for the United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU), and other Western allies to target with sanctions. Many of these persons and organizations fly below the radar of public scrutiny. UANI aims to increase awareness of their roles.

In this month’s update, we note with approval that the Panama Maritime Authority is making significant progress in cleaning up its registry by deleting at least 32 vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil. This has been a key request from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) since 2020. Panama’s proactive measures represent a step toward curbing Iran’s deceptive shipping practices and cutting off a vital revenue stream used to fund its terrorist activities. Nonetheless, at least 130 vessels on the Panama registry require further scrutiny and potential action. 

125 hostages remain in the custody of Hamas following the October 7 attack on southern Israel.

For the past decade, over 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled from the brutal Assad regime in Damascus have been living in Lebanon under harsh conditions.