Offbeat

Iranians went to the polls on February 26 to elect a new Parliament and Assembly of Experts at a pivotal time in the Islamic Republic’s history. The following are snapshots of different aspects of the day — leaders voting, reformist and centrist turnout, hardliners at the polls, youth and women…
Robin Wright Tehran has new colors—and a new un-revolutionary whimsy. The sprawling Iranian capital, long famed for its anti-American graffiti and grim billboards of war martyrs, is now adorned with huge surreal murals in bright hues that have transformed drab cement-and-steel high-rises. Some…
The Paris climate change conference brought together an unlikely pair in a group photo – President Obama and Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was lead spokesperson for the hostage-takers of the U.S. Embassy. They were among the 150 heads of state and top leaders who gathered for the U.N…
On November 4, Iran marked the 36th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover in massive street rallies across the country. As in previous years, effigies of President Obama were burned along with American flags. The slogan “Death to America,” or “Down with the USA,” was chanted loudly and featured…
Sina Azodi Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s newest website is an attempt to sustain the revolution and its values among Iran’s youth. Nojavan, or “Youth,” was launched in April. More than 60 percent of Iran’s population is under 35. They were born after the 1979 revolution and did not…
On July 13 and 14, the front pages of Iranian newspapers reflected widespread anticipation of a nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s six major powers. Reports from the Vienna talks suggested a deal could be announced within a day. Conservative papers framed the agreement as a potential…
Talks became heated as foreign ministers from Iran and the world's six major powers met in Vienna to push towards a final nuclear deal. After E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that talks should end if Iran does not want a deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif…
In the middle of nuclear diplomacy, U.S. and Iranian volleyball teams faced off in Tehran in the Volleyball World League competition. In both matches, on June 19 and June 21, Iran’s national team defeated Team USA in three straight sets. USA VS Iran Round 2 in Tehran - @usavolleyball & @…
Conservative press outlets in Iran have gone to town with publishing political cartoons on the maladies of Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the two lead negotiators in the nuclear talks. Kerry, who broke his leg in a bicycle crash on May 31 in Switzerland, is…
In another first, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iran’s foreign minister at the Upper East Side residence of Iran’s U.N. ambassador. The two were in New York to attend a U.N. conference on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty. It was the first time Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif…