(TIME) | March 15, 2010
By Trita Parsi
Iran is the 21st century equivalent of 1930s Russia — a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The Iranians haven’t stumbled upon this mystifying state coincidentally, and the enigma isn’t the result of outsiders’ failure to try to understand them. Rather, the Iranian government has a deliberate [...]

(New York Times) | February 18, 2010
By ROGER COHEN
NEW YORK — Here’s what happens when a business linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.) is targeted with sanctions. A representative of the Revolutionary Guards finds a lawyer in Dubai and says: “Look, I’m on this stupid U.S. Treasury list. I’ll give you 10 percent. [...]

(Reuters) | February 18
Germany’s Munich Re and Allianz halted all remaining insurance business in Iran as their national representative body said it backed international moves toward tougher sanctions against Tehran.
Against a backdrop of rising political tensions, the world’s biggest reinsurer, Munich Re (MUVGn.DE), said on Thursday it was stopping business with insurance firms in Iran, [...]

Khordaad 88, February 2
Mir Hossein Mousavi ’s Interview with Kaleme
Kaleme reports that in this interview which took place close to February 11th [22 of Bahman], the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution, Mousavi stated that the main reason for the collapse of the dictatorial and unpopular regime of the Shah was its illegitimacy [in the [...]

(WashingtonTV)
Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009
Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf said on Thursday that US President Barack Obama should increase his public support for Iran’s democratic movement, and intensify sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
Makhmalbaf, who has become a spokesperson outside of Iran for the main opposition movement, said that the movement supports targeted economic sanctions [...]

(New York Times)
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: November 20, 2009
PARIS — Senior officials from Western powers discussed the possibility of new sanctions on Iran on Friday for flouting the United Nations Security Council’s demands and expressed disappointment that Iran had not yet accepted a draft agreement to export most of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.
The [...]

By Daniel Dombey in Washington
November 17 2009
Barack Obama, the US president, on Tuesday sought to convince China to increase pressure on Iran’s nuclear programme – but received no public commitment that Beijing would support sanctions.
After meeting Hu Jintao, China’s president, Mr Obama said both had agreed Iran “must provide assurances to the international community that [...]

Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:39am EST
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran must continue its struggle against the United States, a hardline cleric said on Friday a day after Washington renewed long-standing U.S. financial sanctions against Iran.
U.S. President Barack Obama offered a new approach toward Iran when he took office in January, but Iran remains locked in dispute [...]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama renewed some long-standing U.S. financial sanctions against Iran on Thursday, the White House said.
Obama notified Congress that, as expected, he was extending a set of existing U.S. measures against Tehran for another year, saying “our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal.”
Click here to read the full [...]

The costs are steadily mounting for the regime. Just one day before the June 12 presidential election, the Islamic republic had never been so powerful. Tehran had not only survived three decades of diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions but had emerged a regional superpower, rivaled only by Israel. Its influence shaped conflicts and politics from Afghanistan to Lebanon.

But the day after the election, the Islamic republic had never appeared so vulnerable. The virtual militarization of the state has failed to contain the uprising, and its tactics have further alienated and polarized society. It has also shifted the focus from the election to Iran’s leadership.