Tehran’s Qajar-Era Elephant House Damaged by Fire
A fire has damaged a landmark building that once housed elephants during the reign of Qajar King Nassereddin Shah (1884– 1896), ILNA (the Iranian Labor News Agency) has reported, citing Delavar Bozorgnia, the director...
Iranian Pop Singer Banned After Releasing Anti-War Music Video
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has banned Iranian pop singer Mehdi Yarrahi from recording and performing in public following the release of his anti-war music video “Pareh Sang” (Broken Rock) which the...
Women-Only Cast in Iran to Perform Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ for Women-Only Audience
An all-female production of Carmen, the famous opera written by the French composer George Bizet (1838 – 1875), is soon to be staged for an all-women audience at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, formerly known as...
Splendid Safavid Carpet Shown at the Met Now on Display at Houston Museum
Garden Paradise: The Magnificent Safavid Carpet from the Burrell Collection, Glasgow is a rarely displayed masterpiece that was exhibited for the first time in the United States at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art...
COMMENTARY: How Christmas, Mithraism and Yalda Night Are Closely Linked
By Fereydoun Vahman
A large percentage of the world population is celebrating Christmas and the New Year. Although the birth of Jesus and the start of the Christian New Year are a week apart, the...
L.A. Rock Vocalist Soraya Sebghati Would Love to Perform in Iran
By Fred Parvaneh
Soraya Sebghati is a songwriter and the lead vocalist of Night Talks (NightTalkstheband.com), a Los-Angeles-based alternative rock band.
The group’s debut album “In Dreams” got strong reviews, and the first single “Green” was...
Prominent Iranian Ayatollah Criticizes the Use of Wigs in Theatrical Production
Ayatollah Jaffar Sobhani, a source of emulation (Shia Marja) and a former member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, has criticized a theater company in Tehran for using wigs in a recent...
Hollywood Dentist Iman Sadri Interviews Stars on the Red Carpet
By Fred Parvaneh
In Hollywood, where galas are an everyday occurrence, you are bound to find Dr. Iman Sadri front and center, microphone in hand, interviewing the stars sashaying up the red carpet.
Dr. Sadri is...
Letter from 200 Iranian Filmmakers Demands Greater Creative Freedom
A group of 200 filmmakers has sent an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani and the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi, demanding “an end to the current guidelines that require filmmakers...
Rock Concerts Banned at Tehran Music Festival, Azadi Tower
The public relations office of the Azadi Tower Art Complex (formerly known as Shahyad) has announced that the venue will not host any rock concerts until further notice. The decision will deprive all independent...
