ANALYSIS: Iran’s Elections Are Setback for Khamenei
By Ahmad Rafat
On June 28, Iran held an election to choose a successor for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 while returning from a visit...
ANALYSIS: Iran Nuclear Talks May Soon Resume
By Ahmad Rafat
Enrique Mora, the European Union’s chief negotiator in the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the Iran nuclear deal — traveled to Tehran on May...
Banned Iranian Director Ali Ahmadzadeh Wins Top Award At Locarno Film Festival
By Ahmad Rafat
Ali Ahmadzadeh — an Iranian filmmaker who was banned earlier this year from leaving his country — has won the top award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland for his movie...
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: Europe Distances Itself from Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Germany, Britain, and France have warned that they will withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, if Tehran were to continue to...
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: 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...
Pope Francis to Meet Grand Ayatollah Sistani On His First-Ever Visit to Iraq
By Ahmad Rafat
Pope Francis arrived in Iraq on March 5 on his first-ever visit to the country. During his four-day visit to the birthplace of Abraham -- the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam...
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...
Meet the 14 Iranian Athletes Competing in the Paris Olympics Refugee Team
By Ahmad Rafat
Fourteen Iranian athletes are competing in the Paris Olympic Games as refugees. They are part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), which has a total of 36 athletes from 11 countries competing...
