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...
Iran at the Venice Biennial (Part I)
A Visit to the Iranian Pavilion
By Ahmad Rafat
Iran is among the 85 countries taking part this year in the Venice Biennale, the world's largest and oldest art fair. The 57th Biennale opened on May...
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: Iran’s June Elections Loom Over Vienna Talks, U.S. Rejoining Nuclear Deal
By Ahmad Rafat
A fifth round of talks on the U.S. rejoining the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, is currently taking place in Vienna. Former U.S....
ANALYSIS: Reopening of Iran Nuclear Talks Poses Challenges to the U.S.
By Ahmad Rafat
While some White House remarks reveal that there are serious problems with the rebooting of the JCPOA, they also signal a new diplomatic game, which began when President Biden took office a...
ANALYSIS: Women-Led Protests Are Shifting the West’s Attitude Towards Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Western governments and politicians have finally focused their collective attention on the nationwide protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman, who died while in the...
Iranian Journalists Urge Their Association to Change Discriminatory Membership Rules
By Ahmad Rafat
In 1997, the Association of Iranian Journalists began its activities as the Iranian branch of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Two months after the 2009 presidential elections, the association was shut...
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...
Dzhangal: An Exhibition Not to Forget the Errant Refugees
By Ahmad Rafat
Gideon Mendel chose Dzhangal and not jungle, its English translation, as the name for his recent exhibition in London on the state of refugees, who for years, lived on the outskirts of the port of Calais, France, with the hope of crossing to Britain.
Gideon Mendel chose Dzhangal and not jungle, its English translation, as the name for his recent exhibition in London on the state of refugees, who for years, lived on the outskirts of the port of Calais, France, with the hope of crossing to Britain.
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...
