Iran

A New Epicenter Emerges in the Near East

The situation in the Near East is still groping its way towards a new equilibrium. So far, it seems that the destruction of the proxy networks mounted by Iran’s Islamic regime has not yet eclipsed pursuit of political revanche all along the geopolitical spectrum extending through Iraq, Syria, the Palestinian Territories, Gaza, and their ...

Iran Design Week Sparks Controversy After Viral Videos Surface

A cultural event in Iran dedicated to design has stirred controversy after viral videos—denounced as “vulgar”—showed women without headscarves, leading to a partial shutdown, a local media outlet reported Sunday. Tehran Design Week, held across roughly sixty venues, promotes itself as a must-see gathering for brands, artists, and design ...

Foreign Minister Says 'No Undeclared Nuclear Enrichment Facility' in Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the country had no undeclared uranium enrichment sites and that all of its facilities were monitored by the UN's nuclear watchdog. The assertion came after US media outlets, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, reported that Iran had accelerated construction at a secret ...

Iran Begins Cloud Seeding Operations as Severe Drought Bites

Iranian authorities have launched cloud seeding operations to induce rainfall as the country faces its worst drought in decades, state media reported. "Today, a cloud seeding flight was conducted in the Urmia Lake basin for the first time in the current water year," which begins in September, the official IRNA news agency said late ...

Iran’s First Woman Conductor Leads Change on Cultural Stage

When Paniz Faryoussefi mounts the podium and reaches for her baton, she represents more than just the hope of a thrilling orchestral performance. The eyes turned towards her in Tehran's renowned Vahdat Hall include those of many young women musicians inspired by her taking her place as Iran's first woman philharmonic conductor. Women's ...

Iran Guards confirm they seized oil tanker in Gulf

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Saturday that they had seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the country's coast, a day after security companies determined they were likely responsible. "Yesterday morning at 7:30, after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the ...

Iran Judiciary Calls for Tougher Stance on 'Social Anomalies'

Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has called for stricter methods to tackle "social anomalies," local media reported, pointing in particular to more relaxed attitudes towards wearing the mandatory hijab. Under rules imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution, all women in Iran must cover their hair in public with a hijab, or ...

Iran Is Suffocating, and the Authorities Finally Say It

Iran is facing a crisis its leaders can no longer downplay. During his address to parliament, Pezeshkian confronted the issues affecting daily life across the country. He spoke of inflation without blaming external factors and acknowledged what citizens are already feeling in their kitchens, at their taps, and in their wallets. Prices are ...

Syria to Help US Fight Iran-Backed Armed Groups, Envoy Says

Syria will play an active role in assisting the United States in fighting armed groups including Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hamas and Hezbollah, US special envoy Tom Barrack said on Thursday. Islamist interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, himself a former jihadist, became the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since his country's ...

Hezbollah, Iran and Israel with Brian Katulis

On this week’s episode of This is America, we cover Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House and the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.  We also feature an exclusive interview with Brian Katulis, who shares his insights on the disarming of Hezbollah and the prospects for peace in the region.

Young Iranian Dies after Self-Immolation in Southwest

A young Iranian man who set himself on fire after the municipal government tried to evict him from his store died of his injuries on Tuesday, official media reported. Ahmad Baledi, 20, had doused himself in petrol and lit himself ablaze on November 2 in Ahvaz, the capital of southwestern Khuzestan province, the newspaper Etemad previously ...