Iran

( RFE/RL) – The family of Mahsa Amini have blamed Iran’s security forces for vandalizing the grave of the young woman whose death while in police custody in September 2022 ignited nationwide protests that have turned into one of the biggest threats to the Islamic republic’s leadership since it took power in 1979. The Amini […]

Afghanistan

The Water Wars Begin: Did Climate Change contribute to Saturday’s Deadly Iran-Afghan Border Clash over Helmand River?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reports that on Saturday deadly clashes broke out between Iranian border guards in the Zabul district of Sistan and Baluchistant Province and their opposite numbers on the Afghanistan side in the Keng District of Nimruz Province. Tasnim wrote, “Conscript “Mehdi Ahmadi” was martyred while guarding the […]

Death Penalty

“Don’t Let them Kill Us:” How the Ayatollahs’ Iran became the Execution Capital of the World

Fariba Amini

Newark, Delaware (Special to Informed Comment) – Under the previous Iranian Penal Code or IPC, which was in force until 2013, the charge of mohareb, “Waging War (on Islam,” was frequently used against political dissidents and people with connections to opposition groups abroad, even if they were non-violent. The new Penal Code has provided for their punishment […]

Featured

The Limits of Saudi Normalization with Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration is devoting what energy the State Department has aside from the effort to defend Ukraine to achieving diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The premise for this entry of the Saudis into the Abraham Accords is that it would seek an alliance with Israel against Iran. […]

Featured

Is Israel Over-Hyping the Supposed Iran Threat?

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Jonathan G. Leslie, Fear and Insecurity: Israel and the Iran Threat Narrative (London: Hurst and Co., 2022). Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – “Words have consequences,” writes Jonathan G. Leslie on the last page of his book “Fear and Insecurity: Israel and the Iran Threat Narrative.” He argues that the predominant Israeli […]

China

China and the Axis of the Sanctioned: How America’s Divide-and-Rule Strategy in the Middle East Backfired

Juan Cole

( Tomdispatch.com) – A photo Beijing released on March 6th of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign minister Wang Yi* delivered a seismic shock in Washington. There he was, standing between Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, and Saudi National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban. They were awkwardly shaking hands on an […]

Food Insecurity

Poor Iranians Sell Their Organs Amid Deepening Economic Crisis

Golnaz Esfandiari

One-third of Iran’s population reportedly lives in extreme poverty. Some people are so poor that they have resorted to selling their organs on the black market to make ends meet. (file photo) Share (RFE/RL ) – I’m RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here’s what I’ve been following during the past week and what I’m […]

Climate Crisis

Iran’s Environmental Standards, Polluted Reality Mix Like Oil And Water

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Michael Scollon ( RFE/RL) – National Clean Air Day was not a cause for celebration this year in Tehran, where many residents were shuttered in their homes for their own safety to avoid exposure to the Iranian capital’s infamous and deadly smog. In the run-up to January 19, the day Iran dedicates to promoting […]

Featured

Iran’s President Raisi in Damascus for Victory Lap, Expanded Trade

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hard line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took a victory lap in Syria this week. He led an Iranian delegation of officials and cabinet members to Damascus for consultations with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Among those in the entourage were Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, and Oil […]