Iran

Israel’s Netanyahu at UN Wipes Palestinians off the Map, Menaces Iran with “Credible Nuclear Threat”

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu seems to love waving around cartoonish props at the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting. This year his theme was the likelihood of an Israel-Saudi rapprochement, which is being pushed by the Biden administration despite the abysmal Saudi human rights violations and despite Netanyahu’s ongoing […]

Authoritarianism

The Legacy of Mahsa, a Year later: It Is Only the Beginning for Iranian Women

Fariba Amini

Newark, Del. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Imagine, you come from your small town to visit the capital. You have a whole plan to visit places, parks, and monuments. You want to have a good time with your friends and relatives. The night before you are together with your friends and family. You laugh, […]

Authoritarianism

Mahsa Amini: A Year into the Protest Movement in Iran, this is What’s Changed

The Conversation

Mahsa Amini: a year into the protest movement in Iran, this is what’s changed By Afshin Shahi, Keele University | = Iran’s rulers continue to enforce tight public controls as the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police” approaches. Amini died after being arrested for allegedly breaching hijab […]

Authoritarianism

How Mahsa Amini’s Death became a Rallying Call for Thousands of Iranians

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Michael Scollon and Fereshteh Ghazi A combo photo shows Mahsa Amini (left) in the hospital on September 16, 2022, and her father and grandmother right after her death. ( RFE/RL ) – Sharmin Habibi recalls the circumstances of her husband’s killing at the hands of Iran’s security forces. But she could be […]

Anti-intellectualism

‘Era Of Repression’: Iran Purges Ranks Of University Professors Ahead Of Veil Protest Anniversary

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Hannah Kaviani Fereshteh Ghazi ( RFE/RL ) – Encouraging students to hold unauthorized demonstrations. Encouraging students to sing antiestablishment slogans. Encouraging female students to remove their head scarves. Undermining Islamic values and acting against the interests of the system. These are the list of reasons the Iranian authorities are using to increasingly purge the […]

art and photography

How Photography can Reveal, Overlook and Manipulate the Truth: The Fearless Work of Iranian Artist Hoda Afshar

The Conversation

By Tom Williams, University of Wollongong | – (The Conversation) – Through her poetically constructed images, Hoda Afshar illuminates a world overshadowed by history and atrocity. Yet we never see despair: we see defiance, comradeship, reinvention and a search for how photography can activate new ways of thinking. Afshar was born in Iran and migrated […]

Feminism

Iran crackdown on Unveiled Women: Mahsa Amini’s Uncle Arrested Ahead Of Anniversary Of Her Death

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda | – ( RFE/ RL ) – Relatives of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death nearly a year ago sparked mass protests in Iran, have confirmed reports that one of her uncles has been arrested ahead of the anniversary of her death. A brother of Amini’s, Ashkan Amini, told […]

China

China’s Coup: Saudi and Iranian Ambassadors arrive at Reopened Embassies, Stress Bilateral Relations, Regional Development

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Aljazeera reports that on Tuesday, the Saudi ambassador to Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia both took up their duties at the two countries’ embassies. The restoration of full diplomatic relations, which had been disrupted in 2016, was brokered earlier this year by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Saudi […]

art and photography

Iran’s Street Art shows Defiance, Resistance and Resilience

The Conversation

By Pouya Afshar, UMass Lowell | – (The Conversation) – A recent rise in activism in Iran has added a new chapter to the country’s long-standing history of murals and other public art. But as the sentiments being expressed in those works have changed, the government’s view of them has shifted, too. The ancient Persians, […]