Iran

( RFE/RL ) – The sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi has thrown a wrench in the succession plans of Iran’s elderly supreme leader. The ultraconservative Raisi was a longtime protege of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was widely believed to be grooming the former judiciary chief as his successor. Raisi’s demise has boosted the prospects […]

Iran

Men in Power: Iran’s Raisi and the Death of a Enabler

Fariba Amini

Newark, Delaware (Special to Informed Comment) – In the words of the great poet Hafez, “Be happy that the tyrant did not make his way home” While all eyes were on Gaza and the genocide taking place, an event in the mountains of Iranian Azerbaijan changed the news. The death of President Ebrahim Raisi and […]

Iran

What could President Raisi’s Death mean for Stability in Iran and the Mideast?

The Conversation

By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin | – A helicopter carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials crashed in the mountainous north-west reaches of Iran on Sunday May 19, sparking a rescue operation in thick fog and driving rain. On Monday, search and rescue teams reached the crash site and […]

Featured

Iranian President dead in Crash: Now comes the Night of Long Knives

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran’s Mehr News Service reported Monday morning Tehran time that President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died Sunday in a helicopter crash in a remote area of Iran. They had been at the border with the neighboring country of Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam and were going to […]

Iran

U.S. Seeks Shift In Iranian ‘Decision-Making Calculus’ Through Saudi-Israeli Normalization

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/RL) – The United States wants to force a gradual shift in Iran’s “decision-making calculus” by signing a defense deal with Saudi Arabia and securing the normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel. “We continue to work with allies and partners to enhance their capabilities to deter and counter the threats […]

Climate Crisis

From Campus Climate to Middle East Climate Emergency

Juan Cole

Juan Cole: Israel, Gaza and Campus Protests, Part II on Sea Change Radio with Alex Wise. Transcript below. Or listen here: This week on Sea Change Radio, the second half of our discussion with Middle East expert Juan Cole of the University of Michigan. In this episode, we talk about some of the problems presented […]

Iran

Gaza War is Bolstering Iran’s Standing in the Muslim World as Anti-Americanism Surges

Shahram Akbarzadeh

The Conversation) – Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires on Gaza, every US veto of a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, and every arrest of an anti-war protester on American university campuses, Iran’s rejection of the US-dominated world order gains more credibility […]

Arab World

Why are Algorithms called Algorithms? A brief History of the Persian Polymath you’ve likely never Heard of

The Conversation

By Debbie Passey, The University of Melbourne | – (The Conversation) – Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without algorithms. So, we’ve all heard of them, but where does the […]

China

Why are U.S. Sanctions against Iran’s Oil Exports Ineffective?

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/RL ) – Iran is one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. But restrictions imposed by the United States have largely failed to stymie Iran’s oil exports, the backbone of its flailing economy. U.S. sanctions have cut off Iran from most of its traditional customers, forcing Tehran to find […]