Iran

By Michael Scollon ( RFE/RL ) – Temperatures in Iran are hitting record highs, rivers and lakes are drying up, and prolonged droughts are becoming the norm, highlighting a water crisis that is turning much of the country’s territory to dust. The desertification of Iran is occurring at a staggering pace, with officials last month […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Change is the New Mideast Extremism — Iraq Hottest Place on Earth, as Iran goes into Lockdown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The deadly effects of ideological extremism in the Middle East for the past few decades have caused governments and journalists to focus on it. The Arabic word is al-taṭarruf. I was interested, however, to see the word put to a different purpose in a Sky News Arabia article , where […]

Human Rights

Iranian Court Sparks Controversy By Diagnosing Hijab Protesters With Mental Illness

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Roya Maleki Left to right: Iranian actresses Afsaneh Bayegan, Azadeh Samadi, and Leila Bolukat were all arrested for appearing in public without the mandatory hijab, or head scarf. At their sentencing, judges ruled that they were “mentally ill.” ( RFE/RL ) – Judges in Iran have diagnosed three prominent actresses sentenced for […]

Feminism

Return Of ‘Morality Police’ To Iranian Streets Leaves Women Fearful But Defiant

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Mehdi Tahbaz “Our girls are fighting and know that there is no way back for us and we are not going back, and our answer to them wanting to forcibly put a hijab on us is, ‘No!’” one women’s rights activist in Tehran said. ( RFE/RL) – The return of the so-called […]

Arab World

Middle East and North Africa: End Curbs on Women’s Mobility (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Many Middle East and North Africa countries still prevent women from moving freely in their own country or traveling abroad without the permission of a male guardian. Women in the region are fighting rules that authorities often claim are for their protection, but that deprive women of their rights and enable men to control and […]

Authoritarianism

Protests Erupt In Northern Iran Amid Attempts To Enforce Hijab Rules

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

( RFE/ RL ) – Protests have erupted in the northern Iranian city of Rasht following an attempt by government officials to arrest three women over violations of mandatory hijab rules amid reports that the country’s leadership has ordered the resumption of so-called “morality police” patrols. An Iranian morality policeman (right) speaks with a woman […]

Climate Crisis

Roots of Iraq’s Water Crisis: Upriver Dams along with Climate Change

McGuire Gibson

Response of McGuire Gibson, Professor Emeritus of Mesopotamian Architecture , University of Chicago, to Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl Juan: In your devastating post about Iraq’s drought, you could have given more attention to the crucial role of Turkey in flouting international law and damaging Iraq (and Syria) […]

censorship

Iran: New Charges against Journalists

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have brought vague “propaganda” and “national security” charges against three journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should drop the charges, which stem from the journalists’ reporting and writing on social media, and end the ongoing harassment, prosecution, and punishment of those exercising their rights to […]

Featured

Will US-Iran talks in Oman allow the two Countries to avoid War?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Late in 2022, the Biden administration announced that it had given upon on negotiating a restoration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA), which Donald Trump destroyed in May 2018 by ripping it up and slapping what amounts to a financial and trade […]