Three Months in Rouhani’s Iran

by Farideh Farhi I have recently returned from a three-month trip to Iran. I arrived in Tehran in early September before the famous Rouhani/Obama phone call and departed last week as the mood was turning more skeptical regarding the potential… Continue Reading

Iran’s Moderation Project and Lessons of the Reform Era

by Mohammad Ali Kadivar It took only a few months after president Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration for the broad but fragile alliance behind him to face challenges after the shutdown of a reformist newspaper as well as the harassment of the… Continue Reading

Understanding Iran Ahead of Geneva Talks Round II

by Farideh Farhi & Jasmin Ramsey Editor’s Note: Following is Jasmin Ramsey’s introduction and interview with Farideh Farhi, an independent scholar and expert on Iran from the University of Hawaii who has been in Tehran since the end of August. … Continue Reading

Iran’s Hardliners: Weaker But Louder

by Ali Reza Eshraghi News media accounts of reactions from Iran to the recent talks in Geneva remind me of a joke that has gone viral there: A salesman shows a variety of hearing aids ranging in cost from one to… Continue Reading

A Prudent Triumph

by Ali Reza Eshraghi Nearly two weeks after Iran’s June 14 presidential election, there’s an unprecedented optimism in the air. Seemingly endless speculation is occurring on a daily basis about the make-up of president-elect Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet. At the same… Continue Reading