Friday, October 2, 2026

ANALYSIS: Biden Will Not Rejoin Iran Nuclear Deal Quickly

By Ahmad Rafat U.S. electors will meet in their respective states on Dec. 14 to finalize the presidential election results, which handed the challenger Joe Biden a decisive win over the incumbent President Donald Trump....

Iranian Military Court Starts Trial of Defendants In Downing of Ukrainian Plane

By Ahmad Rafat   On Nov. 21, a military court in Iran opened trial proceedings against 10 junior officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for their alleged roles in the “unintentional” downing of the...

Venice Film Festival To Present ‘Tatami,’  First Iranian-Israeli Cinematic Collaboration

By Ahmad Rafat The Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest cinematic event, opens on August 30 on the island of Lido. While there are no Iranian films or filmmakers in the main competition, two titles...

ANALYSIS: A Marriage of Convenience Bolsters Iran’s Mideast Presence

By Ahmad Rafat The Lebanese press and broadcast media have reported extensively on the recent marriage between Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of General Ghasem Soleimani -- the slain commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’...

ANALYSIS: Is Iran Using Rocket Attacks to Pressure Biden?

By Ahmad Rafat Recent rocket attacks on an American airbase in Iraq and terrorist operations in Africa are apparent steps taken by Iran to strengthen its position in any future nuclear talks with the U.S....

EXCLUSIVE: The Sweet Destiny of Arash Sobhani, The Kiosk Band Leader Speaks to...

By Ahmad Rafat Arash Sobhani is the founder of the pioneering Iranian rock group Kiosk. An architecture graduate, he formed his band before moving to the U.S. Kiosk was one of the prominent bands in...
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VIDEO: Actress Nazanin Boniadi Meets Refugees in Calais

By Ahmad Rafat In July 2019, the British-Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi visited refugee camps in Calais (France) and Dunkirk (UK), and met asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan and other countries. “Stateless” —  a documentary film produced during...
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London Film Festival Features Trump Biopic by Abbasi, Rasoulof’s New Movie

By Ahmad Rafat The BFI London Film Festival, which ran from Oct. 8 to Oct. 20, showcased the work of Iranian directors and actors from Iran and the diaspora, with two movies receiving particular attention: ...

Designer Taherpour Says He Got Death Threats From Office of Iran’s President 

By Ahmad Rafat Saman Taherpour, an Iranian artist, designer, and entrepreneur based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the founder of Kiani Concept company, has received death threats from individuals claiming to represent the Office of the...

Whirling Dervishes: An Interview with Painter Irandoust Moghadam

By Ahmad Rafat The Iranian artist Hossein Irandoust Moghadam was born in 1978 in Iran to an Iranian mother and a Chinese-Iranian father. He was recently in London for an exhibition at London's Gallery 8,...