The Taliban Cannot Control Afghanistan, Says Former Afghan MP Pedram
By Roshanak Astaraki
Dr. Abdul Latif Pedram, writer, poet, a former member of the Afghan Parliament, and the National Congress Party of Afghanistan leader is a campaigner against Taliban rule.
The Islamist group Taliban rapidly took...
EXCLUSIVE: Kayhan Life Interviews Iran’s Striking Oil Workers
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 and spread to 114 oil, gas, and petrochemical companies --...
ANALYSIS: Trade Unions Pose Major Challenge to the Islamic Republic
By Roshanak Astaraki
Nationwide protests by trade unions and striking oil workers on fixed-term contracts have significantly grown since they started a few months ago. They have now spread to all segments of Iranian society.
The...
Protests in Iran Continue Over Water Shortage in the South
By Roshanak Astaraki
A protest over severe water shortage and power cuts that started on July 15 in Hamidiyeh in the southwestern province of Khuzestan has now spread to 15 other cities in the province.
Antiriot...
EXCLUSIVE: Bodybuilder Khaled Pirzadeh Speaks of Being Tortured in Prison
By Roshanak Astaraki
On July 14, prison authorities in Iran reportedly transferred Khaled Pirzadeh, an advocate of constitutional monarchy and a civil rights activist, from the Greater Tehran Penitentiary in Fashapuyeh District (commonly known as...
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...
EXCLUSIVE: Kayhan Life Interviews Iran’s Striking Oil Workers
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 80 oil, gas, and petrochemical companies...
ANALYSIS: Iran’s Water Resources Require Urgent Action
By Hamed Mohammadi and Roshanak Astaraki
Water has always occupied an important and unique place in the global culture and literature of Iran. It is no accident that the Persian nouns Abadi and Abadani (development, settlement, village) start with...
Iran’s Ailing Agriculture Sector Poses Risk to Food Security
By Roshanak Astaraki
The number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014, a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said.
“Projections...
ANALYSIS: Why Is Iran Experiencing Power Cuts and Gas Shortages?
By Roshanak Astaraki
The director of Iran’s Department of Environment (DoE) Isa Kalantari has said the public must reduce its gas consumption or face frequent power outages.
In comments reported by the Tehran-based Tejarat News on...
