Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) – Amid escalating tensions with the United States and mounting sanctions pressuring Iran’s economy, a former senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says Tehran should not rule out holding talks with Washington. “We can’t leave aside talks, but how to talk is another issue,” said ex-IRGC naval commander Hossein Alaei. […]

(RFE/RL) – Iran is turning up the heat on the United States and its allies by shifting away from a policy of “strategic patience” and pushing back against Washington’s campaign of “maximum pressure” — which has significantly cut Iran’s oil exports, a major source of income, and caused the economy to shrink. Tehran has signaled […]

(RFE/RL) – As verbal sparring, economic pressure, and military jockeying intensify between Tehran and Washington, Iranians are closely following the standoff and appear increasingly alarmed at the prospect of a conflict with the United States. Even conservative authorities and frequently combative media in the Shi’a-majority country of around 81 million people look to be treading […]

Ostovar adds that the risks will depend on how Iran decides to respond

(RFE/RL) – A whirlwind eases with the Iranian president’s refusal to accept his smooth-talking foreign minister’s resignation. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Mohammad Javad Zarif has the political wind at his back. The political drama over the immediate fate of Iran’s foreign minister appears to be over. Mohammad Javad Zarif was back at work less […]

This is not good news for the moderates within the establishment

Speculation that a body found near the Iranian capital might be that of Reza Shah has stoked interest in the country’s pre-revolutionary past