Canada Cancels Football Match with Iran Under Pressure From Plane Downing Victims’ Families
By Ahmad Rafat
A recent campaign by the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims forced the Canadian Football Federation to cancel a preparatory match for the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup...
ANALYSIS: The Outcome of Hamas-Israel War Is Uncertain
By Ahmad Rafat
Israel has said that its ground offensive will destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While Israel will most likely win the military war against Hamas, it has no clear plan for administering...
Iranian Filmmakers, Actresses Defy Regime In Aftermath of Protests
By Ahmad Rafat and Firouzeh Nordstrom
Since the start of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement in 2022, Iranian cinema has entered a new phase unparalleled in the past four and a half decades. Independent filmmakers...
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Fighter for Iran-Backed Hezbollah Speaks to Kayhan Life
By Ahmad Rafat
In recent months, several mid-ranking fighters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah organization in Lebanon have left, citing the Islamic Republic’s control over the movement, its involvement in the Syrian conflict and its support...
Iran’s Women-Led Revolution Inspires Italian Cartoonist Gianluca Costantini
By Ahmad Rafat
Gianluca Costantini is a renowned Italian cartoonist, artist, and comic journalist whose recent works have focused on the ongoing protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old...
ANALYSIS: Islamic Republic Faces Paralysis If West Toughens Sanctions
By Ahmad Rafat
The Islamic Republic of Iran currently finds itself engulfed in a multitude of crises: a deepening water shortage as reservoirs run dry; an electricity crisis marked by relentless blackouts; the fallout from...
Iran’s ‘Kleptocratic’ Leadership Will Fall, Says Albania’s Ambassador to UN
By Ahmad Rafat
On Nov. 2, the United Nations Security Council had an informal meeting on Iran’s ongoing repression of women, girls and ethnic minorities since the outbreak of nationwide protests in mid-September. Addressing the...
U.S. Keeps Military Option on Table As It Seeks to Reboot Iran Nuclear Talks
By Ahmad Rafat
U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration have reiterated their commitment to rejoin the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal. Yet it is unclear...
ANALYSIS: Iran Is Using COVID-19 to Further Its Political Goals
By Ahmad Rafat
After more than a year, the European Union has activated the Instrument to Support Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), enabling Iran to buy medicine and medical supplies and equipment to help the country in...
ANALYSIS: Islamic Republic Faces Imminent Return of International Sanctions
By Ahmad Rafat
Europe has issued a final warning to Iran, urging the Islamic Republic to take immediate action to prevent the reactivation of the "snapback" mechanism and the reimposition of international sanctions that were...
