Nejat Bahrami

TEHRAN—Recent strikes in Tehran’s bazaar have made the unrest the center of political and economic discussions in Iran. The dispute between the government and the bazaar is more important than other political conflicts because in the eyes of most Iranians, the bazaar is the traditional ally of the Islamic Republic and even played a significant role in the 1979 Islamic revolution. more»

Editor’s Note: A series of discussions were held during the week of July 1 in Brussels, as the European Parliament focused on human rights abuses and civil society in Iran. InsideIRAN conducted the following interview in Brussels with Delbar Tavakoli, a journalist who worked for thirteen years in Iran and recently fled to Paris.

Q: How does the government in Iran manipulate the Internet? Please provide some examples that you have seen of this sort of manipulation and misuse. more»

Kadir Ustun

WASHINGTON—The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed the fourth round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran on June 9, 2010. The U.S. administration made the case that the main objective of Resolution 1929 was to “complement” the dual-track approach the UNSC is pursuing in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapon capabilities. This approach would involve sanctions targeting specific institutions and individuals while keeping open the possibility of negotiations with Iran. Whether this approach would work with Iran remains a question, a concern shared by Brazil and Turkey, who have voted “no” at the Security Council. more»

Anonymous

TEHRAN — As the one- year anniversary of the June 12 election approaches, the feeling on the ground, at least in major cities, is that the current political and economic situation cannot continue. Although many people are disappointed that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power and that the groups behind the coup continue to try to increase their political and economic hold on the country, the general feeling is that “there is fire under the ash,” as we say in Persian. In other words, the popular rage and fury over the rigged election and the use of violence and rape and the popular demands for change remain. Any spark can set this off once again this fire. The coup government knows only too well, judging by its own actions. more»

Arash Bahmani
Editor’s Note: This article is also being published on Foreign Policy

TEHRAN–As an Iranian journalist after last year’s election, I faced a grim future. I was sentenced to sixteen months in prison and my jail term was set to begin at any time. I had already been threatened with a much stiffer sentence – eight years in all – by the very same judge who now ordered me to begin my sentence. My interrogator at the Ministry of Intelligence and the presiding judge both believed that I was not “going to become a human being,” meaning that I would never get on the right political path. The interrogator said to me, “We keep giving you guys multiple chances and now it is enough. You guys are trying to overthrow the government.” As luck would have it, his detention order was not immediately carried out. After consulting with a number of friends, I decided to leave Iran. more»