New Articles
State Department Testimony: Iran’s Growing Human Rights Abuses
The following is an excerpt on Iran’s human rights violations from a joint statement by Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Philo L. Dibble, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in testimony…
2011 Report: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
The following are excerpts from the annual report released April 28, 2011: The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the…
Is the Political Crisis Over?—Part III
Semira N. Nikou Iran’s political crisis over Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi may be over, but the drama over presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is not. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now accepted the supreme leader’s instructions to keep the…
Widely Diverse Iranian Views on bin Laden’s Death
Semira N. Nikou In widely diverse responses, Iran discounted Osama bin Laden’s death while at the same time calling for a faster U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan since the pretext for going to war was eliminated. But officials and media generally did not mourn bin Laden’s passing. Iran’s…
Rand Survey: Iran on the U.S., Nukes and the Economy
Alireza Nader The RAND Corporation conducted a phone survey of Iranian public opinion in order to gauge Iranian attitudes on critical issues affecting U.S. interests. Respondents constituted a nationally representative sample of 1,002 members of the Iranian public, age 18 and older, who…
Report on Internet Freedom in Iran 2011
Freedom House Since the protests that followed the disputed presidential election of June 12, 2009, the Iranian authorities have waged an active campaign against internet freedom, employing extensive and sophisticated methods of control that go well beyond simple content filtering.…
Iranian and Saudi Competition in the Gulf
Anthony H. Cordesman Saudi Arabia and the United States may not share the same political system and culture, but they do share broad strategic interests. Both countries must now deal with Iran in context of the arc of political instability that extends from Pakistan to Morocco—and is of…
Iran Media Splits over Intelligence Chief--Part II
Semira N. Nikou The Iranian leadership split over intelligence chief Heidar Moslehi has spilled over into the media, which has offered widely diverse accounts of his reported resignation—and the political repercussions. The scandal became public on April 17 when President…
Iran Splits over Intelligence Chief--Part I
Semira N. Nikou In an unusual public spat, Iran’s top two leaders have split over the future of intelligence chief Heider Moslehi. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly wanted him sacked and accepted Moslehi’s resignation on April 17. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…
A New Channel for U.S.-Iran Communication
Ellen Laipson The State Department's recent naming of a Persian-speaking press spokesman, Alan Eyre, opens a potentially important channel in the long-stagnant U.S.-Iran relationship. The absence of contact or inability to communicate at official levels means that American diplomats are…
Department of State’s Human Rights Report on Iran
The following is from the executive summary of the State Department issued its Human Rights Report for 2010: The government severely limited citizens' right to peacefully change their government through free and fair elections, and it continued a campaign of postelection violence and…
War of Words over Bahrain Rattles Region
Afshin Molavi A war of words has erupted between Iran and its Persian Gulf neighbors over the fate of Bahrain, catapulting unrest in the tiny island nation into a regional crisis with both political and sectarian overtones. In a reflection of the tensions, a Gulf Arab foreign…
New Claims on Iran Nuclear Program Questionable
David Albright and Andrea Stricker The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a longstanding opposition group, claimed on April 7 that the Iranian regime has a secret facility producing centrifuge components for uranium enrichment, a process that can be used for both peaceful…
Iran Backs Libyan Rebels, Chastises West Over Oil, Bahrain
Semira N. Nikou Libya’s rebellion has put Iran in an awkward position. Tehran has tried to balance support for the Libyan opposition, which it views as part of a region-wide “Islamic awakening,” with rejection of the NATO-led military strikes. Iranian officials charged that the U.…
Esfandiar Mashaei: Iran’s Next President?
Kourosh RahimkhaniAlthough never elected to office, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is a major political figure, with speculating mounting that he may be a presidential candidate in 2013. Who is Mashaei, besides chief of staff for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Mashaei was issued a visa to participate in…
Growing World Pressure Over Iran’s Human Rights Record
Robin Wright The U.N. decision to appoint an investigator to track Iran’s human rights violations is the latest move by the international community to increase pressure on Tehran. The resolution follows a report by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in which he said he was “deeply…
Iran Warns Gulf on Bahrain
Semira N. Nikou
After weeks of relative silence, Iran has become increasingly outspoken about Bahrain’s political crisis since Saudi Arabia deployed troops to back up the beleaguered monarchy on March 14.
Iran has long had political, strategic and religious interests in Bahrain,…
The Limits of Iran’s Soft Power
Michael Eisenstadt Political change sweeping the Middle East has heightened concerns about a shifting balance of power in Iran’s favor. But Tehran’s experience in Iraq provides critical insights into the limits of the Islamic Republic’s regional influence, and its propensity to be its…
Russia Balks at New Pressure on Iran
Mark N. Katz After a year of cooperation on Iran, Russia now opposes new sanctions or other tough measures to pressure Tehran on its controversial nuclear program. The failure of recent diplomacy to get Iran to comply with U.N. resolutions, and reassure the world that it is not secretly…
Rafsanjani Dislodged From a Top Job
Farideh Farhi Iran’s Assembly of Experts voted March 8 to replace former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from the chairmanship. What happened and why is the outcome significant?On March 8, the Assembly of Experts, effectively pushed former President Rafsanjani from the leadership of a top…
Rising Oil Prices Create Political Cushion for Iran
Fareed Mohamedi Oil prices have risen worldwide because of political unrest and upheavals in the Middle East. How has Iran been affected by the turmoil in oil sales?The sudden rise in oil prices amid uncertainty and upheavals in the Middle East could create a political cushion for…
Where are Iran's Opposition Leaders? Officials Speak Out
Semira N. Nikou Iran has tightened the squeeze on Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi amid opposition attempts to mobilize new protests. The regime has dodged persistent questions about whether the two leaders—both prominent figures in the 1979 revolution—and their…
Iran’s Economy in the Shadow of Regional Upheaval
Suzanne Maloney Iran’s stability is once again in question, as historic protests sweep the Middle East and revive the flagging fortunes of its own opposition movement. Expectations of the Islamic Republic’s inevitable demise are further fueled by the revolutionary state’s own…
U.N. reports new information on Iran’s nuclear program
Michael Adler The United Nations has obtained new information that Iran may have worked on making nuclear weapons, according to a report distributed in Vienna February 25. Its nuclear watchdog agency also said Iran appears to have overcome setbacks from the Stuxnet cyber-virus that set…
Iran on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood
Mehdi Khalaji For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood was the largest organized opposition party in Egypt. It is Islamist. What are its similarities and differences with Iran’s Islamic revolution?The current revolt in Iran is against Islamism, but the recent uprising in Egypt is neither Islamist…
New U.S. Sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses
Robin Wright The United States imposed new sanctions on two top Iranian officials for engaging in “serious human rights abuses” since the disputed 2009 election. In a striking run of statements on February 23, the White House, State Department and Treasury Department issued three separate…
The Mujahedeen-e Khalq Controversy
Omid Memarian
What is the Mujahedeen-e Khalq organization?
The Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), or the People’s Mujahedeen Organization, was founded in 1965 as an urban guerilla group opposed to the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It participated in the 1979 Revolution but later broke with…
Iran’s labor flashpoint
Kevan Harris Iran’s labor movement and working class have been pivotal political actors for more than a century, with one of the longest records in the Middle East. Iran has witnessed hundreds of strikes in major industries over the past two decades. And thousands of workers participated…
U.S. Gets Tougher on Iran
Robin Wright The Obama administration has become increasingly outspoken about Iran since the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings. The main focus has notably shifted from Iran’s controversial nuclear program to issues of democracy and human rights abuses. For the first time, the…
Iranian quotes on Egypt's revolution
Semira N. Nikou Iranian leaders have welcomed the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Tehran and Cairo have had tense and difficult relations. The two predominantly Muslim countries had rival forms of rule: Egypt is secular and Iran is an Islamic…