World Marks Day Against Death Penalty; Iran Holds Second-Highest Execution Rate
By Ahmad Rafat
The 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty will be held on Oct. 10. Iran holds the second-highest record (after China) for executions in recent years.
This special day was initially organized in...
ANALYSIS: How Accurate Are Opinion Surveys of Iranians Conducted From Abroad?
By Ahmad Rafat
On Feb. 24, the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy Center for International and Security Studies (CISSM) published a study titled “Iranian Public Opinion in the Biden Era,” which, according to...
Banned Iranian Directors Are In Competition For Top Berlin Film Festival Prize
By Ahmad Rafat
A movie by two Iranian directors currently facing a travel ban is in competition for the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, or Berlinale, which is due to be held from Feb....
Israeli Museum Celebrates Iranian Graphic Art
By Ahmad Rafat
An exhibition of contemporary Iranian poster art is currently on in a highly unexpected location: the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. Ending on November 19, the exhibition is a...
ANALYSIS: A Make-or-Break Moment in the Iran Nuclear Talks?
By Ahmad Rafat
The main parties in the talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran nuclear deal — will resume their negotiations in Vienna on Feb. 5.
After the...
IRGC and the Opium Trade
April 12, 2017
By Ahmad Rafat
Italian authorities have arrested ten individuals in recent days suspected of smuggling opium out of Iran. The group’s leader is a 39 year old Iranian man who had been operating...
ANALYSIS: Efforts to Reboot Iran Nuclear Deal Are Faltering
By Ahmad Rafat
For the past few months, European and American officials have warned that the “window of opportunity” for reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran is “closing fast.”
Speaking to French lawmakers on July...
ANALYSIS: Disbanding Morality Police Won’t Stop Iranians Urging Regime Change
By Ahmad Rafat
International media have reported extensively on recent ambiguous comments by Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, suggesting that the country had disbanded its morality police (the Guidance patrol).
Mr. Montazeri made those comments...
IRGC Officer Tells Tribunal of Khamenei’s Alleged Role in Suppressing 2019 Protests
By Ahmad Rafat
The Aban Tribunal held its second hearing behind closed doors between Feb. 4 and 6 at the Church House in London. A panel of six judges heard from 22 new witnesses. The...
ANALYSIS: What Is the Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal?
By Ahmad Rafat
What will be the outcome of the Vienna talks aimed at rebooting the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal? That is the question that all participants are...
