Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Juan Cole

Authoritarianism
Iran: Women Students Brand Regime Paramilitary "ISIL" as Protests Continue, with at least 185 Dead

Iran: Women Students Brand Regime Paramilitary “ISIL” as Protests Continue, with at least 185 Dead

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dubai’s Al-Arabiya reports that on Sunday evening angry nighttime demonstrations broke out in numerous Iranian cities, as the wave of protests entered its fourth week. Videos posted to social media showed nighttime protests in the capital, Tehran, the Kudish cities of Sandandaj and Mahabad, and Zanjan. Several of the videos […]

Featured
Iran’s Hijab Revolt: What does the Qur’an Really say about Women in Public?

Iran’s Hijab Revolt: What does the Qur’an Really say about Women in Public?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ayatollahs who rule Iran claim to do so in the name of Islam. Their interpretation of Islam, however, is often rooted in a medieval commentary tradition that added accretions to the central scripture, the Qur’an. The Qur’an was recited in Mecca and Medina by the Prophet Muhammad in the […]

Authoritarianism
Young Unveiled Iranian Women Protesters Keep Mysteriously falling off Buildings, According to Country’s Police

Young Unveiled Iranian Women Protesters Keep Mysteriously falling off Buildings, According to Country’s Police

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Like Russian officials and failed diplomats, who seem to fall off buildings at a dizzying rate, Iranian young women under the harsh, patriarchal rule of the ayatollahs have developed the same health condition. Or so it is alleged by the official Iranian press. Independent organizations such as Amnesty International beg […]

Featured
Dark Brandon Pardons Those Convicted of Pot Use, Righting a Historical Wrong: The 'War on Drugs' Targeted Minorities

Dark Brandon Pardons Those Convicted of Pot Use, Righting a Historical Wrong: The ‘War on Drugs’ Targeted Minorities

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a pardon for all federal convicts on the charge of marijuana possession. Mr. Biden further urged state governors to take a similar step regarding those convicted on state possession charges. Third, he asked Xavier Becerra, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the […]

Featured
As Saudis stab Biden in the Back with OPEC+ Oil Cut, Only Electric Vehicles can Make US Independent

As Saudis stab Biden in the Back with OPEC+ Oil Cut, Only Electric Vehicles can Make US Independent

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a major blow to President Joe Biden, on Wednesday, OPEC+ took steps toward cutting the oil production of the members by 2 million barrels a day. Jackie Northam at NPR reports the views of analysts who believe that Saudi Arabia and Russia drove the decision in order to get […]

Climate Crisis
Ray of Hope: Florida's Solar-Powered Babcock Ranch Handily survived Hurricane Ian

Ray of Hope: Florida’s Solar-Powered Babcock Ranch Handily survived Hurricane Ian

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Babcock Ranch, Florida, in the southwest of the state, was planned in 2005 as a 17,000 acre community. It had as goals conservation and sustainability. The town was built to withstand the hurricanes that sweep over Florida with ever more frequency and fierceness. And, lo and behold, it was able […]

Authoritarianism
Iran: School and University Women Lead Rallies, Sit-ins Bareheaded, as Leader Khamenei Softens on Compulsory Veiling

Iran: School and University Women Lead Rallies, Sit-ins Bareheaded, as Leader Khamenei Softens on Compulsory Veiling

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday in Iran, demonstrations, marches and rallies continued for the 17th day, spearheaded by high school and college students. Many universities entered a third day of class boycotts by students, who said they would not return to their studies until the government released imprisoned students. At some universities students […]

Featured
Proliferation and Nuclear Winter: If Putin drops an Atom Bomb on Ukraine, Iran, Saudi Arabia -- Everyone -- will Want a Bomb

Proliferation and Nuclear Winter: If Putin drops an Atom Bomb on Ukraine, Iran, Saudi Arabia — Everyone — will Want a Bomb

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Russian President Vladimir Putin again threatened on Friday, as he announced the annexation of four provinces from Ukraine, to use nuclear weapons, presumably as a last resort, in his war on Ukraine. Putin said, according to Reuters, “The United States is the only country in the world that has twice […]

Dissent
Iran Protests for Personal Freedoms Enter 3rd Week, as all Three Branches of Government Vow Crackdown

Iran Protests for Personal Freedoms Enter 3rd Week, as all Three Branches of Government Vow Crackdown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that President Ebrahim Raisi met Saturday with the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and with the Chief Justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, about the wave of demonstrations that entered its third week this weekend. The heads of all three branches of civil government called on the police to […]

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • …
  • Page 91
  • Page 92
  • Page 93
  • Page 94
  • Page 95
  • …
  • Page 1608
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Juan Cole Fundraiser
DONATED:$8,346
SUPPORTERS:100
TARGET:$30,000
REMAINING:$21,654

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • The Israeli Scramble for Palestine's Energy Reserves (Pt. 1)
  • Whitewashing Gas Exploration in Post-Genocide Gaza
  • "You Cannot fight the World:" The Hidden Meaning behind Trump's Warning to Israel
  • Infectious Diseases "Spiraling out of Control" in Gaza as Israel Cuts Aid Entry in Half
  • The Trump Administration's steps toward a Military Occupation of America

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved