Iran

This Revolution Is Still Alive’: A Growing Number Of Iranian Women Defy The Hijab Law After Months Of Protests

By Golnaz Esfandiari Mohammad Zarghami ( RFE/RL ) – Assal appeared in public for months without a hijab, or Islamic head scarf, in solidarity with the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran. Even as the demonstrations that erupted in September have waned in recent weeks following a deadly state crackdown, the Tehran resident has continued […]

China

Saudi-Iran deal won’t bring Peace to the Middle East but will enhance China’s role as Power Broker

The Conversation

By Simon Mabon, Lancaster University | – (The Conversation) – After more than four decades as seemingly implacable enemies on either side of a deep political-religious divide in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies. The deal, which was signed in Beijing, comes seven years after […]

China

Is China the New Indispensable Nation? Beijing Brokers Iran-Saudi Relations as U.S. and Israel are Sidelined

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In an interview with Al Jazeera English, veteran Washington Iran watcher Hillary Mann Leverett asserted that, in the wake of the reestablishment of Iran-Saudi diplomatic relations in an agreement brokered by Beijing, China is now “the indispensable nation” in the Middle East. She underlined that the United States could not […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Unions and Civil Rights groups demand Democracy and social Justice

The Conversation

By Simin Fadaee, University of Manchester | – Forty-four years after Iranians rose up against their hated monarch in February 1979, a group of 20 organisations engaged in long-term social and economic struggles – including labour unions, teachers, women’s groups and youth and student movements – issued an ultimatum to the government of the Islamic […]

Iran

Iran: poisoning of Thousands of Schoolgirls piles more Pressure on Islamic Republic struggling for Survival

The Conversation

By Afshin Shahi, Keele University | – The Iranian government has announced several arrests in connection with the reported poisoning of more than 7,000 schoolgirls in more than 100 schools around the country. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has condemned the poisonings, saying perpetrators should be “severely punished”. Yet other government messages are confused. The […]

Feminism

Walking Unveiled In Iran: Believing in the Beauty and Importance of Walks

Human Rights Watch

“I also believe in the beauty and importance of our walks” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran and Kuwait Senior Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | ( Human Rights Watch ) – This is the story of one Iranian woman who stopped wearing a headscarf in public as an act of protest. Despite […]

Batteries

Iran discovered to have 10% of World’s Lithium Deposits, in Good News for China’s EV Industry

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Indian Express reports from Iran’s PressTV that the country has discovered a deposit of 8.5 million tons of lithium in the Qahavand Plain of western Hamedan province. There are only 89 million tons of lithium in the world in known deposits so far, with the bulk of them in […]

Health

Mysterious Wave Of Sickness Hits Iranian Schoolgirls, Amid Speculation Over Gov’t Poisoning

Golnaz Esfandiari

A spate of illnesses in schools in the Iranian city of Qom has prompted public anger, with some accusing the government of negligence. ( RFE/RL) – Hundreds of schoolgirls have fallen sick and scores have been hospitalized in Iran’s holy city of Qom in recent months, with some parents and officials suspecting they were […]

Authoritarianism

Are Western sanctions on Iran making a difference?

The Conversation

By Amin Saikal, The University of Western Australia | – (The Conversation) – The Iranian Islamic regime has been seriously challenged since the start of public protests last September. The government has sought to contain and suppress the protesters – even resorting to executions – but has been unable to stop them. There are continuing […]