Arash Aramesh
The Iranian parliament passed a bill June 21 in which any changes to the constitution of Azad University, a network of private universities in Iran, must be approved by the so-called “Board of Founders,” and cannot be changed by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which is chaired by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. more»
Arash Aramesh
Kayhan, a pro-government newspaper with close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the leaders of the opposition Green Movement and their supporters abroad of having played a role in levying new sanctions against Iran. more»
Shayan Ghajar
Prominent opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi issued a strongly-worded statement June 20 on Saham News, Karroubi’s website. The latest statement breaks from previous statements in that it directly attacks the position of the Supreme Leader, an audacious critique that is unprecedented in terms of its scope and detail, coming from one of the de facto leaders of the Green Movement. The statement comes less than a week after Mir Hossein Moussavi’s 18th Statement, a “charter” for the Green Movement. Karroubi’s statement, however, is more strongly worded and specific in its criticism of the government’s behavior. more»
Arash Aramesh
Ali Akbar Salehi, director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), said June 21 that Iran will prevent two International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from entering Iran. Salehi said these two inspectors “gave false reports to the IAEA” and “spoke to reporters,” thus violating IAEA regulations. more»
Arash Aramesh
The powerful clerical establishment in Iran has been under increasing pressure by supporters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for not taking a hardline position against the opposition and failing to give the government their full backing. more»
Shayan Ghajar
Iran is home to a staggeringly diverse population, with a wide variety of languages and cultures. Due to centuries, if not millennia, of cultural exchanges, intermarriages, and the inherent fluidity of identity in such a pluralistic nation, “ethnicity” does not necessarily hold the same racial baggage that it does in Western cultures, and a family’s self-described ethnicity may change from one generation to the next. Nevertheless, certain minority cultures in Iran are restricted from publishing in their native languages, and face educational and economic disadvantages. Academics and political figures active in promoting their cultures face arrest, and are occasionally executed. Consequently, many Iranian minorities feel antagonized by the current government and support political causes to increase their cultural rights and representation. more»
Shayan Ghajar
Events the past few weeks in Turkey indicate that a sea change is occurring in the nation’s domestic politics. Prime Minister Erdogan’s maneuvering against the traditionally untouchable military marks a new phase in Turkey’s history. This shift in Turkey’s domestic politics follows a more gradual but no less relevant shift in its foreign policy, and likely indicates even greater changes to come. Mutual trade, investment, and tourism are growing between Turkey and Iran, and the two nations are increasingly in accord on three of the regions biggest security issues, namely the Middle East peace process, Iran’s nuclear program, and Kurdish separatism. more»
Shayan Ghajar
The low turnout and disorganization of Green Movement protestors on February 11, Iran’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, highlighted the weaknesses of the opposition’s approach in the face of intensifying pressures from the government. However, while the Green Movement may have suffered its first significant blow from the government last Thursday, both the leadership and grassroots supporters appear to be returning to their original strategy of decentralizing their protests. more»