ANALYSIS: Taliban Comeback Will Shift Balance of Power in the Region
By Ahmad Rafat
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan at lightning speed last week — 20 years after U.S. military forces removed them from power. Their return and territorial gains in such a short time...
EXCLUSIVE: The Sweet Destiny of Arash Sobhani, The Kiosk Band Leader Speaks to...
By Ahmad Rafat
Arash Sobhani is the founder of the pioneering Iranian rock group Kiosk. An architecture graduate, he formed his band before moving to the U.S. Kiosk was one of the prominent bands in...
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...
Sattar, Iranian Performers Honor Khuzestan Protests With Song Khunestan
By Ahmad Rafat
Khunestan (“Land of Blood”) is a song written in tribute to this summer’s bloody protests against water shortage in Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan, which resulted in 11 deaths and some 700...
ANALYSIS: Iran Nuclear Talks in Vienna Deadlocked Amid Tensions in the Persian Gulf
By Ahmad Rafat
The inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s new president this month coincides with ongoing Vienna talks on rebooting the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear...
Actress Mary Apick Discusses Her Animation Film On Iran’s Underage Street Peddlers
By Ahmad Rafat
Iranian-American stage and television actress Mary Apick has produced a 13-minute animation film titled “The Cat” drawing attention to the plight of Iran’s child peddlers. The focus of the story: a flower...
Iranian Police Arrest Activist Fatemeh Sepehri, Devout Woman with Secular Views
By Ahmad Rafat
Fatemeh Sepehri -- the civil rights activist who was detained in Mashhad on Sunday, Aug. 1, during a peaceful demonstration in support of the people of Khuzestan and against the security situation...
Iranian Athletes Compete Against Each Other At Tokyo Olympics
By Ahmad Rafat
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which were delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, finally kicked off officially in Tokyo on July 23.
According to some reports, 80 percent of the...
ANALYSIS: What Role Did Iran’s New President Play in the 1988 Executions?
By Ahmad Rafat
Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, better known as Ebrahim Raisi, will take office as the Islamic Republic’s eighth president on August 5.
The June presidential elections have differed in many aspects from all previous ones. For...
ANALYSIS: Low Voter Turnout Expected in Iran Elections, Poll Shows
By Ahmad Rafat
The Islamic Republic has, once again, urged Iranians to vote in an election, the outcome of which is a foregone conclusion. Most people believe that Ebrahim Raisi, the current head of the...
