Tag Archives: Mesbah Yazdi

Iran’s Turbulence Beneath

As the main stream media slip back into their pre-2009-Iran-presidential-election coma of blissful ignorance, the story is no longer about the courageous Iranian protesters facing their government and revealing to the world how their government torments and terrorizes them. The now almost decade long story about the threat of the Iranian nuclear program has started [...]

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The Seditious Ahmadinejad?

The Diplomat | July 27, 2010 By Meir Javedanfar Ultra conservative criticism of Ahmadinejad is growing and Khamenei’s fatwa looks desperate. Will regime in-fighting boil over? Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, an ongoing and constant battle has been raging between different factions of Iran’s ruling elites over whose opinion should have more sway with [...]

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Tehran Bureau: Who’s in Charge?

Struggle for power builds between clerics, Revolutionary Guards. An important question that those who follow Iran’s political developments keep asking is, Who is the ultimate power in Iran, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei and the clerics around him, or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps?

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Full text of Karoubi’s Nowruz Message to Iran (Blasting the Hardliners)

(Khordaad88) | March 19, 2010 Thanks to Khordaad88 for providing the English Translation of Karoubi’s Nowruz Speech Source: Saham News Date: Friday, March 19, 2010 In the Name of God, the Compassionate and the Merciful, I extend a happy new year to all Iranians both inside and outside Iran. I offer my good wishes to [...]

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The Destination was to Begin the Journey

(The Pedestrian Blog) | March 10, 2010 The Pedestrian is an excellent blog providing insightful pieces on Iranian culture, politics and life.   Highly recommended by Iran News Now. Emad Bahavar [1979] is a political activist, writer and the head of “Supporters of Khatami and Mousavi” in the 2009 presidential campaign. He was arrested shortly after [...]

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A Memory of Javad Larijani

(The Pedestrian Blog) | February 22, 2010 Javad Larijani is the head of the Human Rights Council in the judiciary and a top adviser to the supreme leader. Additionally Larijani has been the Director of Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics in Tehran. His two brothers, Ali Larijani and Sadeq Larijani are heads [...]

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Regime Seeks to Appoint New “Grand Ayatollahs”

(Rooz Online) November 20, 2009 By Ali Farokhi Following the escalation of protests by Iran’s senior ayatollahs against the regime, some members of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association (the most important organization of clerics affiliated with the regime) are planning to present a new list of “grand ayatollahs” under the supervision of Mohammad Yazdi, Ahmad [...]

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Iran’s Power Brokers Part 3 – Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani – The Shark

While the Green Movement can’t count on Rafsanjani to support them unconditionally (far from it in fact), the situation has some light at the end of the tunnel in that Rafsanjani is likely seething with anger at how Khamenei is handling things. His interests will be aligned with those of the Green Movement insofar as sharing the goal of neutering Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and the IRGC, but they will likely diverge when this is accomplished. The people want freedom. Rafsanjani wants a comfortable life for Rafsanjani and family

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Feature: Instagrams from Iran (picture compilation)

A few pictures from Iran, taken by ordinary people and posted to Instagram

Iran Feature: Former Detainee Sarah Shourd “The Plight of Iranians and 3 Decades of US Foreign Policy”

The incredible thing for me was that so many Iranians worldwide took the time to care about us despite the thousands of other political prisoners they have to worry about. “I’m an Iranian boy ashamed for what our government did to three American hikers,” another message on Facebook says. “I want you to know Iranian people are with you and against their own government. Iran’s regime is not chosen by Iranian people. They kill and torture us and we are all in a very big prison named Iran.”

Iran Feature: The Supreme Leader Is Worried — Three Developments You Probably Don’t Know

Our partner, EAWorldView, has published a ground-breaking piece on Iran’s Supreme Leader. This is a must-read.

Live-blog: Russia, what’s next?

Live-blog: Egypt Elections, Day 1

A historic day: The first post-Mubarak elections in Egypt

Journalist Mona Eltahawy’s harrowing ordeal – beating, sexual assault and arrest in Egypt – in her own words and tweets

“The past 12 hrs were painful and surreal but I know I got off much much easier than so many other Egyptians.”