Commentary
2013 | A Rough Year for Iran
Alireza Nader is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and a lecturer on Iranian politics at the George Washington University. [ comment ] For Iran, 2013 could...
Comment | The Complex Mechanics of Removing US Sanctions on Iran
Even a nuclear pact may not be enough to make it happen. Navid Hassibi is a doctoral student at the University of Antwerp, focusing his research on the nuclear weapons...
Analysis | Drones and the US-Iran Shadow War
A look at the likely next theater in an unceasing conflict. [ overview ] The Islamic Republic of Iran learned the importance of unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, technology...
New Media | Against a Shattered Justice System, the Power of YouTube
How viral video can make a difference for Iranians. [ opinion ] Despite the Iranian government's well-documented lack of respect for its citizens' civil and political rights, it readily...
Diaspora | Community (Re)Defined: Hailing Successes, Recognizing Failures
Reflections on ten years working for the Iranian American community. Ramin Bajoghli is the President of the Board of Advisors of Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB), a non-profit organization...
Debate | A Democratic and Unified Opposition Is a Strategic Imperative
"A frank dialogue to address contentious issues and break longstanding taboos is a fundamental step to that end." Loghman H. Ahmedi is the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan's head...
Analysis | Iran's Nuclear Program: A Shift in the Winds?
Shaul Bakhash is the Clarence Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University. [ comment ] In the wake of President Obama's re-election, Iran has been signaling its readiness...
Q&A | Iran's Post-U.S. Influence in Iraq
Jim Jeffrey was U.S. Ambassador to Iraq from 2010-2012. He was also ambassador to Turkey, and deputy national security advisor under the George W. Bush administration. He is now...
Opinion | Don't Abandon Iran's Internet Generation to Online Oppression
Sattar Beheshti's death underscores importance of ensuring Iranians' access to online security technology. The author is a Green Movement supporter and activist in Tehran. [ comment ] Imagine you...
Comment | The Courage of Sattar Beheshti
"It would make me ill, to not write and not speak." The author is a political activist and journalist who recently left Iran. [ opinion ] All I've been hearing...
Comment | Will Obama Win Jumpstart Diplomacy?
Patrick Clawson is Director for Research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. [ Q&A ] Diplomacy has been on hold since the last round of talks in...
Comment | "Bi Khial": An Iranian State of Mind
Kamin Mohammadi is the author of The Cypress Tree. She is a journalist, travel writer, and broadcaster currently living in Italy. Three months after returning to Tehran, I started...
Comment | Sanctioning a Revolution?
By fueling identity politics and undermining civil society, Western economic pressure actually helps prop up the system. Behzad Sarmadi is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto's Department of...
Comment | Ahmadinejad v. The Islamic Republic
Clash with judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani latest front in mounting internal conflict. [ comment ] With eight months to go until the end of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, his clashes...
Analysis | Another Presidential Election
What Ayatollah Khamenei, and the reformists, may be looking for. Gareth Smyth, a frequent Tehran Bureau contributor, has covered Middle Eastern politics since 1992, and was Tehran bureau chief...
Comment | A Message to Tehran, Not Tel Aviv
[ comment ] As the Iranian presidential election draws closer and the growing severity of Western sanctions makes life increasingly difficult for ordinary Iranians, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps...
Analysis | Sanctions Bite, Iran Scrambles
Islamic Republic could be moving toward Soviet-style command and control economic management. Q&A with Gary Clyde Hufbauer, the Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The...
The Arts | Sanctions' Impact on Cultural Heritage: Iran and the Case of Cuba
Doing damage with a broad brush. Gerardo Contino is a lawyer specializing in intellectual property. He has worked in the arts for over a decade in Cuba and the United...
Analysis | Iran's Wizard of Oz Economics
There's every sign of a bubble that's about to burst. Paul Sullivan is a professor of economics at the National Defense University and an adjunct professor of security studies...
Opinion | A Window of Opportunity
After U.S. presidential race and before Iranian one, time will be ripe for a nuclear deal. Michael Miner is a teaching fellow at Harvard University. He is a member of...
Comment | Bobak Ferdowsi! But What's in a Name?
A questionable quest for "authenticity" in the Iranian diaspora. Sanaz Raji is a Ph.D. scholar at the Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds, and associate lecturer of postcolonial media...
Analysis | The Rial World: What Led to 'Black Wednesday,' and What's Next
The rial asunder: cartoon by Mana Neyestani for Radio Zamaneh. [ analysis ] A heavy police and security presence was evident around Tehran on Thursday, apparently intended to discourage further...
Analysis | Will Iran Close the Strait of Hormuz?
Alireza Nader, coauthor of Israel and Iran: A Dangerous Rivalry (RAND, 2011), is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation.[ comment ] Iran's repeated threats to close the...
Analysis | How Would Iran Fight Back?
Alireza Nader, coauthor of Israel and Iran: A Dangerous Rivalry (RAND, 2011), is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. [ comment ] Iran's response to Israeli or...
Opinion | A World beyond Waltz: Neither Iran nor Israel Should Have the Bomb
In today's Middle East, advocating a nuclear-armed "balance of power" is folly. Jacek Kugler is a scholar of international relations and former chair of the department of politics and policy...
Comment | Disaster Mismanagement: Lessons of the East Azerbaijan Quakes
How political paranoia, corruption, and in-fighting hampered relief efforts, while the humanitarian crisis continues. Morad Mansouri is a pen name for a staff writer at Iran Labor Report. He lives...
Opinion | Iran's Neo-Apartheid: Rampant Persecution of Baha'is in Cradle of Faith
The Islamic Republic's treatment of its Baha'i citizens has a surprising and shameful precedent. Winston Nagan is a professor of law and the founding director of the Institute for Human...
Comment | Iran, the Left, and the NAM: A Guide for the Perplexed
Staying true to the moral compass. Danny Postel is the author of Reading "Legitimation Crisis" in Tehran and the coeditor, with Nader Hashemi, of The People Reloaded: The Green Movement...
Comment | The Diplomatic Opportunity in Iran's Dashed Hopes for 'Arab Spring'
Islamic Republic's increased isolation, vulnerability open door to serious negotiations. Pouya Alimagham is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan's history program. You can follow him on Twitter...
Comment | What's Behind New Iran and North Korea Pact?
John S. Park, a Junior Faculty Fellow with the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [ Q&A ] What does this agreement mean? On...
Comment | IAEA Iran Report: Little New except Reduced Bomb-Making Capacity
Half of 19.75 percent enriched uranium stockpile consumed; no rise in production rate. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist for Tehran Bureau and...
Comment | Iran Wins Tug-of-War with United States
Robin Wright, who has visited Iran regularly since 1973, is a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. [ comment...
Opinion | Tehran Summit of Nonaligned States an Opportunity for Potent Protest
Visiting leaders must be pressed to address the dire situation of the Iranian people, activists say. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist...
Region | The Specter of Syria's Alleged Chemical Weapons
Raising the stakes in an increasingly internationalized and deadly conflict. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow at...
Comment | Romney's Foreign Policy Team and Iran
"I don't know who all of his [Mitt Romney's] advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right. And sometimes...
Analysis | Israeli Media Abuzz over Looming 'Iran Decision'
A game of leaks with potentially historic consequences. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow at Truthout, an independent...
Comment | Iran Bullies Its Own Scholars into Avoiding Istanbul Conference
State media claims academic assembly a plot by "Baha'is and royalists." Dr. Eden Naby is the author of The Assyrian Experience (with Michael E. Hopper) and Afghanistan: Mullah, Marx,...
The State Blog | Nukes and Pipelines
U.S. seeks to thwart construction of Iran-Pakistan gas conduit. The State is a weekly column about Iranian security and diplomatic issues. Alex Vatanka is a scholar at the Middle East...
Analysis | US, Iranian Militaries' Growing Focus on the Persian Gulf
Iran touts deterrent capability as America devotes new assets to waterway. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow at...
Opinion | What Khamenei Must Do to Save Iran
A nation with little stomach for war must find another way. Mohammad Alireza is a pen name for a columnist in Tehran.[ opinion ] Over the past couple of...
Region | Iraqi, Syrian Developments Threaten Iran's Geopolitical Sway
Gains that followed Saddam Hussein's overthrow at risk of being reversed. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow...
The State Blog | Clueless Iranian Foreign Policy?
Is the Supreme Leader paying attention to the reality of the current situation? The State is a weekly column about Iranian security and diplomatic issues. Alex Vatanka is a scholar...
Comment | Through the Front Door: White House Hosts Iranian Americans
Watershed event symbolizes community's remarkable progress. Amir Bagherpour is the first Iranian-born graduate of West Point. He recently completed his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University in political science with a...
Comment | Cycle of Repression and Protest: Iranian Arabs in Khuzestan
Government vs. ethnic minority in region crucial to Iran's oil industry. Hamed Aleaziz is a frequent Tehran Bureau contributor and previously an editorial fellow at Mother Jones. Robin Mills, head...
The State Blog | Risks in the Revolutionary Guards' Rhetoric
Belief in their own slogans could be disastrous. The State is a weekly column about Iranian security and diplomatic issues. Alex Vatanka is a scholar at the Middle East Institute...
Comment | Bad Romance: The Curious Case of the Shah and the Neocons
The clash of realpolitik with ideological purity. Andrew Scott Cooper is the author of The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in...
The State Blog | Tehran and Baku Play Hardball
Acrimony follows Iranian failure to adapt to neighbor's growing self-reliance. The State is a weekly column about Iranian security and diplomatic issues. Alex Vatanka is a scholar at the Middle...
Comment | Saint Khamenei
The absurd attempts to forge a new Imam endanger the Iranian nation. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist for Tehran Bureau and contributes...
Opinion | It Is Time for Iran and Israel to Reassess Their Mutual Hostility
Benefits for two sides with much in common. Navid Hassibi is pursuing his doctoral studies in political science with a focus on U.S. nuclear weapons policy under the Obama administration....
Comment | West's Demands, Iran's Unrealistic Goals Sink Nuclear Talks
An analysis of the failure in Moscow, and the framework for a solution. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist for Tehran Bureau and...
Opinion | New Parliament Set for Faceoff with Ahmadinejad
But could president forge an alliance with Majles Speaker Larijani on nuclear issue? Tina Amini is a pen name for an analyst who specializes in Iranian elections. She divides her...
Analysis | What to Make of Moscow?
Farideh Farhi is an independent scholar and affiliate graduate faculty at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. [ analysis ] Analyses of the Moscow talk results have been quite...
Opinion | Apple's 'Iran Policy' Shows Why We Can't Shy Away from Politics
U.S.-Iranian relations affect the entire community. Nobar Elmi is the director of community outreach and programming at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). She previously served as a legislative...
Comment | Iran's Nuclear Calculus
Mutual perceptions of weakness yield little progress. Ali Vaez is the International Crisis Group's senior Iran analyst. Before joining ICG, he headed the Iran project at the Federation of...
Opinion | Understanding Iranian Defiance
A psyche that doesn't bow to bullying. Parvin Shirzad is a pen name for a journalist who travels frequently to Iran. She was recently based in Tehran for a year....
Profiles | These Three Women: Ashton, Schmid, Sherman and the Nuclear Talks
The trio that holds the key to negotiations with Iran. [ comment ] The latest round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group -- the five permanent members of...
A Tale of Two Oil Shocks | Part 1: 1973-76
When the Shah persuaded OPEC to double the price of oil, with global consequences. Andrew Scott Cooper is the author of The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran and...
Profiles | Journalist & Blogger: Two Who Fight for Iranians' Human Rights
The lives, careers, and prison sentences of Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand and Hossein Ronaghi Maleki. [ comment ] In the struggle for the fundamental rights of the Iranian people and the...
Sports | The Lions of Persia
Politics on the pitch. [ comment ] FIFA administers six continental football confederations. One of them, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in turn, directs each Asian football federation, such...
Analysis | America's Catch-22: The Iran Question in Afghanistan
Beijing and Moscow may increasingly undercut America's stance on Iran. Christina Lin is a visiting fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced...
Comment | Tehran's Views on U.S. Politics and Nuclear Talks
Iran will probably stall on nuclear talks until after the U.S. Presidential election in November. Mehdi Khaliji, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, studied...
Comment | Khamenei Consolidates Control amid Other Power Shifts
Iran's Supreme Leader is back firmly in control. Mehrzad Boroujerdi is a professor of political science at Syracuse University. He has compiled a database with detailed information on nearly...
Economy | Goldsmiths' War
View from the ground: How the political and economic elites benefit from a trumped-up conflict. D.H. is a scholar in Tehran. [ comment ] There are few quicker ways...
Opinion | Sounding the Wrong School Alarm in Iran
The real issue isn't access, it's the questionable benefits of formal schooling for the average Iranian child. [ education ] In an item posted on his blog Monday, Prof. Djavad...
Jame'eye Baaz | The Flexibility of Khamenei's So-Called 'Nuclear Fatwa'
Some things are certain and lasting...and then there are Supreme Leaders' "fatwas." Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi is a doctoral student in modern Middle East studies at Queens College, University of Oxford. Jame'eye...
Comment | Threats and Sanctions: The Achilles' Heel of a Potential Atom Accord
How Article 52 of the Vienna Convention hangs over the nuclear talks. Reza Nasri is an international lawyer and a Ph.D. candidate in international law, conducting research on Charter law...
Comment | Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a Global Game of Risk
Looming Saudi decision on its stockpiled oil pivotal to U.S., Iranian economies. Andrew Scott Cooper is the author of The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran and Saudi Arabia...
Opinion | Let's Make a Deal: Serious Sanctions Relief Imperative for Iran Pact
Reaching a real accord with Iran will require real compromise -- and that means real easing of sanctions. Kate Gould is legislative associate for Middle East policy at the...
Comment | The Plight of Iran's Baha'is
Arash and Kamiar Alaei, physicians specializing in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, were found guilty in 2009 of "cooperating with an enemy government" and sentenced to five years' imprisonment....
Comment | New Study of Iranians' Democratic Values Causes Stir
Research finds exceptional gap between people's values and form of government. Amir Bagherpour leads a public policy research initiative at the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA). The...
Analysis | The Iran-Syria-Turkey Triangle
From trade to sectarian issues to regional influence, angles within angles. Alex Vatanka is a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. Previously, he was a analyst at...
Opinion | Intervention Proponents Try to Scuttle Nuclear Talks with Iran
Dr. Muhammad Sahimi is a professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and the NIOC Chair in Petroleum Engineering, which was established by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1973...
Comment | How to Engage Iran in Baghdad: Toward a Win-Win Strategy
Emphasize potential rewards rather than further punishments. Angie Ahmadi is an associate at the National Iranian American Council. [ opinion ] The recent nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.N....
Comment | Poison Names: The Lexicon of Iranian 'McCarthyism'
From "monafeghin" to "fitnagar," examining a venomous vocabulary. Arash Karami is a frequent Tehran Bureau contributor. [ comment ] UAE-based writer Sultan al-Qassemi's recently published "McCarthyism in Gulf Social Media"...
Comment | Iran's Economy: Once More to the Precipice
"We're broke. Everything seems doomed to grind to a standstill, and meanwhile many of the programs we had planned must be postponed." Andrew Scott Cooper is the author of The...
Profile | Nationalist, Religious, and Resolute: Narges Mohammadi
Imprisoned for no offense other than defending her fellow Iranians' human rights. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist for Tehran Bureau and contributes...
Business | 2012 Iranian Oil Survey
Purchasing trends, supply-demand projections don't bode well for Tehran. Matthew M. Reed is a Middle East specialist at Foreign Reports, Inc., a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. The views expressed...
Region | The Future of Egypt and What It Means for Iran
Relations with Islamic Republic unlikely to improve under Egypt's shadow government. Amir Bagherpour leads a public policy research initiative at the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA). The first...
Comment | Hollande Victory in France Lessens Likelihood of War with Iran
Signs of a significant shift from Sarkozy's hard line. [ comment ] The second round of France's presidential elections was held on Sunday, pitting François Hollande against the incumbent Nicolas...
Comment | Parviz Sabeti and the Murder of Political Prisoners under the Shah
Remembering Bijan Jazani and other victims of the SAVAK. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor at the University of Southern California, is a columnist for Tehran Bureau and contributes regularly to other...
Comment | Virtual Votes: Questions over New Electronic Election System
Stronger voter ID verification, but even less transparency in ballot tabulation. Tina Amini is a pen name for an analyst who specializes in Iranian elections. She divides her time...
Comment | Getting Recognized the Right Way: What Iranian Americans Can Learn
The Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive From the "clown phase" to "The Godfather," other immigrant experiences have a lot to teach. Amir Bagherpour...
Comment | Small Islands, Gross Appeal to Persian Nationalism
The cynical side to the wrangle over Abu Musa and the Tunbs. Arash Karami is a frequent contributor. He also co-writes the "Behind the Curtain" blog for Tehran Bureau....
Region | Homegrown: 14 Months of 'Bahrain Spring'
Debate over Iranian, Saudi influence in island nation obscures nature of social uprising. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and...
Region | Such a Drag: Taliban Fashion Fling Fizzles
Cross-dressed guerrillas fail to terrorize Afghans. Nushin Arbabzadah writes the "Islamic Republic Next Door" column on Afghanistan for Tehran Bureau. She is a former BBC journalist and a regular contributor...
Analysis | Strike Out? Doubts Cast on Israeli Ability to Cripple Iran Atom Efforts
But no letup in pressure to deny Iran "capability" of building a bomb. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and...
Comment | Iran's Calculations in New Diplomatic Talks
Alireza Nader, coauthor of Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran, is a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation [ Q&A ] What did Iran get out of the talks with...
Q&A | Istanbul Talks in a Nutshell
Michael Adler is a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Previously he covered the International Atomic Energy Agency for Agence France-Presse. He was in...
Satire | The Nuclear Standoff: How to Negotiate with Iran
Cry, start yelling, act offended...praise God. Setareh Sabety is a writer based in Nice, France. [ satire ] Everybody and their mother is writing "how to" pieces about negotiating with...
Opinion | Obama's Gamble with Iran: How Many More Spins of the Wheel?
Sanctions are beginning to bite both ways. Reza Sanati is a research fellow at the Middle East Studies Center in Miami and a Ph.D. candidate at the Florida International University...
Region | Syrian Ceasefire Takes Effect, But Violence Unlikely to End
Unmonitored aftermath poses new perils to opposition. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow at Truthout, an independent online...
Opinion | U.S. Demands Will Doom Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
Insisting on the impossible, when a clear path to a solution actually exists. Dr. Muhammad Sahimi is a professor of chemical engineering and materials science, and the NIOC Chair in...
Comment | Our Stunted Growth
33 and little change. Dr. Iraj Omidvar teaches English at Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, Georgia. [ comment ] My heart sunk at the thought of the end of Nowruz,...
Analysis | Iran's Nuclear Program: Still No Breaking Point in Sight
New oil sanctions could be devastating, but Khamenei regime shows no sign of backing down. Hossein Afshar is a pen name for an Iranian analyst based in Europe. [...
Analysis | Uneasy Reliance: Iran Frets about Turkey
Concerns mount over regional rivalries, but Istanbul's continuing, if partial, support for Iran's nuclear rights seen as vital. Alex Vatanka is a fellow at the Middle East Institute in...
Comment | Bombs Away: What Will It Take to Avoid War with Iran?
None of the central adversaries seems motivated to blink first. Paul Mutter is a graduate student at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU and a fellow at...
Region | Opinion: Efforts to Arm Syrian Opposition Will Only Worsen Crisis
Weapons would almost surely fall into the wrong hands. [ opinion ] Small and light weapons have always managed to find their way into Syria through smugglers, and this continues...
Comment | Assessing Iran's Parliamentary Election
[ Q&A ] w/ Mehdi Khalaji, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He studied Shia theology in the Qom seminary of Iran. Who were the...
Comment | The Bankruptcy of Reform and the 'Burning Questions of Our Movement'
The failure to address basic issues of organization has exposed irresolvable divisions. [ comment ] Although it would be premature to write the obituary of reform in Iran, the parliamentary...
Comment | Man Friday: Khatami's Vote and the Question of 'Reformism'
Has the former president's brand of reformism proved at all effective? [ comment ] To the surprise of many, even his staunchest supporters, former President Mohammad Khatami voted in...
Opinion | Khatami's Vote Yields Deep Anger, Multiple Explanations
Was there a threat to incarcerate all the remaining reformists? [ opinion ] The Majles elections of March 2 generated one huge shock. The shock was not that the...
Opinion | Depicting Iran: How Western Portrayals Justify Intervention
From the "child-like fanatic" of the Cold War era to today's "Shiite Muslim martyrdom." [ opinion ] March 5 marks the 45th anniversary of the death of Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iran's...
Opinion | Iran's Parliamentary Elections, Part II: The Role of the Military
Part I: The Political Landscape [ opinion ] As discussed in part I of this series, practically every reformist and democratic group in Iran has called for a boycott of...
Opinion | Iran's Parliamentary Elections, Part I: The Political Landscape
A farce, but an important one. [ opinion ] The elections for the Ninth Majles (parliament) since the 1979 Revolution will be held this coming Friday, March 2. These...
Comment | IAEA Reveals No Evidence Iran Engaging in Military Nuclear Activity
Nonmilitary nuclear activities continue to expand. [ comment ] The International Atomic Energy Agency released its latest report concerning Iran's nuclear program on Friday. The IAEA report makes no new...
Opinion | Khamenei: The Nuclear Decision-Maker
[ opinion ] The fate of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program--which now threatens yet another Middle East conflagration--rests in the hands of a single man: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali...
Perspectives | Bombs Targeting Israeli Diplomats and the Iran Connection
[ perspectives ] Accusations of Iranian involvement in bomb plots directed at Israeli diplomats in New Delhi and Tbilisi on Monday appear to have been strengthened by the arrests of...
Briefs | Human Rights in the Balance: Heshmatollah Tabarzadi v. IRI
Iranian regime mocks international rights norms, legal processes. [ comment ] After a semester spent studying the intricacies of international human rights law and institutions, cynical law students all invariably...
Opinion | Iranophobia and the Hysteria over Tehran's Nuclear Program
Western media and political distortions wind up serving the interests of the Islamic Republic's dictatorial regime in brief The promotion of "Iranophobia," based on the notion that the Islamic Republic...
Comment | No Laughing Matter
Iran's revolutionary images inspire unintended questions. [ comment ] Last year while I was in Iran, I spent weeks trying to find someone to digitize my family's old photographs....
Comment | Iran Then and 33 Years After the Revolution
[ Q&A ] w/ Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of "Reading Khamenei: The Worldview of Iran's Most Powerful Leader." How has...
Comment | Will Israel Really Attack Iran?
The answer is no, they will not. But you would never figure that out by reading the New York Times. [ analysis ] The sensationalist article in the Sunday New...
Comment | Analyzing the Impact of European Sanctions
[ Q&A ] w/ Patrick Clawson, Director for Research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. What does the unprecedented new European Union oil embargo on Iran mean in...
Analysis | Turkey and Iran Find Common Ground in Iraq
Shared concerns over Kurdish question bring regional powers together. [ analysis ] After months of frosty relations, Iran and Turkey are talking again. The ostensible reason for Turkish Foreign Minister...
Comment | A Celebration for 'A Separation'
Iranians in the film world and beyond cheer Golden Globe victory. [ comment ] The 2012 Golden Globes became part of Iranian history when Madonna announced the award for Best...
Timeline | The Decade-Long Covert War Against Iran
[ comment ] The assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, 32, a chemical engineer involved in Iran's nuclear program, in Tehran on Wednesday, is the latest manifestation that not only...
Comment | Will Iran Dare Close the Strait of Hormuz?
[ Q&A ] Iranian officials grabbed global headlines in recent days by threatening to close the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's traded oil passes....
Comment | Funny Money: The Rial Is Rolling for a Reason
Follow the petrodollars... [ comment ] I think there are fundamental structural problems in the Iranian economy caused by some of the policies of the Ahmadinejad administration. What you have...
Analysis | Subtle Sabotage: Iran's Other Option in the Strait of Hormuz
There's more than one way to disrupt the vital sea lane, and the result could be catastrophic. [ opinion ] A significant consequence of the rising rhetorical hostility between the...
Opinion | Crisis in Syria: The Shadow of Sectarianism and Moscow's Stake
Who will dare mount up and hound the Russians? [ opinion ] The Arab League's observer mission to Syria has been a disappointment, but that should come as no surprise....
Analysis | The US Drone: Iran's Potential Gift to Russia
An erratic alliance viewed optimistically by an isolated regime. [ analysis ] Iran claims to have forced down a sophisticated U.S. spy drone on December 4. Nine days later, President...
Opinion | Potential Attack Threatens Peaceful Movement for Change
An attack could be exactly what the Islamic Republic's rulers are looking for. [ opinion ] The possibility of a military strike against Iran has become a focal point of...
Opinion | Strategic Clarity and the Prospect of a Nuclear Iran
Considering the real costs and benefits of military engagement and the courage of restraint. [ opinion ] The nuclear conundrum in Iran has taken center stage in the United States...
Comment | Give Iran Good Television
In its present form, VOA's Persian service is a waste of U.S. tax dollars. [ media ] Whatever policy the United States adopts toward Iran, it will need to communicate...
Media | Iran's War Against Western Culture: Never Ending, Always Losing
Three decades seen through the changing wares of a black-market home-entertainment provider. [ comment ] Asghar Agha is a happy man. The Iranian government is losing the information and cultural...
Comment | Protecting Rights of Gay Citizens in Iran
In land where homosexuality can yield death sentence, little hope that regime will heed a recent U.N. appeal. [ comment ] It has always been hard to be gay in...
Background | Fierce Debate over Diaspora Activists' Statement
Are signatories 'Fifth Columnists' or representatives of the new face of Iranian patriotism? [ background ] Last month, a group of 185 Iranians in the diaspora released a statement that...
Opinion | Islamist Fictions, Leftist Fashions, and the Embassy Invasion
A restaging full of sound and fury, signifying only worn-out ideological posturing. [ opinion ] Many like me were struck by an image from the pro-regime attack on the British...
Opinion | Breaking the Stalemate
Editor's note: Earlier this month, a group of Iranian activists in the diaspora issued a statement calling on the Islamic Republic to "temporarily and conditionally suspend its uranium enrichment" and...
Opinion | Humanitarian Intervention or Naked Military Aggression?
In the view of this columnist, there is no doubt that the Tehran regime has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of the vast majority of the Iranian people. There...
Analysis | Newfound Status for Iran's Regular Armed Forces
Supreme Leader puts them on near-equal footing with Revolutionary Guards in apparent bid to build unity, loyalty. [ analysis ] To fully appreciate the political standing of Iran's regular armed...
Opinion | The Guard Base Explosion and the Question of Culpability
Preoccupation with internal repression weakens Iran's national security. [ opinion ] As reported here, there was a huge explosion on Saturday at a military base about 30 miles west of...
Opinion | The GOP Debate and the Iran 'Insurgency' Illusion
Leading candidates appear to have little understanding of the Green Movement. [ opinion ] Last night's GOP debate in South Carolina came at a time when the specter of...
Opinion | The IAEA Report on Iran's Nuclear Program: Alarming or Hyped?
Follow the laptop. [ opinion ] The much anticipated report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's nuclear program was finally released by the agency. For at least...
Tech | Iran's New 3G Mobile Network: Another Step to Curb Freedoms?
Popularization of smartphones enhances ability of regime to "track and control." But is that the motivation behind the new mobile network? By PAYAM FARAMARZI [ point ] As promised by...
Analysis | No Elected President for Iran?
Challenges ahead for this to become a political reality. [ analysis ] In mid-October, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech that Iran's executive presidency could be replaced by...
Region | Making Sense of Suffering
The land of the brave and the home of the emotionally crippled. [ comment ] Visiting my father's grave in Hamburg's Muslim cemetery, I discovered that it was close to...
Analysis | Arab Spring Creates New Rifts between Turkey and Iran
Diverging interests, different regional visions strain powers' partnership. [ analysis ] By all accounts, it's been a tough year for Iran. The recent revelation of an alleged Iranian assassination plot...
Opinion | The Push for War with Iran
Dear Mr. President: We are writing you because we are convinced that current American policy toward Iraq is not succeeding, and that we may soon face a threat in the...
Opinion | Iran after the Iraq Pullout
The ties that bind. [ opinion ] The U.S. announcement that virtually all American troops would be out of Iraq by December 31 has led to a wave of recriminations...
Region | Who Will Rule the Road?
New money, old money, imported values, ubiquitous guns -- the Afghan boulevard. [ comment ] Stuck in a traffic jam in Kabul one evening this summer, I took a brief...
The Iran Plot May Be Just That
A Plot [ comment ] The bizarre case of Mansour Arbabsiar leaves plenty of room to be skeptical about its true nature. That doesn't mean, however, that analysts and Iran...
The Islamic Republic Prefers to Pull the Strings
Keeping violence at arm's length, manipulating the faithful -- tried-and-true tactics that make this week's charges untenable. [ opinion ] Iran has been accused of plotting to kill the Saudi...
Questions over Alleged Islamic Republic Assassination Plot in US
From motive to method, elements of purported plan don't readily add up. [ comment ] On Tuesday afternoon, ABC News reported that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and...
Fate of the Green Movement Leaders
[ Q&A ] w/ Geneive Abdo, director of the InsideIRAN project and coauthor of Answering Only to God: Faith and Freedom in Twenty-First Century Iran. Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein...
Region | My Heedless Afghan Home
Introducing a new column on the Islamic Republic next door. [ comment ] This column will not change your life, but it might change your mind about Afghanistan. Let me...
Challenging the Balance of Power: Ahmadinejad vs. Parliament
This is the eleventh in a series on parliamentary elections due in March 2012. [ Q&A ] w/ Hosein Ghazian, an Iranian sociologist and former pollster. He is currently a...
Death at the State's Hands ... and the Approving Crowd
What the media missed during Ahmadinejad's New York tour. [ comment ] Last week, while most of us were watching Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal's long overdue reunion with...
'A Media All on His Own': Ahmadinejad's Twilight Stand
A look at the president's New York trip -- possibly his last -- and his adviser on U.S. affairs. [ notebook ] The arrival of Iran's president the last...
Tehran, TX: Another Connection
Classroom wars: Similar efforts at curriculum control, but guess who has greater respect for the experts. [ comment ] Late last May, the Texas Board of Education finalized revisions to...
Region | Rabbani's Assassination and the Endless Circle of Afghan Violence
Where the embrace of violent death seems like destiny. [ opinion ] There was poetic justice to the veteran Afghan jihadi leader Burhanuddin Rabbani's death yesterday at the hands of...
Time to Seek Political Asylum? A Letter of Advice to Ahmadinejad
"You are a shrewd man, Mr. President. Think of something for your future. It's not looking good." [ satire ] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in the United States for the...
Ahmadinejad's Trip and a Possible Diplomatic Opening
Electoral concerns should not interfere with opportunity for progress on nuclear issue. [ opinion ] The U.N. General Assembly starts today and as expected, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made...
50 Lashes for Journalist Somayyeh Tohidloo in 'Freest Country in the World'
Female blogger, convicted of insulting Ahmadinejad, illegally lashed by man. [ comment ] Somayyeh Tohidloo is a journalist and a political and social activist. She was born on December 22,...
Iran's Growing State of Civil Disobedience
Iran's new "Greens"? [ opinion ] The Iranian regime faces a threat even more daunting than the 2009 Green Movement protests: a disparate yet potentially powerful civil disobedience movement motivated...
Leaked UN and NATO Plans for Libya: Lessons for Iranians
Week in Pictures photo and caption from The Onion. Western intervention is seldom 'humanitarian.' [ opinion ] The "liberation" of Libya is being celebrated by some Iranians in the diaspora...
Lessons for Brazil in Libya, Iran?
A cautious policy, its costs, and how it may be echoed in the Syrian situation. [ comment ] Brazil is insisting that it will not recognize the Transitional National Council...
Goodbye Oral-B: An Iranian Woman's Struggle with Sanctions
Everyday consequences for ordinary people. [ comment ] Who feels the pain of sanctions? ME. I am a good Iranian citizen and when the president of my country and other...
Iraq Adopts Iran's Backing of Assad
[ Q&A ] w/ Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan, who runs the Informed Comment weblog. He has authored many books on the Middle East. His...
Is the Arrest of Ahmadinejad Imminent?
Well-publicized signs, new revelations all point in that direction. [ opinion ] Evidence is piling up that suggests Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will order the arrest of President...
If Assad Goes: Syria's Options
Pondering a post-Assad Syria. [ opinion ] The United States has finally called on Syria's president to resign. Assuming he did, who would succeed Bashar al-Assad? Some analysts say the...
Mousavian: Iran is Ready to Negotiate--If
[ Q&A ] An interview with Seyed Hossein Mousavian. Seyed Hossein Mousavian was foreign policy adviser to former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani (2005-07); former spokesman of Iran's nuclear negotiation team...
Prospects for U.S.-Iran Diplomacy
[ Q&A ] A conversation with Geoffrey Kemp, director, Center for the National Interest's regional strategic programs. He served on the National Security Council during the first Reagan administration and...
Opinion | How to Help the People of Camp Ashraf
Removing group from terrorist list would do nothing to help reportedly abused rank and file. [ opinion ] The Obama administration will decide this month whether to remove the Iranian...
Iran's Alleged Ties to the Taliban
[ Q&A ] What is the status of Iran's relations with the Taliban today? Have there been significant changes since 2001? The Islamic Republic of Iran has no official relation...
The Bloody Red Summer of 1988: Grave Crimes against Humanity
[ in-depth ] Between July and September of 1988, thousands of political prisoners were executed in Iran. The executions were neither the first nor the last such tragic events to...
Khamenei Moves to Regain Grip on Absolute Power
[ overview ] Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has added another organ to Iran's already convoluted power structure. The ostensible mission of the new chamber, the Supreme Council for Resolving the...
The Politics of the Hidden Imam
As Shiites celebrated the Hidden Imam's birthday, festivity details signaled a major shift in Iranian political dynamics. [ comment ] For a long time, 15 Sha'aban has been celebrated joyously...
Oppression 2.0: Iranian Discontent in Cyberspace
Dissent via social media vs. censorship, Cyber Army, and the 'Halal Internet.' [ overview ] The state of Iranian cyberspace is yet another example of the repressive relationship between the...
Mohammad Khatami and His Critics
If the criticism is sincere, what exactly is the alternative? [ opinion ] The ever-deepening rift between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the expanding confrontation between their respective...
Ahmadinejad's Days Numbered?
No real signs that Ahmadinejad and his opponents are moving towards a compromise. [ overview ] The arrest of a close ally of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is being seen as...
A Letter to Ahmadinejad from a Housewife in Khorasan
[ provinces ] Excerpted from a letter to Khorasan News. The Khorasan region is in northeastern Iran. Photo taken by kamshots.co.uk in Qazvin, in the northwest. Mr. President, I am...
Comment | Iran's Nuclear Moves and Increased Tensions
[ opinion ] The conflict over Iran's nuclear program appears to be getting worse. In June, Iran decided to relocate 20 percent enrichment at its fortified Fordow enrichment plant near...
Ahmadinejad vs. the Revolutionary Guards
Does Ahmadinejad have a fighting chance? [ comment ] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in hot water these days. His challenge to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which began after he...
Khamenei versus Khamenei: Will Ahmadinejad Be Impeached?
A crucial shift of sentiment by the Supreme Leader's son. Despite the transparency of your positions, there have been reports that your respected son -- Mr. Seyyed Mojtaba -- has...
Paint it Black: The Hejab Hype and the Force of Fear
How repression of women's rights and removal of media taboos work hand in hand. [ comment ] The Islamic Republic's crackdown on hejab and the media hype surrounding the issue,...
A Case for U.S.-Iran Diplomacy
[ Q&A ] w/ Roberto Toscano, who served as Italy's ambassador to Iran between 2003 and 2008: Along with five former European ambassadors to Iran, you wrote an open letter...
The Nationalist-Religious Movement | Part 1: Patriots and Mosaddeghists
Defending democracy, resisting the Shah. [ series ] Since World War II, Iranian nationalists who also believe in an enlightened interpretation of Islamic teachings -- those referred to in this...
UPDATED: On Supporting Iranian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
How to help out those who have put their lives on the line. [ opinion ] Ever since Iran's rigged presidential election in 2009, the hardliners have been cracking down...
Where Rape Only Begins the Violation
How the Islamic Republic excuses and exploits sexual violence against women. [ opinion ] She is a mother of two, with a drug-addicted husband. She was taken from the car...
A Day to Remember
Firsthand reflections on a defining date for a new generation of Iranians -- June 15, 2009. [ comment ] Every generation in Iran seems to have key events etched in...
IRI vs. 'Government in Exile': Foiling a Plot or Trying to Discredit Greens?
Regime builds external group up to tear homegrown opposition down. [ comment ] On Wednesday, Fars, the news agency run by the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard...
The Crisis of Legitimacy and the Green Movement
[ comment ] Author's note: This past October 9, a symposium, "Iran Ideology Conference 2010," was held at the University of California in Los Angeles. The author was one of...
24 Million = Zero: What the Greens Said Then, What the Hardliners Say Now
Mousavi and Karroubi's charges now echo from the strangest places. [ comment ] Over a month after the eruption of political furor over the resignation of Minister of Intelligence Heydar...
The New International Focus on Human Rights in Iran
U.N. appointment of special rapporteur a major step. [ comment ] On March 25, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to single out Iran as a nation deserving of...
Iran and the 'Arab Spring'
The Islamic Republic is a whole other story. [ IDÉ ] A specter is haunting the Middle East -- the specter of democracy. This has been an underlying theme of...
The Death of a Pakistan Security Journalist
Was country's top spy agency involved in Syed Saleem Shahzad's torture killing? [ comment ] In life, Syed Saleem Shahzad was a brave journalist who boldly investigated subjects few Pakistani...
The 'Virginity Checks': Sexual Abuse as a Weapon of War
Regimes target women with tactics that have a long, ugly history. [ opinion ] Rape, blackmail with nude photos, and "virginity checks" are depraved but common weapons used to bully...
Haleh Sahabi Dies at Father's Funeral, Reportedly Struck by Security Agent
Haleh Sahabi, at the bedside of her late father, Ezatollah Sahabi. [ comment ] Dr. Haleh Sahabi, daughter of Ezatollah Sahabi, who passed away on Monday, died when security...
The Libyan Intervention in the Long View
Likely consequences: a weakened NATO, a more suspicious democracy movement, and a boost for nonviolent resistance strategy. [ analysis ] As with any war, the consequences of the NATO-led military...
A Hard-Won Victory for American Soft Power
A quiet but powerful shift in U.S. policy toward Iran. [ comment ] Following President Obama's speech on the Middle East and North Africa last week, most pundits and...
The Revolutionary Guards: The Face of Israel's 'Iranian Threat'
A "very real" threat? An "utterly irrational" perception of it? Or both? [ comment ] "We, the Jewish people, cannot ignore the lessons learned from the Holocaust as they apply...
No More Mr. Nice Guy
[ comment ] Gone from President Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East was Mr. Nice Guy. Nowhere in the speech was there a mention of "the Islamic Republic...
Heroic Mongrels, or Who's Afraid of the Iranian Genome Project?
The lasting lessons of Iran's Book of Kings. [ comment ] Now that Stanford University's Iranian Genome Project has been partly funded by a diaspora philanthropic organization, speculation is...
Opinion | The Quiet Before the Storm
A deceptive calm. [ opinion ] The Arab uprisings have dramatically transformed the Middle East. But Iran, a country of pressing concern for the United States, has remained relatively calm....
Greens for Ahmadinejad?
How about a pro-Ahmadinejad rally? [ opinion ] The controversy over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's unsuccessful sacking of Heydar Moslehi from his post as Iran's minister of intelligence shows no signs...
Missing and Missed: The Dorothy Parvaz Story
Holding on to hope, searching for humanity. [ comment ] Rarely do I wake up to good news these days. But when do journalists ever wake up to good news?...
Analysis | Ahmadinejad-Khamenei Rift Deepens into Abyss
A divide growing over time, and now, an escalating crisis. [ news analysis ] In a series of articles that began in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election (see...
Ahmadinejad in the Crosshairs
Growing array of forces takes aim at president and his controversial chief of staff. [ comment ] Although it was predictable that the Moslehi affair would be costly for President...
Opinion | Keep the Curtain Closed on Bin Laden Death Photos
Decision demonstrates cultural respect, political wisdom. [ opinion ] President Barack Obama is smart not to release photos of the remains of Osama bin Laden. This decision comes amid...
Bin Laden Killing a Knotty Issue for Iran
Foreign embassies in Tehran potential targets for retaliation. [ analysis ] Tehran has reacted cautiously to news of Osama bin Laden's death. Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign...
Time to Destroy the Bin Laden Legend
Ordering misery and death while living a life of ease. [ comment ] I wasn't shocked to find out Osama bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan. After all, for...
Iran's Nightmare: Losing Syria
Islamic Republic regime fears Assad losing grip, inspiring revival of Iranian protests. [ analysis ] Iran seems to have benefited from the Arab revolts and regime changes in Africa and...
Vise Tightens on Iranian Internet Users
World's 'least free' online environment, and more restrictions on the way. [ comment ] Iran has finally managed to top a global list, but not one to be proud of....
Iranian and Saudi Competition in the Persian Gulf
[ analysis ] Saudi Arabia and the United States may not share the same political system and culture, but they do share broad strategic interests. Both countries must now deal...
Iran and the New Egypt: Better Relations, Greater Competition
Iran and Israel may face common concern as Hamas sees viable new partner on its border. [ comment ] The fall of Hosni Mubarak was good news for the government...
Iran after the Moslehi Affair
Revolutionary Guards step back from Ahmadinejad, sap Intelligence Ministry. [ analysis ] The ongoing skirmish over the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence reveals the latest alignment of forces...
A Costly Resignation
Clash between president and Supreme Leader comes into clearer view. [ comment ] The resignation of Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet and the ensuing controversy are...
Opinion | Who Is Responsible for the MKO Massacre at Camp Ashraf?
Three decades of broken promises, baseless predictions, bizarre tactics by MKO leader Masoud Rajavi. [ opinion ] On April 8, Iraqi armed forces attacked Camp Ashraf, located in Diyala,...
Majles Deputies Face Major New Restrictions
Proposed legislation would effectively criminalize parliamentary dissent. [ comment ] The Majles in Iran, despite all the measures taken to limit its powers, still enjoys a limited independence. It...
Opinion | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The Reformer
Iranian government structure, international political rhetoric occlude reform's most viable prospect. [ comment ] From the perspective of a casual observer or even the most seasoned political journalist, Mahmoud...
Jailed Iranian Journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi Wins World Press Freedom Prize
[ profile ] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced that Iranian journalist Dr. Ahmad Zeidabadi, currently serving a six-year prison sentence and banned for life...
Comment | Urban Poverty in Iran: A Sea or a Mirage?
International comparisons, domestic access to amenities belie claim of endemic urban poverty. [ comment ] A recent article on Tehran Bureau, "Iran's Cities a Sea of Poverty", claims that as...
Opinion | Operation Odyssey Dawn and a Nuclear Instruction Undone
Iran draws lesson from Libyan operation far different from what the West intended. [ opinion ] I remember my professor at Florida International University referring to the Qaddafi regime's scuttling...
Opinion | The Attacks on Libya: Lessons for Iranians
The struggle for democracy and rule of law must remain peaceful and free from foreign intervention. [ opinion ] Political developments in the Middle East and North Africa have come...
Opinion: Iranian Intellectuals Censure Regime's Nuclear Policy
Translator's note: The following call was issued by a group of Iranian intellectuals and activists on March 18, 2011, and published on the Akhbar Rooz website. -- Frieda Afary ***...
Opinion: The Limits of Iran's Soft Power
[ opinion ] Political change sweeping the Middle East has heightened concerns about a shifting balance of power in Iran's favor. But Tehran's experience in Iraq provides critical insights into...
Opinion: US Must Raise the Heat on Iran Human Rights
A three-pronged proposal to reframe American policy. [ opinion ] Barack Obama entered office promising to remake U.S. policy on Iran. He now needs to do so again by elevating...
Rafsanjani's Exit from Power: What Next?
The disappearing middle in Iranian politics. [ comment ] There is no question that ever since the Revolution of 1979, Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, universally known as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has...
Opinion: The Fog of Protest
Its leaders incommunicado, the Green Movement becomes a more nebulous target. [ opinion ] The strength of civil disobedience movements is in their decentralization and spontaneity, but as the case...
Opinion: Bloody but Unbowed
However, big questions remain: What next? And where to? [ opinion ] Iranian demonstrators have been able to establish that they do exist, despite the suppression, the arrests, and the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
'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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Salehi's Turn
Confirmation of Ahmadinejad's new foreign minister completes purge of rivals from diplomatic apparatus. [ analysis ] Born in Kazemein, Iraq, of Iranian parents in 1949, Ali Akbar Salehi joins several...
Egypt's Political Unrest: More Lessons for Iran
Plan now for the major shocks that further subsidy cuts will soon bring. [ analysis ] The revolution in Tunisia is spreading to the rest of the Arab world....
'Iranium' or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 'Military Option'
Editor's Note:In March 2011, a few months after we originally published this piece, FRONTLINE/Tehran Bureau received a complaint from a blogger who posted on Commentary magazine's web site. The...
Ahmadinejad Responsible for Failure of Nuclear Negotiations
Delusions of grandeur lead to derailment of talks. [ analysis ] Negotiations between Iran and P5+1 -- the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) plus Germany...
Why Tunisia and Not Iran
[ comment ] In Tunisia, a small, homogeneous state on the southern Mediterranean, a popular uprising forced the overthrow of a long-ruling dictator in early 2011. Ruthless repression of mass...
The Tortured Face of Iran-Afghan Relations
A heinous attack, an ugly investigation. [ comment ] Since the brutal attack on prominent Afghan journalist Razaq Mamoon five days ago, little has come out of the hunt...
Brawling over the Underground
Tehran public transportation at center of national political wrangle. [ analysis ] The rivalry between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has turned Tehran's public transportation into...
Osoolgarayan-e Gharbzadeh
The Peculiar Piousness of the Privileged Ex-Pat [ comment ] One Iranian New Year in the mid-'80s, my father was listening to our shortwave radio for the celebratory broadcast from...
Why Did the Istanbul Talks Fail?
Why did talks between Iran and the world's six major powers in Istanbul January 21-22 fail to produce any agreement or significant movement toward a compromise? [ comment ]...
Missiles and Warheads: Where Could Iran Deliver a Bomb?
Four basics about Iran's ballistic missile program. [ comment ] International concern -- and diplomacy -- over Iran's nuclear program have focused largely on Tehran's growing abilities to enrich uranium,...
Razaq Mamoon: The Journalist, the Man, and the Meaning of the Acid Attack
Is Iran using violence to silence critics abroad? [ comment ] I walked into our chief editor's office at Kabul Weekly one Tuesday afternoon to discuss an article and saw...
Iran's Domestic Woes Dictate Outcome of Nuclear Talks
[ opinion ] As Tehran's government prepares to discuss its nuclear program in Istanbul with the P5+1 on January 21 and 22, the behavior of Iran's leaders is likely to...
Making Iran Normal: Integration, Not Isolation, Is the Key
Three decades of failure for U.S. policy should have been no surprise. [ opinion ] As the United States and some of its Western partners meet once again with Iran...
Iran's Nuclear Setbacks: A Key for U.S. Diplomacy
[ comment ] Iran's nuclear program is suffering mounting setbacks, which in turn will provide more time for diplomacy and reduce the imminence of military strikes. The problems fall...
Is the West Close to Checkmating Iran?
Regime under pressure from every side -- and within. [ opinion ] If you're a chess player, you are familiar with the occasional realization that your strategy has failed. You've...
The Fate of Iran's Great Filmmakers
[ comment ] Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, two of the leading and most brilliant lights of the Iranian cinema, have been silenced. They were sentenced to six years in...
Flying Safely Is a Human Right
International civil aviation board condemns U.S. sanctions for denial of essential parts and services. [ comment ] The crash of IranAir Flight 277 is the latest in a series of...
A Vice President Like No Other
Regime's internecine conflict heats up over Rahimi corruption charges. [ analysis ] The criminal case against Iran's first vice president turns all other embezzlement cases in the history of the...
Why Did Israel Dial It Down on Iran?
Resetting the alarm clock for the Iranian bomb. [ opinion ] One might be well advised to take Israeli predictions about the imminence of an Iranian nuclear weapon with a...
Ali Reza's Death and a Diaspora Divided
'Beloved prince' or 'son of a traitor'? Turning tragedy into iconography. [ opinion ] If the expat Iranian community can glean one lesson from the 2009 presidential elections, it is...
The Talented Mr. Mottaki
The former foreign minister's sole evident skill? Survival. [ analysis ] Almost three weeks after the event, the unorthodox and unusually brusque manner in which former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr...
Young Lions of the Green Movement
Stories of democracy's courageous champions and the conditions of their imprisonment. [ spotlight ] Since June 2009, when Iran's rigged presidential election was held, the international community has learned much...
The Economic Overhaul: Ahmadinejad's Masterstroke?
Rationalization program of unusual design serves multiple objectives. [ analysis ] Once again, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have confounded his adversaries without their realizing it. In the week since the...
Timing Right to Call Ahmadinejad's Nuclear Bluff
New fuel-swap deal may be on offer during January talks. [ opinion ] One would need to suspend disbelief altogether to be willing to take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at...
Turnover and Turmoil in the Ahmadinejad Administration
Ramin dismissed from press oversight post. Vice President Rahimi under new prosecution threat. [ opinion ] The ouster of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and the long-awaited implementation of the government's...
An Oceanic Grave for Migrants
Christmas Island tragedy garners little attention. [ comment ] For most, the headline was all of the story that they ever learned: "100 Asylum Seekers on Boat Wrecked at...
Mousavi, Karroubi, and the Opposition in the Diaspora
A close look at the criticisms voiced in the diaspora and the motivations behind them. [ feature ] Over 18 months after the rigged presidential election of June 12, 2009,...
Patterns of Iran Human Rights Abuses 2010
[ comment ] Iran launched a sweeping crackdown on human rights and civil society in 2010, following political unrest after the disputed June 2009 presidential election. The executive branch, the...
Abrupt Mottaki Dismissal Sign of Mounting Discord in Leadership
Firing of foreign minister follows Khamenei development conference snub. [ analysis ] Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister since 2005, was suddenly fired by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while Mottaki was...
Atom Chief Becomes Acting Foreign Minister
Majles foreign affairs chair: "Isn't Mr. Mottaki on a trip?" [ dispatch ] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unceremoniously replaced Manouchehr Mottaki, the longtime foreign minister of the Islamic Republic, with the...
Neocon Forum Devoted to Fine-tuning Anti-Iran Rhetoric
Mum's the word on skepticism about potential war, insists one panelist. [ comment ] There was plenty of muscle flexing and colorful rhetoric at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy...
The WikiLeaks Cables That Call for Attacks on Iran: An Alternative Analysis
A closer look underscores the Islamic Republic's growing influence in the region. [ analysis ] With WikiLeaks' release of more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic cables between the United States and...
Getting Nuclear Talks Back on Track
Obama's Iran Policy: All Tactics, No Strategy. [ analysis ] U.S. President Barack Obama came to office with a bold agenda on Iran, intending to set his Administration apart from...
The Spirit of 16 Azar: Iran's Student Day
A tradition of democratic struggle, still undaunted. In anticipation of 16 Azar (December 7), the 57th anniversary of University Student Day in Iran, Green students at Tehran's major universities issued...
Nuclear Enrichment Impasse Looms Again
Prospects for Geneva talks face huge obstacles. [ opinion ] Negotiations between Iran and its critics are rare. They are always welcome, although they have seldom been productive. The talks...
WikiLeaks Cables Fuel Skepticism Ahmadinejad Faces in Tehran
Will a wakeup call be heeded? [ comment ] Iranians love conspiracy theories. They use them to explain almost any unexpected and unusual political event. So it is only...
Cablegate: Arab Leaders Pressuring US to Attack Iran
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain push for action. WikiLeaks' new cache of documents is out -- and Iran looks to be on several Middle Eastern countries' hit lists, not even including...
Victims of Economic Sanctions: The People and the Green Movement
True supporters of democracy in Iran uniformly opposed to sanctions. [ analysis ] Ever since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected Iran's president in 2005, relations between Iran and the West have...
Iran's Worsening Military Status
[ comment ] Iran's military leaders, both in the regular military and the Revolutionary Guards, cannot be pleased with trends in the regional military balance. They retain formidable retaliatory power...
Iran's Military Exercises Send Strategic Message to Israel, US
Large-scale war games include test of "upgraded" air defense missile system. [ primer ] Iran launched five-day military exercises on Nov. 16 to test its air defenses in case of...
New Study: US Should Pursue 'Strategic Engagement,' Maintain Sanctions
New report by U.S. Institute of Peace and Stimson Center: Recommendations to rebalance U.S. policy toward Iran. [ primer ] The chances of success in negotiations with Iran would increase...
After the Stakeout
Prospects for talks between the P5+1 and Iran are poor. With a swing to the right in mid-term U.S. Congressional elections, Iran is steadied for a tussle it believes the...
Hassan Nasrallah and the Iranian Civilization
Puzzling motivations for denial of national heritage, belated release of video. [ comment ] In late July 2006, I traveled to Tehran to see my family and relatives, and...
A Sanctions Policy Short on Smarts
Economic pressure campaign on Iran creates unintended victims in the U.S. [ opinion ] The most important question facing foreign policy analysts concerned with U.S.-Iran relations is whether U.S. sanctions...
The New York Times' Middle Eastern Spin
Proceed with caution. Editor's Note:In March 2011, a few months after we originally published this piece, FRONTLINE/Tehran Bureau received a complaint from a blogger who posted on Commentary magazine's web...
Revolutionary Guards Criticize Ahmadinejad
Core of president's power base increasingly in question. [ comment ] Recent criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Revolutionary Guards' publication Payam-e Enghelab (Message of the Revolution) is...
Ashtiani, Realpolitik, and the Conscience of Turkey
Ankara walks fine line in addressing Iran over human rights concerns. [ dispatch ] Is Turkey the new hope for human rights in Iran? When Sakineh Ashtiani, a 43-year-old woman...
Khamenei Coerces Qom into Submission
But fails in efforts to arouse massive public outpouring, major religious recognition. [ analysis ] Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei's fourth official trip to Qom, one of the world's two great...
The Diaspora Finds Common Ground
Summit on Labor Day weekend points way to greater cooperation, influence. [ comment ] The Iranian diaspora -- like Iran itself -- is a multifaceted, complex, transient body composed of...
Khamenei in Command
Leader reasserts authority during Qom trip. [ analysis ] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's fourth and longest official visit to Qom since he became Supreme Leader 21 years ago can be seen...
Juan Williams and the Million-to-1 Fear
Muslims as putative guinea pigs of a "nervous" America's rejection of political correctness. [ opinion ] Let's face it, Juan Williams said nothing that a lot of other Americans didn't...
Everyday Resistance: A Refuge for the Green Movement
"Quiet encroachment" of evolutionary change lays foundation for democratic resurgence. [ opinion ] As Iranians poured into their nation's streets in June 2009 to protest President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, the...
Maliki, Sadr, and the Swirl of Conjecture
Claims of Iranian string pulling rest on scant evidence. [ opinion ] When I checked Tehran Bureau's valuable news roundup on Monday, I was a bit surprised to see three...
An Open Letter to Jürgen Habermas
The creative courage and moral imagination of the Iranian people endure. [ opinion ] Recently the Persian translation of an open letter by Aramesh Doustdar to the German philosopher and...
A Coronation in Qom
[ analysis ] The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran is on the eve of making a trip to the holy city of Qom. This is Ayatollah Ali...
A Twisted Kind of Entertainment
[ analysis ] When Iranian president Mohammad Khatami visited Beirut in May 2003, he attracted over 50,000 people to the Cite Sportif sports stadium, rebuilt after being destroyed by the...
Waging Cyberwar on Iran's Nuclear Program
Potential for catastrophic loss of life ignored by those hailing disruption. [ analysis ] Ever since February 9, 2003, when the existence of the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz was...
Hojjatiyeh, Mesbahiyeh, and Ahmadinejad
Wellspring of the president's hardline coterie. Shiism has played an important role in Iran over the past 1,200 years. As early as the eighth century, there were already large...
Opinion: On His Way Out
Taste for controversy increases president's own risks. [ comment ] There is considerable confusion as to why President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said what he did in New York, clearly suggesting that...
The Spectacle of Ahmadinejad
U.N. address blurs lines between reality and theater. [ comment ] Yesterday I watched Ahmadinejad speak in front of me while I was seated in the General Assembly at the...
A Grand Show of Lies
[ opinion ] In his trip to New York to participate in the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been undertaking a media blitz, giving...
Get Behind Mashaei
Here's an idea. [ satire ] For almost every ailment, there is a cure. Ailments, and thus cures, vary in degree. Some serious ailments require drastic measures in pursuit...
Opinion: Shame on Iran
[ opinion ] Shame on Iran for putting Sarah Shourd's family and friends through so much heartache. First it was the ecstatic news of her pending release just a few...
Strange Brew
[ comment ] My grandmother used to cook a traditional Persian soup called aash shole ghalam kar. It stewed for days like a witch's brew as she continually added ingredients....
Toward a Green Foreign Policy for Iran
Twelve principles to guide the debate. [ analysis ] On August 7, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini proclaimed the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as Quds Day, during...
Hardliners Tighten Grip on Academia
Heads of two elite institutions replaced. For Iranian academics, last week was anything but promising. Kamran Daneshjou, minister for higher education, appointed new presidents for two of the country's most...
Sharing the Floor
U.S.-Iran basketball game provides opportunity to ease tensions. [ comment ] Compared to its bigger and more popular footballing cousin held earlier this summer in South Africa, the FIBA basketball...
The Strength of the City
The prospects for city-centric democracy in Iran: Part 2. [ IDÉ ] This is the second installment in a series on city-centric democratic governance in Iran. The first article, which...
Hardliners Seek Peace with the Green Movement
Strains on and within regime prompt gestures at reconciliation. [ analysis ] The first several months after Iran's rigged presidential election in June 2009 saw a climate of oppression exceptional...
At the Heart of Ground Zero
[ comment ] America is currently embroiled in an intense debate over the building of an Islamic cultural center, including a mosque, close to Manhattan's Ground Zero, where 2,752 people...
Bushehr: Producing Energy and Political Capital
[ comment ] On Tuesday, John Bolton made headlines by declaring that Israel had eight days to bomb Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor before it is slated to be opened by...
Iran, Israel, and the Real Existential Threat
Salon: The campaign for war with Iran [ comment ] Obama administration officials, as well as U.S. lawmakers and European diplomats, passionately made the argument this spring that tough sanctions...
New Evidence of Fraud in 2009 Election
Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer confirms Reformist accusations. [ analysis ] Seven leading Reformist political figures have filed a lawsuit against several commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for their...
US and Iran: Strikes, Sanctions, and Scapegoats
[ comment ] For the pundits, there are only two questions about U.S.-Iran relations that are of any importance: (1) Will Israel and/or the United States attack Iran? and (2)...
Iranian Identity, the 'Aryan Race,' and Jake Gyllenhaal
Troubling echoes in adherence to Hollywood vision of the past. [ comment ] Everybody has heard about Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the recent Walt Disney blockbuster featuring...
The Drumbeats of War with Iran Are Getting Louder
Dire signs in ramping up of rhetoric, military preparations. [ opinion ] Back in September 2002, Andrew H. Card, George W. Bush's chief of staff, was asked why the Bush...
Macbeth and the Marks of Violence
Revelatory production of Verdi opera evokes contemporary struggles. I have never understood the charm of Brussels, certainly not its urban architecture, which combines historic monuments with 1980s structures in defiance...
A Stained History
Iran, too, suffered for BP's profits, and now is the time for a complicit U.S. to make amends. [ opinion ] Since 2000, BP has run a marketing campaign with...
Was Amiri a Double Agent?
Strong reasons to suspect nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri, purported defector and self-described kidnap victim, acted at behest of Iranian intelligence. [ analysis ] Early Thursday morning, Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri,...
Candidate Obama v President Obama
On Iran, President Obama should take road less traveled. [ opinion ] Obama's speech prior to signing new Iran sanctions into law was met with rounds of applause and even...
Anniversary of a Turning Point
The student uprising of July 9, 1999, and its powerful reverberations. July 9 marked the 11th anniversary of the uprising of Iranian university students that began in the dormitories of...
The Islamic Republic's Inner Mossaddegh
[ comment ] Since the 1979 Revolution, Iran has been a pariah in the community of nations. The regime's unqualified support of Hamas and Hezbollah, penchant for political repression, and...
Who's in Charge?
Struggle for power builds between clerics, Revolutionary Guards. [ analysis ] An important question that those who follow Iran's political developments keep asking is, Who is the ultimate power in...
'Shahnameh' and Iran: Epic Tales for Epic Times
Not too long ago, I decided to embark on a quest to a bygone era, in a far away place. Like many Persians before me, I grew up on the...
Tajzadeh: Reformists Should Ask Nation for Forgiveness
Reformist Seyyed Mostafa Tajzadeh has written a very important analysis of the current state of affairs, which was posted on Mir Hossein Mousavi's website, Kalame. In this piece, Tajzadeh addresses...
What Has Changed
One-time supporter sees regime in new light. As the anniversary of last year's disputed presidential election in Iran approaches, media outlets are figuring out what they will say in the...
The Green Movement at One Year
A broad-based phenomenon wages a complex struggle. June 12 marks the first anniversary of Iran's tenth presidential election. Iranian people participated in the voting en masse, not just inside the...
Addressing the Supreme Leader
Green leaders must take their campaign to Khameini. There is a Persian saying, "When riding a camel, there is no crouching" (shotor savari dola dola nemisheh). Meaning, when doing something...
Iran and Russia's Lost Love
Mounting grievances on both sides come to a head over nuclear issue. [ opinion ] For 30 years, "Marg bar America" (death to the United States) was the chant at...
Coup-d'État? The Iranian Election in Five Acts
Was Iran's June 12, 2009, presidential election a coup d'etat? A former state media journalist investigates and presents this analysis in five acts. More on Reza Valizadeh here. Act Two:...
Iran's Hot Political Summers
A history of turmoil looks set to repeat. Over the last century, the months of Khordad, Tir, Mordad, and Shahrivar in the Iranian calendar -- stretching this year from May...
Hardliners Close in on Mousavi
Arrest of longtime associate may presage move to confine Green leader before June 12. Ahmad Yazdanfar, senior aide and advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi and head of the team of...
Coup-d'État? The Iranian Election in Five Acts
Was Iran's June 12, 2009, presidential election a coup d'etat? A journalist who was part of the establishment investigates and presents this analysis. This is the story from their perspective....
Major Deal Agreed on Tehran Uranium
Tripartite negotiations yield agreement reflecting all crucial elements of U.N. plan. [ comment ] Iran, Turkey, and Brazil announced Monday, May 17, that they have reached an agreement under which...
Capital Punishment, Capital Fear
Execution of political prisoners meant to terrorize those who would march in June. Early Sunday, May 9, five political prisoners were executed at Evin, Tehran's notorious prison. At least four...
Resisting the Rhetoric of Proliferation
Ahmadinejad's guileful rationalizations require a firm response. [ opinion ] Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again came to New York City, this time to participate in the Nuclear...
A Walk through Iranian-European History
A rich cultural legacy reinforces a commitment to solidarity. [ opinion ] In 1971, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi celebrated 2,500 years of Persian monarchy with an opulent party for hundreds...
Steps Ahead on May Day
Signs of promise as Green-labor unity builds. [ analysis ] Thousands of security and special antiriot policemen were deployed throughout Tehran from morning into late evening in anticipation of...
The Isolation of Ahmadinejad
Ahmadinejad's estrangement at home and abroad puts entire nation at risk. [ opinion ] One of the most important results of the rigged presidential election of June 12, 2009, and...
Let Democracy Resound
Why Arab and Iranian reformers should unite. [ opinion ] Recently, hundreds of Egyptians gathering in downtown Cairo were brutally repressed by security forces. Nearly 100 demonstrators were beaten and...
April 19, 1975
On April 19, 1975 (30 Farvardin 1354), nine courageous political prisoners -- Ahmad Jalil-Afshar, Mohammad Choupanzadeh, Bijan Jazani, Mash'oof (Saeed) Kalantari (Jazani's maternal uncle), Aziz Sarmadi, Abbas Sourki, Hassan Zia...
Freedom of Speech... But Not Today
Green leaders' dubious derision of popular slogans. [ analysis ] Several months after beginning their march alongside the people and camaraderie with them, the leaders of the Green Movement eventually...
A Critical Moment for Mousavi
Now is the time for action from the Green Movement's leader. [ opinion ] Back when Mir Hossein Mousavi was a reformist presidential candidate, he lost his cool in a...
Justice for All
[ opinion ] Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary, at a meeting with several grand ayatollahs in Qom on April 2, declared that the judicial system "is...
Ahmadinejad's Cultural Priorities
Budget funds earmarked for culture largely spent on institutions that back the president. [ analysis ] The administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using state funds to spread its political...
Challenging Iran's Leaders at Their Own Game
The U.S. needs to act like a diplomatic superpower too. [ opinion ] Though the threat of more economic sanctions have eased for now and the threat of military strikes...
A Step Too Far
[ opinion ] "This trip to Israel was a New Year's gift to the Iranian regime," read one reaction from an internet user who, like many, was enraged by Caspian...
Biden, Israel, and Tehran's Hardliners
[ opinion ] In the depth of their worries about the deep crisis into which they have brought Iran over the past nine months; amid all the problems that they...
What's next--the 'Arabian' Gulf?
[ comment ] Whenever officials of the Islamic Republic start paying too much attention to something it usually means that there is cause for concern, that a new fault has...
Sharpen the Peaceful Weapon
Smarter slogans can boost the opposition's strength on and off the street. [ opinion ] The next major occasion slated for street protests in Iran is unclear. Will it...
Breaking the Stereotypes of Persia and Iran
[ comment ] The West has constructed the dual identities of Persia and Iran as alter egos, the former the ancient civilization, the latter the modern one. Persia is...
A Winning Strategy
A Winning Strategy: Principles for Effective Civil Disobedience in Iran. [ opinion ] In the nine remarkable months since the fraudulent June 12 election, more and more people in Iran...
Different Shades of Green
[ opinion ] The debate over the future direction of the Green Movement has taken on new urgency since the events in Tehran on February 11, the 31st anniversary of...
Iranian DNA or Fear of Déjà vu?
Is the Green opposition beset by the inability of Iranians to work together, or is it simply trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of 1979? [ analysis ] The one...
Deciphering Rafsanjani
[ analysis ] Iranians are a complex people. Talking in riddles and metaphors is a cultural thing that everyone learns from a young age. Iranian politicians have mastered this 'art...
Was Rigi's arrest by Iran staged?
[ analysis ] The arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi, the commander of the Baluchi Jundollah movement, is a major victory for Iran. For years, Rigi had masterfully eluded capture, staying for...
The Militarized Death of the Republic
This was first published by Tehran Bureau on July 6, 2009. The momentous June presidential election in Iran and its bloody aftermath will probably be remembered as a turning...
Post-Imperialism in Iran
[ comment ] The 1979 Iranian Revolution took place during the Cold War, when Third World societies were deeply affected by anti-imperial ideologies. The Revolution's politicized Islamic movement was influenced...
Were the Greens Defeated?
[ opinion ] February 11, the thirty-first anniversary of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, finally arrived. Many people had high hopes that the day would represent another major advance for...
Overview: Reading 22 Bahman
[ analysis ] February 11 may mark a decisive day for the Iranian regime. Its leaders hope to prove to domestic and international audiences that they are in full control...
Mousavi and Martyrdom
How the regime calculates the personal challenge. [ opinion ] Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi considers Iran's Green Movement a civil rights struggle. Others contend that there is a revolution...
We Are Our Dogs
The paradoxes of the Islamic Republic. "I wish I were one of your dogs," a friend once said as she sat at the table waiting for me to cut...
New sanctions miss the target
[ comment ] On Thursday, the Senate approved S2799 -- the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2009 -- which authorizes President Obama to impose sanctions on any...
UPDATED: Who Murdered Ali-Mohammadi?
[ analysis ] On January 12, 2010, Dr. Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, a professor of physics at the Faculty of Science at the University of Tehran, was assassinated in front of...
Khiabani on the Arab Street
[ comment ] "It's not pleasant being Arab these days," Lebanese historian and journalist Samir Kassir observed in his posthumously published book, Being Arab. A stalwart of the Arab left,...
Another liquidation by internal forces?
[ opinion ] Another political murder rocked Iran this week. This time the victim was Vali Haji Gholizadeh, who was shot dead outside his home on Tuesday, January 19, in...
From Birmingham to Tehran
Reflections on Dr. King's Influence on the Pro-Democracy Movement in Iran "The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath...
The Question of Political Strategy in Iran's Green Movement
[ opinion ] What is now known as Iran's Green Movement was born on June 13, 2009, in reaction to massive electoral fraud during the Islamic Republic's tenth presidential election....
A Response to the Leveretts
A Response to Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett Flynt Leverett directs the New America Foundation's Iran Initiative and is a professor of international affairs at Pennsylvania State University. Hillary...
Fighting Revolution
[ analysis ] As the Islamic Republic prepares to celebrate its anniversary next month, similarities between the current turmoil and the one that led to a successful revolution 31 years...
Can the Khomeinis challenge Khamenei?
[ opinion ] The Tehran-based Parsine news Web site recently reported about the possible move of the Khomeini family to the holy city of Najaf in Iraq. According to the...
Strategic Leaking
[ comment ] Pretend for a moment that you are the president of the United States and you have gotten yourself into a bit of a hole with your Iran...
Technology and U.S. Foreign Policy
[ opinion ] Last week, the Obama administration took a positive step in addressing what had been an embarrassing incongruity in U.S. policy towards Iran. While publicly espousing democratic ideals,...
The start of an Iranian intifada
[ analysis ]An Iranian-style intifada seems to be in the making. At the beginning of the current period of opposition, which started soon after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial reelection, quiet periods...
Thursday at Toopkhaneh
An eyewitness account. [ dispatch ] I was early for the appointed time of 3 p.m. but already police stood in fours and fives, elsewhere in groups of a dozen...
Letter from Tehran
[ comment ] Tehran is still Tehran. It's as if I never left, but merely stood aside to blink or rub from my eyes the smoke that sits heavy on...
Iran After Montazeri
A legacy that will haunt the regime. [ analysis ] The demise of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri brought an important chapter in the history of the Islamic Republic to a...
The Regime's Mousavi Problem
[ analysis ] Six months into a deep political crisis, a growing set of indicators is emerging that show the Islamic Republic of Iran is so fed up with post-election...
Opinion: The Wrecking Ball
[ comment ] Back in the summer of 1979, months before the Iranian mob -- egged on by Ayatollah Khomeini -- seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, U.S. diplomats in...
Seeing Green
[ comment ] It's been a busy day of driving through Tehran in hired cabs. Heavy traffic afforded me time to ponder, an exercise I practiced almost Zen-like in order...
Opinion: Help Iranians Harness the Internet
[ comment ] The United States and the international community should support efforts to provide unfiltered Internet access to the Iranian people, and take measures to curb censorship by the...
Every Which Way But Lose
[ analysis ] Iran's controversial presidential election left a thorn in the government's side, and few signs indicate a return to calm in the near future. A running "calendar battle"...
28-Mordadism: A Postmortem
[ comment ] This year, Iranians around the world are commemorating the 56th anniversary of the CIA-sponsored coup of 1953, or as we call it indexically on the Persian calendar,...
The Supreme Leader's Slow Purge
[ analysis ] Half a year after Iran's disputed presidential election, the Islamic regime is suffering from partial paralysis. Despite thousands of arrests, scores of killings, widely publicized show...
The Hardliners' Nulcear Dilemma
[ comment ] Iran's rejection of a preliminary agreement it reached on Oct. 1, 2009, in Geneva, has taken its confrontation with the United States and its allies in the...
A Footnote?
[ comment ] By the time Sir Winston Churchill became a British premier for a second time in 1951, he was already a legend. He rose from the First Lord...
The lost cause and the mojo thief
[ comment ] Despite the belief, held by many, that the fiery movement originating from the heart of the Iranian youth's discontent would lead to regime change, no government overthrow...
Hezbollah's Man in Iran
[ comment ] Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour is a careful man. Ever since his right arm was blown off in Iran's Damascus embassy in the early 1980's, he has become more...
Courageous & Principled: Journalists Isa Saharkhiz and Ahmad Zeidabadi
[ profile ] Nov. 10, 2009, marked the 55th anniversary of the execution of Dr. Hossein Fatemi (1919-1954), the distinguished Iranian journalist who served as Foreign Minister during Dr. Mohammad...
Since the 1979 revolution, relations...
[ comment ] Since the 1979 revolution, relations between the United States and Iran have vacillated between outright enmity and degrees of cooperation, from American support for Iraq during its...
Narges Kalhor: Little Brother
Narges Kalhor is the daughter of Mehdi Kalhor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's media advisor. In the following letter to the little brother she never met, she hints of the Orwellian lessons ahead....
The Hostage Crisis, 30 Years On
[ feature ] Nov. 4 marks the the day, 30 years ago, when Islamic leftist students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 69 people hostage. Seventeen of them...
Nuclear proposal leaves Ahmadinejad on the sidelines
[ comment ] Iran's judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani has become the latest high-ranking Iranian official to express skepticism about an international proposal to send the country's nuclear fuel abroad for...
'Same old tricks'
[ comment ] Iran's purported response to IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei's plan should not have come as a surprise to anyone. True to form, Iranian administrations have always shown...
Iranian Greens are not Revolutionaries
[ comment ] It has been four and a half months since the Islamic Republic of Iran, like the giant of fables, foolishly broke the jar that contained its life....
The Faltering Islamic Leviathan
The faltering Islamic leviathan and the rebirth of the private cult in Iran. [ comment ] Despite the apparent success of the Iranian regime's initial crackdown against the post-election uprising,...
The Sheikh of Reform: Mehdi Karroubi
[ profile ] During national election campaigns in any country, politicians are known to make bold declarations and set lofty goals. Very few deliver even on a fraction of those...
Worse than Shah-era Capitulation Laws
30 years after the Revolution, foreigners "more equal" under Iranian law. [ comment ] Ayatollah Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Republic, became a hero and the leader of...
Learning from History, Charting the Future
What are Iranians calling for? Expanded civil liberties, or a ground-up change? [ comment ] Amidst the chaos of today's Iranian politics, many questions remain unanswered. The most relevant: what...
Abandoned
Obama's Lost Opportunity [ comment ] Events in Iran have unraveled like a nightmare for many of us Iranians. First, the presidential election, which seemed to hold some promise...
Changing Tehran: No Pain, No Gain
[ comment ] Things rarely change in Washington. Frustrated by an adversary's policies, the reflex action of political moderates up and down Pennsylvania Avenue is for increased sanctions, and for...
Another Aviation Scapegoat
[ comment ] Mohammad Ali Ilkhani, head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (IR-CAO), was let go after only two and half months in the job. He is being replaced...
The case of the missing Iranian nuclear physicist
[ comment ] New information has emerged indicating that the United States may have become aware of the developing Qom uranium enrichment facility by an Iranian nuclear scientist -- or...
Dissent at the Top
Photo: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Mohammad Datsgheib [ comment ] The seismic effect of Iran's June election has now reached the Assembly of Experts, the most conservative institution in the...
The only viable way to confront Ahmadinejad
[ opinion ] Why would anyone be shocked by the so-called revelation that another uranium enrichment facility exists somewhere near Qom? It amazes me how even Iranians of the...
Has Iran Violated Its Nuclear Safeguards Obligations?
[ analysis ] On Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, the Iranian government sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) to say it was constructing a second uranium...
Iran's 'secret' nuclear plant: an instant reaction
[ comment ] Less than a week before Iran is due to meet six world powers, including the United States, over its atomic programme, the news of a "secret" Iranian...
Ahmadinejad: 'Sanction us!'
How an oil embargo against Iran would help the hard-liners [ opinion ] Before going to face the empty seats of the United Nations General Assembly and the angry Iranians...
Ejei Steps In to Find Karroubi's Lost Marbles
[Comment] The other week, the live debate program on Iran's channel 2 had a well-known guest...
D-Day for the Greens
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 19 Sept 2009 Comment Quds Day was crucial to both the Green Movement and the hardliners. The Green Movement wanted to demonstrate...
Co-opting Quds Day
Kayhan's banner headline quotes from Ayatollah Khomeini: "I'm going to smack this government in the mouth." By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 17 Sept 2009 Comment This year...
Iran's Animal Farm
Animal Farm meets 1984 By HANA H. in Tehran | 10 Sept 2009 Comment Iranian politics is an unpredictable madhouse made up of all the crazies, majorly deluded and...
Where is Iran headed?
Living in a bubble, increasingly out of touch. Archive photo. By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 8 Sept 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] Comment The crackdown on peaceful demonstrators protesting...
Coup Leaders Afraid to Face the People
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI | 6 Sept 2009 Friday prayers, religious holidays and religious ceremonies have always been used by the Islamic Republic to showcase the support that it supposedly...
IRGC declares open war on the reform movement
Nikahang Kowsar/Roozonline Reporting from Tehran | 5 Sept 2009 The emergence of Mohammad-Ali Jafari, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as the new spokesman for the right-wing establishment push against...
Ahmadinejad & Family Take on 'New' Foreign Policy
The joke in Iran is that the country has three Foreign Ministers, including Johns Hopkins-educated pediatrician, Ali Akbar Velayati (in gray suit), special adviser on foreign affairs to Ayatollah...
Shariati on Religious Government
The Islamic Revolution once looked more like Ali Shariati than like Ali Khamenei -- though it is said that Khamenei, who hails from Mashhad as did Shariati, was once a...
Isolated, weak and as delusional as ever
Ahmadinejad, pictured with the halo of light he claims the audience saw over his head the first time he addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, says "Torture...
The Bloody Red Summer of 1988
The 1980s were the bloodiest and darkest in the contemporary history of Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini (center), has his hand kissed. Seyyed Asadollah Lajevardi (lower right in white turtleneck and...
Hajji Corleone, Sonny Seyyed and the Rapists who got away
Crumbling brotherhood: A younger Mehdi Karroubi seated next to a younger Ali Khamenei. By HANA H. in Tehran | 21 August [TEHRAN BUREAU] Comment When Mehdi Karroubi went public...
Ahmadinejad's Security Cabinet
Photo: Sadegh Mahsouli (standing) says he is worth $160 million. He was a penniless IRGC officer at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Ali Khamenei, then president, seated on...
London Calling
Iran and the UK have a long intertwined history -- but familiarity doesn't always breed contempt. Members of Prime Minister Mossadegh's family went to school in Britain; even Ali...
Patriots and Reformists: Behzad Nabavi and Mostafa Tajzadeh
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 11 Aug 2009 Of all the reformist leaders who have been the target of the wrath of Iran's hardliners, none, with the...
IRGC: Arrest Mousavi, Khatami, and others
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 10 Aug 2009 Comment Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, head of the political directorate of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the backbone...
The Show Goes On
Show Trials, Part II By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 9 Aug 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] comment & analysis The second installment of the mass trial staged against reformist...
Fooling themselves alone
Iran's show trials resumed on Saturday. Photo/Fars News By JASON REZAIAN in Dubai | 8 Aug 2009 As the trials of more than 100 political prisoners, charged with inciting...
If I Confess...
A statement for the times. By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 6 Aug 2009 Mehdi Bazargan, Iran's first prime minister after the 1979 Revolution, is one of the...
Why Russia & China Love Iran's Hardliners
Russia knows how to play the hardliners -- by keeping them in need. By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 5 Aug 2009 Marg bar Amrica -- "Death to...
Show Trials Get Under Way
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a prominent reformist and a cleric (clutching white piece of paper), was part of a group of 100 or so opposition figures who went on trial...
Mahmoud's friends, enemies and the iditots in between
By Hana H. in Tehran | 31 July 2009 Comment After the post-election unrest in Iran, one man stood by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This man did all the dirty...
Showdown between Khamenei and IRGC?
Who's really in charge? Is there a confrontation looming between Iran's supreme leader and the Revolutionary Guard? By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 28 July 2009 analysis Two...
America's Misguided Left
The support of some on the American left for Ahmadinejad is badly misguided. By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 24 July 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] comment Iran's rigged presidential...
A Charter for the Green Movement
After weeks of virtual silence following his declared intention to form a new political front, Mir Hossein Mousavi's official Web site, Ghalam News, announced Wednesday that the opposition leader...
Lines Are Drawn in Iran
By FARIDEH FARHI in Honolulu | 22 July 2009 [IPS] With the historical Friday Prayer sermon given by former president and current chair of the Council of Experts and...
People driving movement, not politicians
By JASON REZAIAN in Dubai | 20 July 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] Op-Ed On May 21, I headed to Tehran to cover a president election that no one can claim...
Rafsanjani's Sermon, Split in the Leadership
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 17 July 2009 Today's much anticipated Friday prayer ceremony was held at Tehran University. Crowds of people, some who could not get inside,...
Comment: 'Indiscriminate US Sanctions Resulted in Crash'
Iranians gather near the debris of the Caspian Airlines plane which crashed into a farmland near the city of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran. -- AFP A personal account of...
The Ultimate Unveiling of Iranian Women
Photo/Newsha Tawakolian By FARZANEH MILANI Have you considered the gender makeup of the two opposing camps in Iran today? On one side, is an all-male cabal of gun-totting, club-wielding...
A Call to Prayer, More Protests
Rallying around Rafsanjani. A victory for the reformists? By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 13 July 2009 The leader of Tehran's Friday prayers is selected on a rotating basis...
18 Tir: The Past and Pending
Sign reads: "Evin Prison Accepting Students" I remember very vividly the eeriness of the streets; the quiet whispers of the wind. Had ghosts trodden there? Perhaps, as there was...
Faith No More
7 July 2009 There is too much blood. Too much blood on the streets, too much blood on the news, on Facebook, in emails. There is blood everywhere. My...
Crocodile Tears for Iranians
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 5 July 2009 Elections in Iran, whether presidential, parliamentary, or even for city councils, are always preceded by great debates over a...
Reformers Hold Firm
By ROBERT DREYFUSS | 6 July 2009 Efforts by the Ahmadinejad-Khamenei regime to silence the opposition clearly aren't working yet. The street protests, brutally suppressed, have quieted. But the...
The significance of 18 Tir
By JASON REZAIAN in Dubai | 5 July 2009 The many tools implemented by the Islamic Republic to sedate its populous are the same ones now being used as detours...
The Widening Divide Among Iran's Clerics
The rift in the clerical establishment By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 30 June 2009 As the Iranian government crisis enters its 19th day, fissures among the clerics...
Why Do Arabs Not Revolt?
Photo/Stephan Geyer By RAMI G. KHOURI in Beirut The stark contrast between the street demonstrations in Iran in the past two weeks and the absence of any such popular...
I could have settled for Michael Jackson
By M.E. Dabiri in Tehran | 28 June 2009 I say, I don't accept him as my president. I haven't accepted him for the past four years, and I...
A View from the Frontline
Last week, a group of friends and I organized a medical team to help the wounded and injured in the streets. As we sewed up gashes and patched up...
Who will lead?
Who will lead? The Experts Assembly has the power to remove Ayatollah Khamenei. By GARETH SMYTH in Beirut | 25 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] While Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lived,...
Iran's New Revolutionaries
By BABAK SARFARAZ in Tehran | 24 June 2009 For those steeped in the arcane art of Khamenei-watching, June 19 holds a special significance. On that day, after issuing...
Leaving Tehran
By JASON REZAIAN in Dubai | 24 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] I decided to leave Iran a couple of days ago for several reasons. First of all, it was...
The Arabs' Forlorn Envy of Iranians
Broadly speaking, the Arab world has maneuvered itself into a lose-lose situation vis-a-vis developments in Iran -- despite different views of the Islamic Republic. By RAMI G. KHOURI in...
A Way Forward
Photo: Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 23 June 2003 Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered what was widely considered to be a completely polarizing...
This is not my country
Near Azadi Square, June 20, 6 p.m., Tehran. Photo/TehranBureau By HANA H. in Tehran | 23 June 2009 I am an Iranian and I love my country but what...
Larijani: Between Khamenei and Kant
By MARSHA B. COHEN | 21 June 2009 Perhaps it's the same video clip being broadcast over and over again, exaggerating the significance of a particular moment caught by...
Iran Makes History Again
Protester holds up sign quoting Ayatollah Khomeini, "A nation derives its ("real," scribbled in) legitimacy from the vote of the people." Photo/via Flickr By RAMI KHOURI in Beirut |...
Rafsanjani's next move
Differences over foreign policy are central to the crisis in Tehran By GARETH SMYTH in Beirut TEHRAN BUREAU | The clearest sign of the bitter division within Iran's political...
Another coup for the Hardliners
By MEA CYRUS in London | 12 June 2009 What happened at the polls today was sadly predictable. One strong indication right from the start was that the supreme...
Iran's Power Struggle
By GARETH SMYTH in Beirut As he surveys the aftermath of the rioting in Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be assessing the crisis he faces. Referring the complaints from...
No Fools
By M. E. DABIRI in Tehran | Received June 15, 2009 (published 3 July 2009) [TEHRAN BUREAU] opinion This is an insult to one's dignity. If they had cheated...
Faulty Election Data
By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles | 13 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] Iran's Interior Ministry has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of yesterday's election. This has been rejected...
Who Voted for Ahmadinejad?
By ROBERT DREYFUSS in Tehran | 12 June 2009 I went off in search of Ahmadinejad voters today in Tehran. They are noteasy to find. It's perfect election weather...
Why I Voted
By M.E. DABIRI in Tehran | 12 June 2009 I stood in line at 9:45 on a warm, sunny morning at the Al-Rahman Mosque, four blocks from my flat, in...
The Supreme Leader's One Vote
By MEA CYRUS in London | 5 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] Back in 1997, many believe that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had made up his mind to back the...
Girl Power
By JASON REZAIAN in Tehran | 10 June 2009 It was to be one of Mir Hossein Mousavi's final campaign stops, a medium-size stadium in the lower half of Tehran,...
Statement of Academics
8 June 2009 By Professor Ervand Abrahamian, City University of New York | Dr Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, School of African and Oriental Studies | Professor Haleh Afshar, University of York |...
Obama's Home Run in Cairo
By ROBERT DREYFUSS in Dubai | 4 June 2009 [The Nation] I watched President Obama's Cairo speech from Dubai, the sprawling and frenzied city of gold and shopping malls...
The ghost of elections past
By AFSHIN SALIMPOUR in Tehran | 3 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] It was a masterstroke of attack in the form of defense. In Iran's second televised presidential debate of...
Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuclear Docs to Israel
By GARETH PORTER in Washington, D.C. [IPS] 3 Jun 2009 -- A report on Iran's nuclear programme issued by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month generated news stories...
Iran's Ralph Nader?
The Curious Case of Mehdi Karroubi | 3 June 2009 [TEHRAN BUREAU] Mehdi Karroubi -- the former chairman of the Iranian Parliament, an ethnic Lur and an outspoken critic...
Of Loos and Language (The Iranian Version)
Of Loos and Language: the Iranian version By M.E. DABIRI in Tehran I have the dubious distinction of having always lived in a country whose language I did not...
The Big Picture
An evolving geopolitical landscape: U.S., Iran, Russia and Central Asia By REZA AKHLAGHI in Toronto [TEHRAN BUREAU] Iran's geographic position situates it uniquely in Central Asia, the Middle East,...
Israel & Iran's nuclear program
Israel vis-a-vis Iran's Nuclear Program: the Crux of the Issue By MUHAMMAD SAHIMI in Los Angeles [Tehran Bureau] Although the Obama administration has made it clear that it wants...
Unseen Iran
What's it like not to see Iran, but smell, touch and hear it? "A Scent of Iran" is the second installment of UNSEEN IRAN, Mani's travel log. Part 1,...
Vartan Gregorian to Obama: Send a message!
Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Foundation, published his would-be letter from President Obama to the Iranian leadership in U.S. News & World Report. Born in Tabriz, Iran to...
Middleman
What's it like not to see Iran, but feel, smell and touch it? This is the first installment of Mani's travel log to Iran. By MANI DJAZMI en route...
The View from Washington
THE OBAMA'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE... US-IRAN MEETING... good/don't expect movement soon By CHRIS NELSON in Washington D.C. [The Nelson Report] Much punditry has already been expended arguing that while the...
Iranian Election Plot Thickens
Khatami's withdrawal from the election campaign is bad news for Ahmadinejad. By GARETH SMYTH in Beirut [Tehran Bureau] The withdrawal of Mohammad Khatami from Iran's presidential election has disappointed...
Three not so wise men
Iran's reformists may run three candidates for president, boosting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chances of being re-elected.By GARETH SMYTH in Beirut In 2004, around 80 reformist deputies staged a sit-in and...
Islamic influences in Florence
By KAMIN MOHAMMADI in Florence [Tehran Bureau] Visitors flock to the marvel of Renaissance expression, an ebullient city which, between the 14 to 16th centuries, led the world in...
A Guide to Iran
A jaunt through Tehran, Esfahan and Persepolis. By JASON REZAIAN in San Francisco The joke was barely out of my mouth before I regretted making it. "The Great Satan," I'd...
Persepolis, a la Grecque
Photo/Effie-Michelle MetallidisBy EFFIE-MICHELLE METALLIDIS in Shiraz My hand scrapes along a wall of fallen Persepolis as the sun wanes. We've reached the site just as the centuries-old ritual between...
An American in Tehran
Welcome to Mehrabad. By MICHELLE MAY in Tehran As I sat squashed, dehydrated, and inhaling stale air on Air France flight 554, I worried that I had bit off...
Nowruz in Abu Dhabi
Desert storm: Emiratis and Qataris flex their muscles (with a little help from their friend). By GOLNOUSH NIKNEJAD in Abu Dhabi [Tehran Bureau] It was back in March, a...
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