Iran in 2012: A Year in Review

For Iran, 2012 will go down as the year of economic woes. The mantra of the “enemy’s psychological war against Iran” will no longer be blamed more than internal mismanagement even by the most ardent supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and… Continue Reading

Ahmadinejad’s Tumble and Iran’s Political Terrain

Sadeq Zibakalam, University of Tehran professor and the closest the Islamic Republic has to an intra-systemic gadfly, has written an interesting commentary in the new daily Arman regarding the current state of Iranian politics. The article’s title, “End of the Deviation current,”… Continue Reading

Sanctions and the shaping of Iran’s “Resistance Economy”

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) has published a useful brief aptly subtitled, “Killing them softly”, about the impact of sanctions on the lives of ordinary people who live in Iran, particularly women and other vulnerable groups such as… Continue Reading

Iranian Nuclear Polling Poses more Questions than Answers

By Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi Iran watchers are no doubt aware that recently Iran’s “Shabake-ye Khabar” news network of the Islamic Republic’s official “Seda va Sima” television and radio network, conducted an internet poll regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. Respondents were asked whether… Continue Reading

Ahmadinejad Cans FM, Replaces with Nuke Chief

Does the selection of Iran’s nuclear czar as its new (interim) foreign minister say anything about nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West? We don’t really know, and given that the next round of talks is only a month away, we might… Continue Reading