Middle East
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Dec 2014
Iran supreme leader uses Twitter to blast US and says #BlackLivesMatter
Publisher: The Guardian
18 Nov 2014
Iran and US close in on historic nuclear deal at Vienna talks
Some diplomats describe their work as 95% done, pending political decisions to be made in national capitals over Iran's capacity to enrich uranium over the next few years, and the sequence in which international sanctions are lifted. Several leading arms-control experts have argued that the residual obstacles are more political than substantial, determined by the need of President Barack Obama's administration and President Hassan Rouhani's reformist government in Iran to reassure conservatives at home, rather than by the actual requirements of Iran's nuclear energy programme or genuine nonproliferation concerns.
Publisher: The Guardian
13 Nov 2014
Stop making “excessive demands” of Iran in nuclear talks, Rouhani tells US
Iran s president, Hassan Rouhani, has asked the US to stop making "excessive demands" in the negotiations over the country's nuclear programme, saying Tehran had already made enough compromises to reach a permanent settlement with the west when the two sides meet next week. Rouhani told his cabinet on Wednesday that the Iranian team would not retreat from the "people's rights" when it travelled to Vienna to meet with diplomats from six major powers for what many see as a make-or-break moment
Publisher: The Guardian
11 Nov 2014
Stakes are high as US plays the oil card against Iran and Russia
Obama administration wants Tehran to come to heel over its nuclear programme. It wants Vladimir Putin to back off in eastern Ukraine. But after recent experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House has no desire to put American boots on the ground. Instead, with the help of its Saudi ally, Washington is trying to drive down the oil price by flooding an already weak market with crude. As the Russians and the Iranians are heavily dependent on oil exports, the assumption is that they will become easier to deal with.
Publisher: The Guardian
25 Oct 2014
Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh detained at protest against acid attacks on women
Publisher: The Guardian
14 Oct 2014
Qassem Suleimani photo makeover reveals Iran’s new publicity strategy
Professional pictures of the Quds commander Suleimani are part of Iranian promotion of its support of Iraq forces against Isis. Suleimani and the Iraqi militias he commands have played a key role in halting Isis. But neither he nor any other Iranian official has been invited to Tuesday's strategy meeting in Washington between the US president, Barack Obama, and military chiefs from 20 western and Arab countries, which aimed to draw up a plan to defeat the militants. The crisis in Iraq may have created a temporary alignment between the US and Iran, bitter enemies for the last 35 years, but they remain firmly at odds over Syria, where Tehran s loyal support has been crucial in bolstering Bashar al-Assad.
Publisher: The Guardian
13 Oct 2014
Iran could pose a greater threat than Isis, says Andrew Nikolic
The Liberal backbencher and former army commander Andrew Nikolic, Australian politician and MP has warned that Iran presents a potentially worse threat than Islamic State (Isis), one that may require an urgent military response. Nilolic said that as Australia joined the international coalition to fight Isis, "the time for action on Iran is now much closer than it has ever been".
Publisher: The Guardian
10 Oct 2014
Iran blocks Instagram account of ‘rich kids’ showing off wealth in Tehran
Hafte-Sobh newspaper took aim at "a class of young people who stubbornly and with the backup of their wealth, are having fun and live their own special way of life, and the Iranian system cannot touch them." Taadol newspaper poured scorn on "a class of nouveau riche who cropped up like mushrooms" during the 2005-2013 presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Publisher: The Guardian
10 Oct 2014
Iran blocks Instagram account of ‘rich kids’ showing off wealth in Tehran
Hafte-Sobh newspaper took aim at "a class of young people who stubbornly and with the backup of their wealth, are having fun and live their own special way of life, and the Iranian system cannot touch them." Taadol newspaper poured scorn on "a class of nouveau riche who cropped up like mushrooms" during the 2005-2013 presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Publisher: The Guardian
2 Oct 2014
Iran nuclear talks: why Tehran must be brought in from the Cold
Iran is more secure than its neighboring countries. Rouhani the new president has used the momentum generated by the modest sanctions relief to cut inflation from 45% to 20% and stabilise the rial currency after it lost more than 80% of its value. Human rights in Iran remain wretched as exemplified by the continued incarceration of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a British-Iranian woman who was arrested this summer after trying to enter an all-male sports arena, and is now charged with "propagandising against the regime." The US and its allies have not enjoyed much recent success in influencing internal Iranian politics, but they should be aware that Rouhani s continued political prosperity, and that of the more hopeful Iran he represents, is dependent in large measure on success in the current negotiations.
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Sep 2014
Iran executes man for heresy
A 37-year-old man has been executed in Iran after being found guilty of heresy and insulting prophet Jonah, according to human rights activists. Mohsen Amir-Aslani was arrested nine years ago for his activities which the authorities deemed were heretical. He was engaged in psychotherapy but also led sessions reading and reciting the Qur an and providing his own interpretations of the Islamic holy book, his family said. Amir-Aslani was hanged last week for making "innovations in the religion" and "spreading corruption on earth", but human rights activists said he was a prisoner of conscience who was put to death because of his religious beliefs. He had interpreted Jonah s story in the Qur an as a symbolic tale.
Publisher: The Guardian
22 Sep 2014
Rouhani’s credibility under scrutiny at UN as Iran’s hardliners block reforms
But this year, Rouhani s second visit to New York has been marred by a series of failures at home that have exposed his declining credibility both in Iran and on the world stage. As he arrives in New York, Iran s judiciary, which operates independently of his government, has tightened its grip on civil rights advocates, human rights activists and opposition figures. At least three American nationals remain behind bars in Iran, including the Washington Post s Tehran correspondent, Jason Rezaian, who is being kept in Tehran s Evin prison nearly two months after being arrested. Rezaian s detention has exposed the limits of Rouhani s power and his reluctance to speak out in support of prisoners of conscience in the country, including nearly 40 journalists and bloggers.
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Aug 2014
Iranian film director attacks US sanctions
Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-E'temad has hit out at the impact of US economic sanctions while in Venice to promote a new film that documents social ills in her country. Bani-E temad said the hard-hitting competition entry, titled Ghesseha (Tales), was a realistic portrayal of life on the skids in an Iran permeated with prostitution, drug abuse, bureaucracy and single motherhood. "Our children who are sick with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis are paying the direct consequences of the embargo because they cannot get the medicines they need," Bani-E'temad said
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Aug 2014
Persian paranoia: America’s fear of Iranian cyber power
When Israel stepped up Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in July, a crew of hackers going under the name of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters readied their attack tools to show support for their Palestinian brothers. They attempted to flood a core piece of Israel s internet infrastructure, the Domain Name System that acts as the web s phone book for the country. They also tried to take down websites for the national stock exchange and Mossad, the intelligence and special operations body. Months of research into Iranian networks uncovered at least 16,000 systems controlled by Iran outside of its borders.
Publisher: The Guardian
18 Aug 2014
Iranian photographers face the lash after criticising official’s book
Two photographers in Iran have been sentenced to a total of 75 lashes after criticising an illustrated book published by a local official. Both men, who are from Qazvin province, were put on trial when Mohammad-Ali Hazrati, the head of the local cultural heritage organisation, felt insulted by the negative reviews the pair had written in separate posts online about his photography book, "Qazvin, the Land of Times Past".
Publisher: The Guardian
31 Jul 2014
Six judges accused of leading role in Iranian crackdown on free speech
The six judges are accused of losing their judicial impartiality and overseeing miscarriages of justice in trials in which scores of journalists, lawyers, political activists and members of Iran's ethnic and religious minorities have been condemned to lengthy prison terms, lashes and even execution. Those accused are judges Abolghassem Salavati and Mohammad Moghiseh, former justices Yahya Pirabbasi and Hassan Zareh Dehnavi (known as judge Haddad), and appeal judges Hassan Babaee and Ahmad Zargar.
Publisher: The Guardian
18 Jul 2014
Iran nuclear talks gaps remain as deadline approaches
Nuclear negotiations with Iran in Vienna stalled in recent weeks following disagreements over limits on Iran's enrichment capacity and how long those limits should last. All sides at the talks are prepared to extend them beyond Sunday's deadline, but an extension faces significant opposition in the US Congress.
Publisher: The Guardian
13 Jul 2014
Iran nuclear talks deadline nears as foreign ministers gather in Vienna
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and European foreign ministers have arrived in Vienna to try to galvanise talks on Iran's nuclear programme, amid increasing fears that agreement cannot be reached before a deadline of 20 July. US officials are refusing to discuss the option of an extension of a few months, for fear of lessening the pressure on negotiators to make concessions in the last week of talks, but there is still a considerable distance between the negotiating positions of the Iranians and a six-nation group representing the international community.
Publisher: The Guardian
8 Jul 2014
Iran needs greater uranium enrichment capacity, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's supreme leader said on Tuesday that his country would need to significantly increase its capacity to enrich uranium if it was to meet its long-term energy needs, in an unusually detailed speech highlighting the obstacles to a deal on its nuclear programme. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei conceded that Iran would not need to immediately increase its capacity but made clear that his government sought the right to carry out industrial-scale enrichment in order to be self-sufficient in nuclear fuel for its research reactors and a Russian-built power station at Bushehr.
Publisher: The Guardian
22 Jun 2014
Iran opposes US intervention in Iraq, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday he is against US intervention in neighboring Iraq, where Islamic extremists and Sunni militants opposed to Tehran have seized a number of towns and cities, the official IRNA news agency reported. "We strongly oppose the intervention of the US and others in the domestic affairs of Iraq," Khamenei was quoted as saying, in his first reaction to the crisis.
Publisher: The Guardian
19 Jun 2014
Iranian film-maker jailed for five years for ‘collaborating with the BBC’
Prominent Iranian documentary film-maker and women's rights activist Mahnaz Mohammadi has been jailed for five years, charged with collaborating against the state with the BBC. Mohammadi's detention comes on the fifth anniversary of the bloody crackdown that followed the 2009 presidential election, when tens of thousands took to the streets to claim the election had been rigged. Hundreds were arrested, many of whom, including the main opposition leaders, remain in custody.
Publisher: The Guardian
29 May 2014
Journalist Saba Azarpeik arrested in Iran
Azarpeik has been arrested before, including in January 2013 when security officials raided at least four newspapers and arrested several journalists in advance of the presidential elections that gave Hassan Rouhani a victory. Azarpeik has been critical of the state's treatment of journalists and opposition figures and has repeatedly grilled officials and politicians in her interviews. She has been particularly under pressure for her comments and reports on her Facebook page. She particularly covered the case of the Iranian blogger, Sattar Beheshti, whose death in custody brought embarrassment for the authorities.
Publisher: The Guardian
28 May 2014
Briton among eight jailed in Iran for web insults
Eight people, including an Iranian-born British woman, have been jailed in Iran on charges including blasphemy and insulting the country's supreme leader on Facebook. The opposition website Kaleme reported that two of the eight, identified as Roya Saberinejad Nobakht, 47, from Stockport, and Amir Golestani, each received 20 years in prison and the remaining six - Masoud Ghasemkhani, Fariborz Kardarfar, Seyed Masoud Seyed Talebi, Amin Akramipour, Mehdi Reyshahri and Naghmeh Shahisavandi Shirazi - between seven and 19 years.
Publisher: The Guardian
19 May 2014
Iran is at breaking point under US sanctions – and its leaders feel the heat
On the streets of Tehran, and in the capital's shops, garages, markets, businesses and private homes, the story is that Iran Isolated and ostracised to an unusual degree is a nation under appalling stress. The strains are telling. The ties that bind are fraying. The leadership is feeling the heat. And if relief, in the form of a comprehensive nuclear deal with the west and a consequent lifting of sanctions, does not come soon, the political and social consequences may be far-reaching.
Publisher: The Guardian
16 May 2014
Why Canada is getting it wrong on Iran
Ever since Canada broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran, Ottawa has toughtened its stance on Iran, taking a similar approach to that of Israel. As the west seizes upon the opportunity to engage with the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, Canada just seems to be going in the opposite direction, ignoring not only calls for dialogue by the international community but also from the very Iranian dissident voices Ottawa claims to be defending. Instead, Canada is siding with radicals - dodgy exiled groups and rightwing Israelis - and moving away from the realities on the ground.
Publisher: The Guardian
12 May 2014
Iran and Assad have won in Syria, say top Tehran foreign policy figures
Publisher: The Guardian
12 May 2014
Sanctions against Russia boost Iran’s standing before nuclear talks restart
Publisher: The Guardian
5 May 2014
Hassan Rouhani faces growing criticism in Iran over nuclear talks
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, is facing growing criticism from a broad array of political hardliners and rightwing opponents who say his government is being duped by the US in an over-hasty attempt to clinch a nuclear deal with the west and end economic sanctions. At a meeting at the former American embassy building in central Tehran on Saturday, a newly formed group of MPs and rightwing activists calling itself "We're Worried" claimed Iran's negotiating team was ignoring national interests in the nuclear talks, which resume on 13 May in Vienna.
Publisher: The Guardian
2 May 2014
Approaching a tipping point in nuclear talks with Iran
There is growing optimism that the huge, sprawling compromises required, considered fanciful not long ago, are perhaps within reach. As experts from Iran and the six-nation negotiating group (US, UK, France, Germany, China and Russia) convene in New York on Monday to chip away at the unresolved issues, they do so in an increasingly upbeat atmosphere.
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Apr 2014
It is time Rouhani broke his silence on human rights abuses in Iran
Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has been mute about the unprecedented use of force in Evin, even though his office met a number of prisoners' relatives. In fact, Rouhani has maintained a policy of not publicly addressing human rights issues, some of which have put people like Zibakalam at odds with the values they fought for at the establishment of the Islamic republic - which was supposed to be a freer and fairer country than that ruled over by the Shah.
Publisher: The Guardian
19 Apr 2014
Iranian guards use extreme violence against inmates, claims opposition
Iranian guards and intelligence officials have used unprecedented levels of violence against political inmates in one of the country's most notorious prisons, opposition leaders claimed on Friday. Kaleme, a news website close to an opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, has reported that dozens of prisoners were injured, some taken to hospital and others transferred to solitary confinement following disturbances in Evin prison in Tehran on Thursday
Publisher: The Guardian
28 Mar 2014
Death penalty statistics, country by country
Publisher: The Guardian
13 Mar 2014
Ban Ki-moon rebukes Iranian president for human rights failings
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has sharply rebuked the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, for failing to improve human rights since taking office in August. Despite "commendable steps" under Rouhani, including the release of a limited number of high-profile political prisoners, violations had continued, Ban reports in a new report to the UN human rights council issued on Tuesday.
Publisher: The Guardian
26 Feb 2014
Iranian activist Mohammad Nurizad attacked and arrested, but not silenced
Nurizad was a staunch supporter of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a published journalist in the ultra conservative state newspaper, Keyhan. But the events during the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential elections, in which tens of protesters were killed and hundreds of others arrested in the biggest unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution, gave the veteran journalist a change of heart.
Publisher: The Guardian
22 Feb 2014
A leap forward for Iranian journalism nipped in the bud
In the inaugural issue of Aseman, a centrist daily newspaper launched one week ago, the editors wondered at the political change that allowed such a newspaper to operate in Iran s thorny media landscape. A year ago, no one would have thought it possible for us to become newspaper journalists, and behold, they wrote. Now, as Aseman s publisher Abbas Bozorgmehr spends the 20-21 February Iranian weekend in Evin prison following a revocation of the newspaper s license, that transformation seems more toothless than its readers had imagined.
Publisher: The Guardian
12 Feb 2014
Rouhani critics step up opposition to Iranian nuclear deal
Publisher: The Guardian
3 Feb 2014