Iranian Republic

Chronicle of a Flawed Accord Foretold?

Ali Afshari is an Iranian political analyst and pro-democracy activist. He is a former student leader and member of the Central Committee of the Office for Consolidating Unity, which was the main and largest student organization in Iranian universities during the Reformist era. He received his Ph.D. from George Washington University in systems engineering, working as adjunct faculty member, and contributes regularly on current Iranian political events in Persian- and English-language media outlets. Diwan interviewed him in mid-June to ask him about the ongoing negotiations to revive the nuclear deal with Iran, and the impact this may have on the broader Middle East.

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Iran: Ukraine Airline Victims’ Families Harassed, Abused

Iranian authorities have engaged in a campaign of harassment and abuse against families of people killed in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in January 2020, Human Right Watch said today. On April 6, 2021, Iranian authorities announced that they had indicted 10 people for their role in the incident but have not provided any public information about their identities, ranks, or the charges against them. Governments participating in the Flight 752 investigation should support family members of victims in pursuing a path for justice and accountability.

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“Unbearable”: Reza Khandan, Husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, on the Ground in Iran’s Qarchak Prison

“The purpose of holding women prisoners in such a place is to pressure and psychologically abuse them and their families.”

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A letter from Prison Arash Sadeghi writes to Mr. Javaid Rehman

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A U.N. farce has tragic implications for feminist activists in Iran

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Time to Abandon Haji Firouz's Blackface-Nazila Fathi

Nowruz is approaching and Haji Firouz, the legendary character who spreads joy before the Persian new year, will once again hit the streets. There is one problem: his blackface.

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The Running To Take The Reins In Iran? - Golnaz Esfandiari

Iran will hold a presidential election in less than three months amid speculation that a hard-liner and a "military man" could succeed Hassan Rohani, who is serving his final term and is under heavy pressure from his hard-line opponents who have consolidated power in the Islamic republic.

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Labor Activists, the Living Wage and State Law in Iran

On April 8, 2020, representatives of Iran’s government, business and labor sectors resumed long overdue negotiations to revise the national minimum wage. With an economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and crippling sanctions imposed by the United States, prospects for government and business representatives to consent to a substantial wage increase were slim.

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Academic jailed in Iran pulls off daring escape back to Britain

A British- Iranian dual national sentenced to nine years and three months in jail in Iran for co-operating with “a hostile state power” has smuggled himself out of Iran, escaping over the country’s treacherous mountainous border, and is now living in London. In an interview with the Guardian, Kameel Ahmady explained he felt had no option but to flee after spending nearly 100 days in Evin prison, including a brutal spell in solitary confinement while he was being interrogated.

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Former officials from across Europe urge change in diplomatic status toward Iran

On Thursday (28 January) a group of former government officials from more than a dozen European countries issued a statement urging the European Union and its member states to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, pending guarantees for an end to the threat of Iranian state terrorism. The statement on the initiative of the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ) was released exactly one week ahead of the anticipated verdict in the case of Assadollah Assadi, a high-ranking Iranian diplomat who allegedly served as the mastermind of a 2018 terror plot targeting a gathering of Iranian expatriates in France. During an online panel discussion, four officials on the ISJ talked about the failure of Europe’s policy of appeasement.

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