Iran Summary – December 2024

Executive Summary: The Iran-backed Assad regime in Syria collapsed, and Israel carried out strikes that destroyed an estimated 70-80 percent of the country’s military capabilities to prevent them from falling into the hands of Iran’s proxies and other extremists. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said that Iran now has enough fissile material to make more than a dozen nuclear weapons but has not yet decided to do so. Iran carried out at least 883 executions in 2024, the highest number in a decade, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Iran’s currency, the rial, fell to its lowest level in history. Hezbollah launched two mortars at an Israeli army outpost on December 2, violating the 60-day truce agreement that went into effect on November 27. Pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that Iran-backed militias in Iraq have reached an agreement with the Iraqi government to cease their attacks on Israel. Iran detained Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, likely in retribution for the arrest of an Iranian man the day prior by Italian police in connection with the January drone attack that killed 3 U.S. soldiers in Jordan; an Iranian-American dual citizen living in Massachusetts was also arrested in connection with the attack.

Click here to read the December 2024 Iran Summary.