Ali-Akbar Moussavi-Khoeini is a former member of the Iranian parliament and a senior figure in the opposition Green Movement. As member of the parliament, Moussavi led an investigation into secret prisons and safe houses run by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence. He spoke to Arash Aramesh of InsideIRAN about the recent arrests of Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi. more»
Ashkan Parsa
Editor’s Note: The following report is base upon eyewitness accounts insideIran.
Senior opposition leaders in Iran are under house arrest. Therefore, their supporters are experimenting with new methods to fight the government. The Feb. 20 demonstration – the second to inspire tens of thousands of Iranians back to the streets in more than a year — was a rare act of disobedience by the opposition movement without the leadership from 2009. Communications with Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi was impossible. more»
Ashkan Parsa
The Iranian opposition did not break its promise. On February 14, protesters took to the streets of Tehran and other major cities in Iran to express their opposition to the Islamic Republic. Their peaceful protest was met with the forceful hand of the police and the Basij militia, which are under the direct supervision of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. These forces attacked peaceful protests, creating bloody clashes. Security forces prevented protesters from reaching Tehran’s Azadi Square, the largest square in the capital. The government feared that protesters may want to emulate the pro-democracy forces in Egypt by setting up camp in Azadi Square, as Egyptians did in the now famous Tahrir Square. Protesters were forced move to side streets near Azadi. more»
Ali is a student activist at Amir Kabir University in Tehran. He organized a student demonstration on campus on Monday and participated in other rallies in a few locations in the capital. He spoke to Arash Aramesh of InsideIRAN.org on Tuesday about the aftermath of the clashes in Tehran. more»
Ali is a student activist at Amir Kabir University in Tehran. He organized a student demonstration on campus on Monday and participated in other rallies in a few locations in the capital. He spoke to Arash Aramesh of InsideIRAN.org about the clashes in Tehran. more»
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Shayan Ghajar
Iran’s unwavering support for Syria has become axiomatic since the Arab wave of discontent began to shake Damascus. Iran has sent technical, material, and military support to Syria to help Bashar al-Assad quell protests. Syria’s strategic importance to Iran currently takes precedence over all the Islamic Republic’s other relationships. The Islamic Republic proved the primacy of its relationship with Syria by publicly claiming that Turkey, a trade ally and friendly neighbor of Iran, was fomenting Syria’s unrest by arming terrorist groups and engaging in secret talks with Israel.
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Shayan Ghajar
Though Turkey has invested a great deal of effort into its policy of maintaining good relations with neighboring states, the Arab winter of discontent has severely weakened the ability of the Turkish government to do so. Syria, which shares a border with Turkey stretching hundreds of miles, has proved particularly damaging to Turkey’s regional foreign policy. Forced to speak out on Syria’s burgeoning humanitarian crisis as Bashar al-Assad’s troops drive thousands to seek safety on the border between the two nations, Turkey’s stance has set it at odds with Syria’s staunch ally, Iran. more»
Shayan Ghajar
While the unrelenting attacks on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to curtail his power, some analysts in the United States mistakenly argue that his fall from grace may prevent future nuclear talks between Iran and the West. However, it is more likely that Ahmadinejad’s marginalization will have little impact on the nuclear impasse, as neither he nor his enemies in Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s faction have any motivation for real compromise on Iran’s enrichment program at present. more»