Monday, August 3, 2026

Islamic Republic Faces Challenges As It Prepares Response to Haniyeh Killing

By Ahmad Rafat Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political office, was killed in Tehran on July 31. In response, the Islamic Republic quickly announced its plan to take retaliatory action against Israel, even though...

EXCLUSIVE : Detained Italian Journalist Is Islamic Republic’s Latest Hostage

By Ahmad Rafat On Dec. 19, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala into custody as she was leaving Iran for Italy. After her detention, Sala was swiftly transferred to...

ANALYSIS – Russia Confronts Waning Influence Over Karabakh Foes, Must Reckon With Turkey

By Mark Trevelyan and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired off one appeal after another for a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces, but the new eruption of...

ANALYSIS – Iran-Backed Hezbollah Could Gain Ground in Lebanon’s Election

By Maya Gebeily TRIPOLI, Lebanon, May 9 (Reuters) - The stakes are high in Lebanon's election. The heavily armed Hezbollah movement has seen one of its main rivals descend into disarray, handing it an opportunity to cement...

ANALYSIS: Iran Protests and the Silence of Champagne Socialists

By Sam Ghafarzadeh, Economic Analyst The recent protests in Iran, which started on December 28, 2017 in Mashhad, the holiest and second largest city of Iran, spread rapidly across the nation for more than a week, causing...

ANALYSIS-Iran Executions Quash Protests, Push Dissent Underground

By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Iran's hanging of protesters -- and display of their lifeless bodies suspended from cranes -- seems to have instilled enough fear to keep people off the streets after months...

ANALYSIS: Iran’s Workers Struggle With Low or Unpaid Wages, Fixed-Term Contracts

By Kayhan Life Staff Iranian workers face serious challenges, including low wages, fixed-term contracts, unsafe workplace environments, job insecurity, and a lack of benefits. Millions of Iranian households live under the poverty line. The current average...

Iranian Opposition Groups, Old and New, Mobilize Against the Regime

By Ahmad Rafat The nationwide unrest which started in Mashhad, capital of the northeastern province of Khorasan, on December 28, and quickly spread to other parts of the country, breathed new life into various opposition...

ANALYSIS: U.S. Sanctions Trigger Exodus of European Companies from Iran

By Ahmad Rafat In the past three months, dozens of mid-size and large European companies have announced plans to end their business and trade ties with Iran. The reimposition of U.S. sanctions, the last set...

EXCLUSIVE: Why Islamic Republic Allowed Prompt Release of Italian Reporter

By Ahmad Rafat In less than a week, two hostages were freed from prisons in the Islamic Republic of Iran and returned to their respective countries: Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist, and Nahid Taghavi, a...