Sunday, February 9, 2025
Josep Borrell and Federica Mogherini

ANALYSIS: New EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell Is Sympathetic to Iran

By Ahmad Rafat Josep Borrell -- the current foreign minister of Spain, and soon-to-be High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy -- has, in the past, described Iran as a...

ANALYSIS: Iran and Israel Are On the Brink of An All-Out Military Conflict

      By Ahmad Rafat In the aftermath of the large-scale drone and missile attack launched by the Islamic Republic on Israel on April 13 and 14, there are heightened concerns about the possibility of a full-blown...

ANALYSIS: The Love-Hate Relationship Between Iran and Russia  

By Ahmad Rafat   The relationship between Iran and Russia has been a story of love and hate and cooperation and rivalry. Although Tehran considers itself an equal partner in this affair, Moscow has the upper...
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Venice Film Festival To Feature Iranian Directors Including Nader Saeivar

By Ahmad Rafat The 81st Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival, will open on Aug. 28 on Lido Island. This year’s event will showcase 188 films -- including feature-length and short formats, fiction,...

ANALYSIS: IRGC Is Main Obstacle in Talks to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal

By Ahmad Rafat In the past few weeks, there have been intense discussions on whether the U.S. should remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) in the...

ANALYSIS: Who Will Succeed Ali Khamenei as Iran’s Supreme Leader? 

By Ahmad Rafat   Elections for the 16th Majlis (Iranian Parliament) and for the sixth Assembly of Experts (which has the power to appoint Iran’s Supreme Leader) were held on March 1 in Iran. These elections marked...

ANALYSIS: Iran’s Influence Is Diminishing in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria

By Ahmad Rafat The Islamic Republic’s influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and even the Gaza Strip has significantly diminished over the last year. The so-called 'Resistance Front' is crumbling. There are two reasons for this....

INTERVIEW: Hunger-Striking Iranian Rights Activist Vahid Beheshti Urges UK Action

By Ahmad Rafat Vahid Beheshti, a journalist and human rights activist, has been on a hunger strike outside the British Foreign Office in London since Feb. 23 in an effort to urge the British government...

Iran Is Alarmed by Mutiny In Russia Led by Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin

By Ahmad Rafat The mercenary Wagner group’s occupation of the port city of Rostov-on-Don in Russia, on June 23 lasted just one day: Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted its march on Moscow after a deal...

Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi In Competition at Venice Film Festival

By Ahmad Rafat The Venice International Film Festival turns 90 this year. Originally launched in 1932, it is the oldest international film festival in the world. The 79th edition of the festival, organized by La Biennale...