February 2011
Mousavi, Karroubi in Heshmatiyeh Prison: Opposition Website
Video: Shouts of "Allah-o Akbar" (God is great), purportedly in Tehran tonight. A Tehrani tells BBC Persian that he heard the chants in northern Tehran, Gisha, and up. However,...
Iran's Economy in the Shadow of Regional Upheaval
Tehran's surprising ability to take politically risky, economically rational decisions at a time of intense international pressure over its nuclear program confounds external observers. [ analysis ] Iran's stability...
Tehran Updates: Security Ramps Up; Green Mothers Speak Out
Video of heavy security presence along a Tehran boulevard, purportedly shot on Thursday, February 24. Along with reports of situation in the capital, weather and apparent temperature match: it...
The Mother Tongue
Learning the Language Video: An introduction to Persian by Ghazzal Dabiri, a lecturer and coordinator of Persian at Columbia University. Easy Persian | "I liked that the lessons are extremely...
Eliminating the Opposition, Islamic Republic Style
Tehran replays same old tactics against opposition. [ analysis ] The tactics that Iran's Islamic regime has employed against the opposition Green Movement follow a well-worn pattern that can be...
Tehran Updates: New Call for March 1 March; Regime Pressed to Free Greens
Video of recent verbal assault on Faizeh Hasehmi, daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, apparently by plainclothes security agents. She is repeatedly addressed as "garbage" and several times as "whore."...
Solemn City: Tehran on the Eve of the Protests
Beneath the gloom, a sense of something churning. [ passport ] Last month I finally got the chance to fly back to Iran for the first time since the June...
Opinion: A Hellhole for Protesters
Iranian demonstrators' incomparable courage in face of systematic atrocities. [ comment ] With the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and the...
Update: Mousavi, Karroubi Reportedly Moved to 'Safe House' near Capital
[ comment ] International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) reports that, according to a well-informed source, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been transferred to a...
UN Nuke Report Asserts Ongoing Iran Stonewall, 'Further Concerns'
Indications that country's atomic program has recovered from Stuxnet attack. [ analysis ] The United Nations has obtained new information that Iran may have worked on making nuclear weapons, according...
Iran on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
[ primer ] For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood was the largest organized opposition party in Egypt. It is Islamist. What are its similarities and differences with Iran's Islamic revolution? The...
Hardline Clerics Hold Hush-Hush Convention
Indications that plotting Rafsanjani's fall was at center of agenda. [ analysis ] Two important events occurred almost simultaneously this week in Iran -- the elections for the national...
Opinion: Start Worldwide Campaign for Green Movement Leaders' Release
Time to take a stand to free Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. [ opinion ] The demonstrations in Iran on February 14 and 20 ended a myth -- more...
Tehran Updates: Greens Plan Tuesday Protests, Heavy Security in Capital
[ comment ] The Coordination Committee for the Green Path of Hope, which consists of advisors and aides to Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, has issued its third...
Revolution Not in the Cards in Iran
[ opinion ] Vladimir Lenin had a formula for diagnosing the symptoms of revolution, "Those at the bottom won't, those at the top can't." He argued that revolution required mass...
Mariam's Story
Arbitrary arrests -- cornerstone of a campaign of intimidation. [ dispatch ] Among all the Green Iranian youth I've met in Tehran, "Mariam," a 23-year-old student at the University of...
New US Sanctions on Iran for Human Rights Abuses
[ dispatch ] The United States imposed new sanctions on two top Iranian officials for engaging in "serious human rights abuses" since the disputed 2009 election. In a striking run...
Tehran Updates: Ahmadinejad's Astonishment, New Green Charter
[ comment ] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed his astonishment over what is happening in Libya, asking rhetorically, "How is it possible that the ruler of a country kills his...
Iran's Approach to the Arab Uprisings
Iran's case-by-case approach to the Arab uprisings. [ analysis ] Reading some of the newspapers in the Sunni-majority Arab states, you may get the impression that Tehran's long regional arm...
The Pseudo-Parliament of Iran's Private Sector
[ analysis ] In the most important election to take place in Iran since the controversial June 2009 presidential contest, the leadership of the influential Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry,...
The Mujahedeen-e Khalq Controversy
What is the Mujahedeen-e Khalq organization? The Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), or the People's Mujahedeen Organization, was founded in 1965 as an urban guerrilla group opposed to the monarchy of Shah...
Iran 'Condemns Clampdown on Pro-Democracy Protesters' ... in Libya
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Imagination Dead Imagine
A visiting Faust-Fantasy suggests flights of fancy often grounded in Iran. [ theater ] The 29th Fajr International Theater Festival concluded in Tehran on Sunday. Eighteen plays from Iran, Italy,...
What I Saw: 1 Esfand
[ dispatch ] I headed out around noon on Sunday to Haft-e Tir Square. Except for a slowly but steadily increasing number of guards and police, I did not...
Tehran Updates: 1 Esfand / February 20
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Reflections on the Day of Commemoration
Demonstrations amid heavy security presence on streets of Tehran. [ on the scene ] The first day of commemoration for those killed this past Monday again saw sizable demonstrations, although...
Iranian Women and Wagner's Parsifal
Echoes of a 19th-century fable of compassion in the stories of 21st-century women. [ opera ] Arash is a Tehrani musician. He lives alone in a cold, empty three-story...
Tehran Updates: Gag Top Greens, Say Guardian Council, Judiciary Heads
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
'God, Let Me Die Standing': Remembering Mohammad Mokhtari
Martyr: "a person who sacrifices something of great value and esp. life itself for the sake of principle." [ memorial ] Mohammad Mokhtari, a 22-year-old university student, died on...
Iran's Labor Flash Point
Can Green activists build a coalition with workers' groups? [ analysis ] Iran's labor movement and working class have been pivotal political actors for more than a century, with one...
Saneh Jaleh and the Battle for a Slain Protester's Memory
Regime attempts to exploit legacy of theater student killed in 25 Bahman demonstrations. [ dispatch ] A day after a university student was shot to death during anti-regime protests in...
MPs: 'Execute Mousavi, Karroubi'; Clinton: Regime Shows Its 'Hypocrisy'
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
25 Bahman and the Green Revival
Surprising success of Monday demonstrations shows regime in a bind. [ on the scene ] It appears that up to 350,000 people turned out on the streets of Tehran for...
US Gets Tougher on Iran
Significant shift in tone vs. response to 2009 protests. [ spotlight ] The Obama administration has become increasingly outspoken about Iran since the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings. The main focus...
Iran Live Blog: 25 Bahman / 14 February
Iran Standard Time (IRST), GMT+3:30 7:30 a.m., 26 Bahman/Feb 15 The regime's security forces tried, with some success, to choke off access by protesters to the primary march route...
'Stay Together and Together Stay Strong': 3 Friends Prepare for 25 Bahman
[ dispatch ] In the last two days, so many things have happened that it would require a large team of analysts to evaluate the causes and the effects....
The Call to Rally / Latest Updates: Guard Chief Reported Unsure of Troops
As of midnight Iran Standard Time (20:30 GMT, 3:30 p.m. EST), Tehran Bureau is providing updates on events in Iran via a 25 Bahman live blog. Updates -- Sunday, 24...
The Future of Democracy in Iran: Is 'Collective Experience' the Key?
Democracy in Modern Iran: Islam, Culture, and Political Change (New York University Press, 2010), by Ali Mirsepassi [ IDÉ ] Ali Mirsepassi's latest volume, Democracy in Modern Iran: Islam, Culture...
'Door Door': Vignettes for Valentine's
"Delam tang shode" Literal translation: My stomach has become tight (for you) Used to express the feeling of missing somebody. One can refer to the stomach in several metaphorical...
Panahi: 'They Can Not Keep Me from Dreaming'; Month of Bahman Banned!
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Henry Rollins Introduces Shirin Neshat to 'Les Hipsters'
Famed eighties punk rocker Henry Rollins takes Iranian artist Shirin Neshat for a spin in the East Village. Source: avantcaire...
President vs. Parliament: The Tehran Political Game Heats Up
Behbahani impeachment highlights most recent round. Next: Who will score big with the budget? [ analysis ] While the world is captivated by the events in Egypt, developments in Iran...
Report: Karroubi under House Arrest, Visitors Barred, Advisers Jailed
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
A Revolution's Anniversary: Iran's Creeping Military Rule
[ Q&A ] w/ Shaul Bakhash, the Clarence Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University. Iran's revolution marks its anniversary on Feb. 11. What is the political situation in...
Green Leaders: 'End Rule of Hooligans'; Calls Grow for Monday Rally
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Our Iranian Character
Translator's note: Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh is a leading figure in modern Persian writing. The Hemingway of Iran, he broke with the florid 19th-century style that unfortunately continues to convolute Iranian...
Executed Dutch Iranian Surreptitiously Buried; Chief Justice Hails Hangings
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Egypt's Revolution Terrifies Iran's Hardliners
Regime insists 1979 Revolution inspired 2011 uprisings, fears very different parallels. [ analysis ] Egypt's revolution has been reverberating throughout the Middle East and North Africa, terrifying every dictator and...
For Iran, Both Hope and Danger in Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood's involvement won't necessarily produce comforting result for Iranian regime. [ comment ] Strategically, Iran is hedging its position on the new Middle East turmoil. The theocrats like to...
Greens Seek Egyptian Solidarity March; State Media: Protesters 'Thank Iran'
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Calling Minister's Impeachment Illegal, President Keeps Him on 3 More Months
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
US Hikers' Trial to Start Sunday; Report: Pahlavis Seek Shelter for Mubarak
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Salehi Openly Defies Supreme Leader, Hails Ahmadinejad's 'Special Envoys'
IRNA | Press TV | Feb 5 Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters today that the appointment of special envoys by the president helps advance the Foreign Ministry's...
Virginity Still a Commodity in Iran
Iranians, Clerics Seek to Redefine Female 'Virginity' [ dispatch ] Social attitudes in Iran have changed greatly since the 1979 revolution, but the taboo on premarital sex remains, at...
Iran and Egypt, Twin Outsiders of the Muslim World
A resonant history of influence and inspiration suggests it is now the turn of the Iranian people, and soon. [ comment ] Tahseen Bashir, the late Egyptian intellectual and erudite...
Political Prisoners' Lawyer Imprisoned, Disbarred; Report on Iran, Nuke Arms
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Egypt 2011: Iran 1979 or 2009...or Neither?
Ideological domination of Islamic Revolution and Republic marks the crucial difference. [ analysis ] The rapid political developments in Egypt that have brought the 30-year dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak...
Women, Islam, Egypt, and Iran
Most female protesters in Egypt choose to wear the hejab, while Iranian women have struggled to shed it. [ comment ] Many pundits are comparing the Iranian uprising following the...
'79/'11: Another Tottering Dictator, Another U.S. Dilemma
Muslim Brotherhood's pragmatism suggests Islamic Republic not likely model for what comes next. [ comment ] Comparisons are being made between 1979 revolutionary Iran and the current uprising in...
Mousavi, Karroubi Condemn State Killing Spree; More EU Rights Abuse Sanctions?
Press Roundup provides selected excerpts of news and opinion pieces from the Iranian and international media. Click on the link to the story to read it in full. Tehran Bureau...
Iranian Parliament Impeaches Minister of Transportation
Long-time Ahmadinejad associate dismissed in aftermath of IranAir disaster. [ dispatch ] Members of the Majles, Iran's parliament, impeached Minister of Transportation Hamid Behbahani today. The impeachment debate took place...
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