The 2010 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty goes to………Akbar Ganji! (Photo taken from Cato Institute) Ganji is a well- known Iranian writer and journalist. He spent 6 years in an Iranian prison for being a vocal supporter of secular democracy in Iran and exposing government involvement in the assassination of individuals opposed to Iran’s theocratic […]
Sean Murphy of FPA’s Global Film Review blog has posted a review of an intriguing documentary called The Glass House. This documentary follows lives of four young Iranian women over an 18 month period at a center in Tehran called Omid e Mehr, where women living on the margins of Iranian society can come for […]
What is so wrong about this equation? In the Western media, Iran’s influence in Iraq is mostly viewed as being inimical and harmful. After all, what good can come from a country bend on getting nuclear weapons and spreading its radical influence across the region? But there is something positive about the new Iran-Iraq relationship. […]
There are not many people out there who can write about a life spend as both a Revolutionary Guard and a CIA Agent, but Reza Kahlili (a pseudonym) can. He has recently written a book, A Time to Betray, where he reveals the inner workings of the infamous Revolutionary Guards. As the book’s website states, […]
Recently the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) proposed that GCC countries needed to be in direct discussion with Iran and Iraq to help develop a safe, secure and advanced nuclear energy program in the Gulf. The program would be a win-win situation for both the Gulf countries and Iran as this venture would provide Iran with […]
In this piece Messrs. Sam Shoamanesh and Hirad Abtahi of the International Criminal Court (ICC) argue for a united Western Asia that, in their opinion, could form one of the most influential and prosperous regional blocks in modern history. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-sasan-shoamanesh/not-a-emnew-middle-eastem_b_514469.html
The following piece was originally published in Iran Times International’s annual Special Nowruz Edition. On March 20 Iranians the world over will start Nowruz celebrations, the first day of spring, marking the start of the Persian new year. Since the time of Achaemenids Empire the centuries-old Nowruz tradition, which literally means ‘new day’ has been practiced […]
12Petals Media Group is an Iranian-American organization based in San Francisco. 12 Petals strives to be a union of creators and social entrepreneurs of media and visual arts working together to promote and encourage respect for those rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is 12 Petals’ first major production in its […]
If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were to make a list of countries that he loves right now, I would imagine his list would be very similar to this: 5. Iraq: For stealing the spotlight away from Iran. This week, Iran and its nuclear program took the backseat as the American policy makers watched the Iraqi […]
Every year, February 11-or 22 Bahman in the Persian calendar-is celebrated with great fervor in Iran, because this is the day when the 1979 revolution succeeded in toppling the dictatorship of Western-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The annual holiday is a deeply significant and symbolic date for the regime as it provides them with the […]
The Latest on the 31st Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution (February 11, 2010) : There are reports of martial law in Tehran to stem the growing anti-government demonstrations Anti-government protesters tear posters of Ayatollah Khamenei and Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Republic Widespread clashes in different parts of Tehran between pro-democracy demonstrators and security […]
One of the bluntest anti-Iran piece was published in The Wall Street Journal this week. Bret Stephens, in “Seven Myths About Iran”, tries to show why attacking Iran is perfectly reasonable. He tries to counter “myths” like “Military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities would accomplish nothing.” But as Teymoor Nabili points out in his Middle East blog, the […]
These are the questions that many Iranians are asking after watching the recent appearances of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, where in the backdrops prepared for official ceremonies, the colors of Iran’s flag appear to have been changed from red, white and green to red, white and blue. In his New York Times‘ blog, Robert Mackay […]
In a television statement on Tuesday, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that Iran has “no problem” sending out its stocks of low-enriched uranium abroad for processing in exchange for nuclear fuel rods. While this is a step forward in the nuclear stalemate going on between Iran and the West, there is also plenty of reasons […]
Iranian filmmakers- despite heavy restrictions – have over the years provided an intriguing and provocative look at Iran’s dynamic social, religious, and political culture. Reza Aslan explains in his article, Iran’s Cinematic Revolution, what sets Iranian cinema apart from others: The irony is that part of what makes Iranian cinema so unique are the ingenious […]