ANALYSIS: Much of Iran Is Threatened By Drought and Water Scarcity
By Ahmad Rafat
Climate change poses a clear and present danger to our planet. The situation is even more critical in the Middle East and Iran, where water shortage, drought, and forest fires have turned...
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...
Documentary on Ukrainian Airliner Death, Directed by Mania Akbari, Screens in London
By Ahmad Rafat
The London-based Iranian filmmaker Mania Akbari has shot a documentary about Elnaz Nabiyi, one of the 167 passengers who died when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defense units shot down Ukrainian...
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.
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: How Iran Systematically Persecutes Artists, Rappers
By Ahmad Rafat
Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi’s trial was held on Jan. 12 at branch102 of Shahin Shahr’s criminal court in the central province of Isfahan. A few hours before the start of the court...
ANALYSIS: Pezeshkian’s Trips to New York, Baghdad Fall Flat
By Ahmad Rafat
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian did not change international views of his government’s foreign policy during his discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. While he aimed...
IRGC and the Opium Trade
April 12, 2017
By Ahmad Rafat
Italian authorities have arrested ten individuals in recent days suspected of smuggling opium out of Iran. The group’s leader is a 39 year old Iranian man who had been operating...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Human Rights Violations Draw Global Condemnation
By Ahmad Rafat
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s systematic and gross violations of human rights have once again captured global attention.
On Sept. 2, Amnesty International released a comprehensive and damning 80-page report on the Islamic...
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...
