Iran

( RFE/RL) – I’m RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here’s what I’ve been following during the past week and what I’m watching for in the days ahead. Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations, seven years after the regional foes cut formal ties. In a statement issued on March 10, Tehran and Riyadh […]

China

China is Front and Center in Saudi-Iran Agreement, as Israel’s Plan for United Front against Tehran Collapses

Middle East Monitor

By Mohammad Makram Balawi ( Middle East Monitor ) – The agreement signed between Saudi Arabia and Iran under Chinese auspices on 6 March aroused much interest in the Arab world, the Middle East and the world in general. It came after a diplomatic break between the two countries in 2016, with a […]

Authoritarianism

Not Just Rallies: Iranian Protesters are Drafting Charters and a Bill of Rights

The Conversation

By Mona Tajali, Agnes Scott College; and Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University | – (The Conversation) – It’s been six months since the latest spark ignited mass protests in Iran — the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa (Jina) Amini in morality police custody after she was arrested for allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly. The […]

Authoritarianism

Iranians are done with Kings and Ayatollahs, and look back to Mosaddegh for a Way forward

Fariba Amini

Newark, Delaware (Feature — Special to Informed Comment) – The debate over the coup 1953 still lingers on especially now that there are discussions whether the Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, after forming a coalition with a few opposition figures, might even seek the return of monarchy, the monarchy which ended in 1979. On Facebook, clubhouse […]

Feminism

This Revolution Is Still Alive’: A Growing Number Of Iranian Women Defy The Hijab Law After Months Of Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari Mohammad Zarghami ( RFE/RL ) – Assal appeared in public for months without a hijab, or Islamic head scarf, in solidarity with the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran. Even as the demonstrations that erupted in September have waned in recent weeks following a deadly state crackdown, the Tehran resident has continued […]

China

Saudi-Iran deal won’t bring Peace to the Middle East but will enhance China’s role as Power Broker

The Conversation

By Simon Mabon, Lancaster University | – (The Conversation) – After more than four decades as seemingly implacable enemies on either side of a deep political-religious divide in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies. The deal, which was signed in Beijing, comes seven years after […]

China

Is China the New Indispensable Nation? Beijing Brokers Iran-Saudi Relations as U.S. and Israel are Sidelined

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In an interview with Al Jazeera English, veteran Washington Iran watcher Hillary Mann Leverett asserted that, in the wake of the reestablishment of Iran-Saudi diplomatic relations in an agreement brokered by Beijing, China is now “the indispensable nation” in the Middle East. She underlined that the United States could not […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Unions and Civil Rights groups demand Democracy and social Justice

The Conversation

By Simin Fadaee, University of Manchester | – Forty-four years after Iranians rose up against their hated monarch in February 1979, a group of 20 organisations engaged in long-term social and economic struggles – including labour unions, teachers, women’s groups and youth and student movements – issued an ultimatum to the government of the Islamic […]

Iran

Iran: poisoning of Thousands of Schoolgirls piles more Pressure on Islamic Republic struggling for Survival

The Conversation

By Afshin Shahi, Keele University | – The Iranian government has announced several arrests in connection with the reported poisoning of more than 7,000 schoolgirls in more than 100 schools around the country. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has condemned the poisonings, saying perpetrators should be “severely punished”. Yet other government messages are confused. The […]