Iranian Businesses Hit by COVID-19 to Flood Banks with Bounced Checks, Expert Warns
By Roshanak Astaraki
Most Iranian businesses expected a surge in consumer spending before the Iranian New Year on March 20, but suffered massive losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, banks will be...
Iran Experiences Surge in Suicides Among Soldiers and Nurses
By Roshanak Astaraki
Despite the publicly voiced concerns of healthcare professionals, physicians, and social workers, there has ben an alarming increase in the number of suicides in Iran in recent years, successive governments have failed...
Death Toll From Bandar Abbas Port Explosion Continues to Rise
By Roshanak Astaraki
According to official figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the explosion at Shahid Rajaei Port -- near Bandar Abbas in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan -- has resulted in 70...
More Than Half a Million Iranian Families Forced into Poverty in 2019, Official Says
By Roshanak Astaraki
During a Dec. 11 cabinet meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the director of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation Morteza Bakhtiari had assured him that extreme poverty had been completely eradicated in...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Economic Crisis Is Set to Worsen
By Roshanak Astaraki
Iran is experiencing the most severe economic crisis in 100 years, with ordinary Iranians and wage-earners bearing the brunt of the hardship. The Islamic Republic’s 13th government, headed by President Ebrahim Raisi,...
Jailed Iranian Blogger Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki Released on Bail
By Roshanak Astaraki
Hossein Ronaghi, an influential civil rights activist and blogger, was released from prison on March 2 after posting bail, pending a trial.
Authorities arrested Mr. Ronaghi, whose full last name is Ronaghi-Maleki, on Feb....
Iranian Experts Write to Rouhani Proposing Solutions to Iran’s Economic Woes
By Roshanak Astaraki
A group of 24 economists have written an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani listing 10 steps that his government can take to solve the country’s economic problems, the semi-official Fars news...
Iranian Oil Workers’ Industrial Action Enters Fourth Week, Continues to Spread
By Roshanak Astaraki
A nationwide strike by Iranian oil workers on fixed-term contracts -- which started a day after the June 18 Iranian presidential elections -- has spread to 114 oil, gas, and petrochemical companies...
ANALYSIS: Enforcing the Mandatory Hejab Is A Massive Economic Cost
By Roshanak Astaraki
The suppression of women in Iran, most recently through the nationwide ‘Noor Project’ aimed at enforcing the mandatory hejab, has garnered significant attention both domestically and internationally. The Noor Project was launched...
‘Islamic Republic’s Days Are Numbered,’ Says Swedish Euro-MP Charlie Weimers
By Roshanak Astaraki
Charlie Weimers, a Swedish representative to the European Parliament who has taken a strong stand against the Islamic Republic and supported the protesters in Iran, gave the following interview to Kayhan Life...
