Iran and China on the Verge of Signing 25-Year Deal
By Ahmad Rafat
After years of talks, Iran and China are reportedly getting ready to sign a wide-reaching 25-year contract. There has been no official announcement regarding the agreement. It is also unclear whether the...
VIDEO: Actress Nazanin Boniadi Meets Refugees in Calais
By Ahmad Rafat
In July 2019, the British-Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi visited refugee camps in Calais (France) and Dunkirk (UK), and met asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan and other countries. “Stateless” — a documentary film produced during...
EXCLUSIVE: Oscars Academy’s Invitation to Filmmaker Abyar Sparks Furious Petition in Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Screenwriter Narges Abyar is one of five Iranian-born film-industry professionals to have been invited on June 30 to join the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her selection has met...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Economic Crisis Is Sparking New Wave of Civil Unrest
By Ahmad Rafat
The volatile foreign exchange market is the leading indicator of the economic crisis in Iran -- even for those who live abroad and are not part of the everyday struggle in the...
ANALYSIS: A Marriage of Convenience Bolsters Iran’s Mideast Presence
By Ahmad Rafat
The Lebanese press and broadcast media have reported extensively on the recent marriage between Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of General Ghasem Soleimani -- the slain commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’...
Actress Nazanin Boniadi Named Amnesty International UK Ambassador, Cast in ‘Lord of the Rings’
By Ahmad Rafat
The British-Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi has just been appointed as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK. She has also been cast as one of the main characters in the new TV series...
Iraqi Special Forces Raid Shia Militia Group, Capture Iranian Commander
By Ahmad Rafat
In the early morning hours of June 26, the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) raided the headquarters of Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) in Dora, a neighborhood in the Al Rashid administrative district...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Influence Is Diminishing in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria
By Ahmad Rafat
The Islamic Republic’s influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and even the Gaza Strip has significantly diminished over the last year. The so-called 'Resistance Front' is crumbling.
There are two reasons for this....
ANALYSIS: Syria Is a Quagmire That Will Soon Engulf Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Russia is determined to end the Syrian Civil War five years after deploying its military to the country to support President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Before withdrawing its troops from Syria and starting...
Iraq Cannot Name New Premier Without Iran’s Approval, Analyst Says
By Ahmad Rafat
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington is “closely watching the Iraqi prime minister-designate Mustafa Al-Kadhimi” as he tries to form a new government.
“Iraqi leaders need to cast aside the country’s sectarian...
