The only problem? You have to do it from your desk.

So, what do you do?

Here are some tools for capturing the context behind this hot-button issue. This guide isn’t intended to be exhaustive, but it should give you enough fuel to hit the ground running in your Iran coverage.

UNDERSTANDING THE GOVERNMENT:

• Constitution of Iran via the Islamic Public of Iran Mission to the UN in New York
• Islamic Public of Iran Mission to the UN in New York official website“Guide: How Iran is ruled” via BBC News
• “A Guide to the Legal System of the Islamic Republic of Iran” via the Hauser Global Law School Program at New York University School of Law

ECONOMY & DATA:

• UNdata for the Islamic Republican of Iran (via the United Nations Statistics Division)
• Iran Data Portal (via Princeton University)
• Central Bank of the Islamic Public of Iran (Note: This is an Iranian government-run website, so interpret accordingly.)
• CIA World Factbook’s entry for Iran
• Monitoring and Verification in Iran (via the International Atomic Energy Agency)
• The Washington Post’s Iran country guide
• Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
• Iran country file (via the Nuclear Threat Initiative)

PRESS:

• “Iranian Press & Media” via the Islamic Public of Iran Mission to the UN in New York
  • (Note: Not all websites are available in English, but the available languages are noted on a case-by-case basis within the list)
• New York Times’ Iran news index
• Reuters’ Iran news index
• The Guardian’s Iran news index

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Top Twitter influencers from Iran (via Twtrland)

MISCELLANEOUS WEBSITES, REPORTS AND RESOURCES:

• ISIS NuclearIran (Institute for Science and International Security’s informational site on the Iranian nuclear program)
• Congressional Research Service reports:
  • Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses (April 2015
  • Iran Sanctions (March 2015)
• State Department fact sheets:
  • Overview of Temporary Suspension of Certain U.S. Sanctions Pursuant to the Initial Understanding Between the P5+1 and Iran (January 2014)
  • Guidance Relating to the Provision of Certain Temporary Sanctions Relief in Order to Implement the Joint Plan of Action Reached on November 24, 2013, Between the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic of Iran (January 2014)
• “Timeline of Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran” (via the Arms Control Association)
• Iran Watch (via the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control)

RECENT CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS OF INTEREST:

Senate Armed Services Committee:

• United States Middle East Policy