(RFE/RL) -The captain of Iran’s national soccer team has renewed his criticism of a ban on female spectators following reports a young Iranian woman set herself alight after being sentenced to prison for trying to attend a men’s soccer match. Masoud Soleimani Shojaei — who is considered a national hero — said on September 6 […]
Iran: The 14 Defiant Women Who Want To end Gender Apartheid in The Islamic Republic
(RFE/RL) – Iranian human rights lawyer Guity Pourfazel wants to see change in her country and believes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should step down and the ruling clerical establishment be replaced with a democratic system. Pourfazel is one of 14 women activists in Iran who have publicly called for Khamenei to resign and for […]
Former Revolutionary Guards Chief Says Iran Should Consider Talking To Trump
( 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. […]
Is Washington’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ Bringing An End To Iran’s ‘Strategic Patience?’
(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 […]
Alarmed Iranians Fret over Devastating new War after 4 Decades of Conflict
(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 […]
IRGC’s ‘Terrorist’ Designation Raises U.S. Stakes Over Iran
Ostovar adds that the risks will depend on how Iran decides to respond
Iran’s Foreign Minister Zarif is Back, but Revolutionary Guards still Want Control
(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 […]
Under Trump’s Pressure, Iran’s Khamenei moves to Ensure Rightwing Successor
This is not good news for the moderates within the establishment
“A Deadly Blow:” Why is Iran Persecuting and Killing Sufi Mystics?
Washington, D.C. (RFE/RL) – Thirty-three-year-old Mostafa Abdi, a member of Iran’s largest Sufi order and editor of a news outlet focused on the Gonabadi dervish community, appears set to spend the most productive years of his life in an Iranian prison. Abdi was reportedly sentenced earlier this month to more than 26 years, and 148 […]
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