ANALYSIS: Reaching A Deal in Iran-U.S. Nuclear Talks Will Be Tough
By Ahmad Rafat
On the anniversary of the death of Ruhollah Khomeini -- the founder of the Islamic Republic -- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei firmly rejected the idea of halting uranium enrichment, a demand...
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: As Iran Nuclear Deal Expires, UN Sanctions Are Reinstated
By Ahmad Rafat
The nuclear agreement signed by the Islamic Republic of Iran in October 2015 with the three European countries -- Germany, France, and the United Kingdom (collectively known as the E3) -- alongside...
ANALYSIS: Iran Is Increasingly Isolated, Losing Influence In the Middle East
By Ahmad Rafat
The so-called “Axis of Resistance” -- a political alliance between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and the Lebanese Hezbollah -- has suffered several humiliating defeats...
ANALYSIS: What Obama Writes About Iran In His Bestselling Memoir
By Ahmad Rafat
Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s memoir A Promised Land has been a mega-bestseller since its release on Nov. 17. As of late December, more than 3 million copies of the 751-page tome...
Remembering Iranian Novelist Parviz Ghazi Saeed, Creator of “Detective Lawson”
By Ahmad Rafat
Parviz Ghazi Saeed, a celebrated pre-Revolution fiction writer, died on April 21 in San Jose, California, aged 83. His family said Mr. Saeed, who was a political commentator for Persian-language media in...
ANALYSIS: U.S. Sanctions Trigger Exodus of European Companies from Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
In the past three months, dozens of mid-size and large European companies have announced plans to end their business and trade ties with Iran. The reimposition of U.S. sanctions, the last set...
Life At the Italian Embassy in Tehran: Ambassador’s Daughter Writes Graphic Novel
By Ahmad Rafat
Chiara Mezzalama has a special relationship with Iran: She moved there two years after the 1979 Revolution when her father, Francesco Mezzalama, became the Italian ambassador to Tehran. They lived in the...
Islamic Republic Had A Hand In Attack on Shiraz Shrine, Says Analyst Vahedi
By Ahmad Rafat
A terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz on Aug. 13 left one person dead and seven others injured, according to the local authorities.
Shortly after the attack on the Shia...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Khamenei Holds Key to Talks With U.S.
By Ahmad Rafat
Joe Biden is the sixth U.S. president to have had to deal with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the past 31 years. Contrary to popular belief, and despite Mr. Biden’s...
