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The '''Iranian Directorate''' or '''Directorate for Iran''' is an intelligence unit of [[The Pentagon]] founded in 2006 involved with general information on [[Iran]] as regards to [[United States-Iran relations|diplomatic and military tensions]] between the [[United States]] and [[Iran]].<ref name="rawstoryiraniandir">{{cite news|first=Larisa |last=Alexandrovna |title=Pentagon confirms Iranian directorate as officials raise new concerns about war|date=June 15, 2006 |publisher=[[The Raw Story]]|url=http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Pentagon_confirms_Iranian_directorate_as_intelligence_0615.html|access-date=2006-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619215020/http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Pentagon_confirms_Iranian_directorate_as_intelligence_0615.html|archive-date=June 19, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Opponents to the unit have criticised its for its similarities to the [[Office of Special Plans]] (OSP), which dealt with controversial intelligence reports in relation to [[Iraq]], having been housed in an area that previously served the OSP, likewise with amongst those staffed three veteran officials of the OSP that share similar interests, according to a private investigator.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S Moves to Weaken Iran |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-19-fg-usiran19-story.html |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.latimes.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722153345/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-19-fg-usiran19-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lt. Col. Barry E. Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the formation of the directorate for Iran in both a phone discussion and an email message; "As the State Department stated in early March (Daily Press Brief, Mar. 3), the U.S. Government is organizing itself better to address what [[Condoleezza Rice|Secretary Rice]] called 'one of the great challenges for the United States, a strategic challenge for the United States and for those who desire peace and freedom,' Venable wrote. 'As a counterpart to the State Department's new Office of Iran Affairs, the Department of Defense has split off a new directorate for Iran-related policy issues from the existing Directorate of Northern Gulf Affairs in the Office of Near East and South Asia Affairs (NESA), he additionally stated. These regional policy offices fall within the Office of the [[Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs]],' and thereafter under Eric Edelman. Edelman, [[Undersecretary of Defense for Policy]].