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Golnaz Esfandiari

Iran
Suspected Israeli Drone Strike In Iran Part Of New ‘Containment Strategy’

Suspected Israeli Drone Strike In Iran Part Of New ‘Containment Strategy’

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/ RL ) – A suspected Israeli drone strike hit an Iranian military facility in Isfahan on January 28, in an attack that is part of a new effort to contain Tehran, analysts said. Protracted efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers have floundered. In the absence of a […]

Authoritarianism
Will Iran’s Protest Movement Survive?

Will Iran’s Protest Movement Survive?

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) – Antiestablishment protests have raged across Iran for months, despite a brutal state crackdown in which hundreds of demonstrators have been killed and thousands more detained. Triggered by the death of a young woman died after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police in mid-September, the ongoing nationwide protests have become the longest-running […]

Authoritarianism
‘A Nightmare’: Iran Intensifies Deadly Crackdown In Kurdistan Region As Protests Rage

‘A Nightmare’: Iran Intensifies Deadly Crackdown In Kurdistan Region As Protests Rage

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL ) – Iranian authorities have intensified their deadly crackdown in the country’s western Kurdistan region, which has been the epicenter of the anti-establishment protests that have raged for months. Human rights groups say government forces have killed more than a dozen people in predominately Kurdish cities in the past 24 hours. The bloodshed […]

Authoritarianism
Iran's Athletes, Including Soccer Players at World Cup, are Boycotting National Anthem to Support Protests

Iran’s Athletes, Including Soccer Players at World Cup, are Boycotting National Anthem to Support Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

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. ( RFE/ RL ) – A growing number of Iranian athletes are refusing to sing the national anthem or to celebrate their victories in solidarity with the months-long anti-establishment protests that have […]

Authoritarianism
In New Tactic, Young Iranian Protesters Knock Off Clerics' Turbans On The Street

In New Tactic, Young Iranian Protesters Knock Off Clerics’ Turbans On The Street

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Hamid Fatemi | – ( RFE/RL ) – Nationwide antiestablishment protests have raged across the Islamic republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died on September 16 shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law on women’s dress. As the authorities have waged a […]

Authoritarianism
As Crackdown Intensifies, Iranian Demonstrators Turn To Protest Art

As Crackdown Intensifies, Iranian Demonstrators Turn To Protest Art

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL ) – As the authorities intensify their deadly crackdown on antiestablishment protests in Iran, some demonstrators are resorting to protest art to express their dissent. The street art and graffiti has targeted Iran’s clerical regime, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has appeared on public walls in major cities. دیوارنویسی اعتراضی در […]

Dissent
Iran's Universities Turn Into A Major Battleground Amid Anti-Government Protests

Iran’s Universities Turn Into A Major Battleground Amid Anti-Government Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami | – ( RFE/RL ) – Dozens of students protested outside the law faculty at Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabei University on October 19, chanting, “dishonorable, dishonorable,” as a government official addressed a conference inside. When government spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi later came outside, he was confronted by around 100 students. The […]

Authoritarianism
Iran Accused Of Using armed Minors To Suppress Anti-Government Protests

Iran Accused Of Using armed Minors To Suppress Anti-Government Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) — As Iranian authorities crack down on nationwide anti-government protests, photos have appeared on social media that purportedly show children and adolescent boys wearing unforms and holding batons. They appear to be wearing the uniforms of the Basij paramilitary forces, a branch of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The photos have […]

Authoritarianism
'They Have Found The Courage': Iranian Women Go Hijab-Less In Public Amid Protests

‘They Have Found The Courage’: Iranian Women Go Hijab-Less In Public Amid Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/ RL ) – Two young Iranian women posted a photo of themselves having breakfast at a restaurant in Tehran without hijabs. The same day, actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya spoke at the public funeral in the Iranian capital without a headscarf. On September 27, a video emerged of a woman without a hijab marching on […]

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