ANALYSIS: How Hostage Taking Is An Integral Part of Iran’s Foreign Policy
By Ahmad Rafat
Holding foreign nationals and Iranians with dual citizenship hostage, and demanding money or a prisoner swap for their freedom, has been an integral part of the Islamic Republic’s transactional foreign policy since...
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...
ANALYSIS: How Is Invasion of Ukraine Impacting Iran Nuclear Deal?
By Ahmad Rafat
In comments reported by domestic and international news organizations, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said that 98 percent of issues had been resolved during the recent round of talks in Vienna...
Helping Victims of Self-Immolation in the Mideast: Kayhan Life Meets Co-Founder of Roulah
By Ahmad Rafat
Roulah is a U.S.-registered non-profit organization dedicated to helping Middle Eastern women.
Established in July 2021 by co-founders Sheema Kalbasi and Shaghayegh Moradinnejad, it aims to help victims of self-immolation, domestic abuse, underage...
IRGC Officer Tells Tribunal of Khamenei’s Alleged Role in Suppressing 2019 Protests
By Ahmad Rafat
The Aban Tribunal held its second hearing behind closed doors between Feb. 4 and 6 at the Church House in London. A panel of six judges heard from 22 new witnesses. The...
ANALYSIS: A Make-or-Break Moment in the Iran Nuclear Talks?
By Ahmad Rafat
The main parties in the talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran nuclear deal — will resume their negotiations in Vienna on Feb. 5.
After the...
Hunger Strikers in Vienna Urge Iran to Free Jailed Dual Nationals
By Ahmad Rafat
Protesters are continuing their hunger strike outside a building in Vienna where the U.S. and Iran are holding indirect talks on reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran...
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...
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...
Iranian Rapper Toomaj Salehi Summoned by Revolutionary Court
By Ahmad Rafat
Toomaj Salah, who in recent months has become the most popular rap artist in Iran, has been ordered to appear in a revolutionary court on Jan. 12 in Shahin Shahr, in the...
