ANALYSIS: Iran’s Exclusion from Munich Conference Is A Victory For Pro-Democracy Movement
By Ahmad Rafat
The Islamic Republic has been excluded from this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC), held from 17 to 19 Feb.
The MSC’s decision marks the first time Iran and Russia will not have representatives...
ANALYSIS: Europe Is Reluctant to Designate IRGC As A Terrorist Organization
By Ahmad Rafat
European governments are in the process of deciding whether to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
On Jan. 18, the European Parliament overwhelmingly supported a proposal urging the...
Iranian Film Professionals Boycott Islamic Republic’s Fajr Festival
By Ahmad Rafat
A significant number of people in the Iranian film industry have said that they will not attend the 41st Fajr International Film Festival, which is being held between Feb. 1 and 11...
Pope Breaks Silence, Condemns Use of Death Penalty Against Protesters in Iran
By Ahmad Rafat
Pope Francis has condemned Iran’s use of the death penalty against protesters, demanding greater respect for women.
He made the remarks during his annual speech to foreign diplomats accredited to the Vatican on...
ANALYSIS: Disbanding Morality Police Won’t Stop Iranians Urging Regime Change
By Ahmad Rafat
International media have reported extensively on recent ambiguous comments by Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, suggesting that the country had disbanded its morality police (the Guidance patrol).
Mr. Montazeri made those comments...
Iran’s Women-Led Revolution Inspires Italian Cartoonist Gianluca Costantini
By Ahmad Rafat
Gianluca Costantini is a renowned Italian cartoonist, artist, and comic journalist whose recent works have focused on the ongoing protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old...
Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Receives Award for Campaign Against Death Penalty
By Ahmad Rafat
The Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was awarded the Robert Badinter Award at the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty on Nov. 18 in Berlin.
The event was sponsored by the...
Kayhan Life Interviews Niyaz, the Iranian Musical Duo
By Ahmad Rafat
Niyaz is an Iranian musical duo created by the singer Azam Ali — formerly part of the group VAS — and her husband Loga Ramin Torkian, from the Iranian crossover group Axiom...
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...
ANALYSIS: Strikes Threaten Survival of Islamic Republic
By Ahmad Rafat
The nationwide protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 in Tehran, have entered...
