Tag: Iran
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Ecocide in Tehran: When War Reaches the Air People Breathe
The issue is not simply the bombing of several oil depots. The real issue is that in modern wars, energy infrastructure is no longer just a military target. It has become the point where war, economy, environment, and everyday life intersect. When fuel storage facilities in Tehran, Rey, Shahran, Ghoochak, Fardis, and Alborz are attacked,…
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Bread, Speech, and Prison: Remembering Sattar Beheshti on Workers’ Day
On International Workers’ Day, Goahar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti, published a message addressed to workers in Iran. It is a short text, but it carries the weight of a whole political history: the history of a worker killed in custody, a mother turned into a public voice of justice, and a society where…
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Bread, Freedom and Organisation: Esmail Bakhshi on Iran Today
Esmail Bakhshi is a well-known Iranian worker and labour activist. His name is mostly associated with the struggles of the Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers, the fight for independent workers’ organisation, and his own experience of prison, torture, dismissal from work, and resistance to repression. Over the past years, he has not been known as the…
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U.S. Maritime Blockade: Oil Trapped at Sea, Workers Abandoned on the Ground
In debates over oil, the main issue is not always what first appears. The usual question is how much oil Iran can sell under conditions of war, blockade, and disruption in maritime routes. But the more urgent question may be this: how much of the oil Iran continues to produce can it store? This seemingly…
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National Wealth, Private Misery
When we talk about oil, the main issue is not always what we see at first glance. The usual question is this: under war, blockade, and disruption in maritime routes, how much oil can Iran still sell? But perhaps the more urgent question is this: how much of the oil it still produces can Iran…
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Beyond the Mountain Myth: Kurdistan as Society
Kurdistan is often reduced to a militarized myth, erasing society, class, and everyday life. This essay argues for restoring social reality at the center, showing how both internal politics and external narratives flatten complexity across Kurdistan and Iran.
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Iran’s Geopolitical Weight, and Its Political Trap
Iran’s place in the world cannot be understood only through the language of its ruling regime. It has to be read as a geopolitical unit positioned at one of the most sensitive crossroads of energy, trade, and security in West Asia. This matters because not all states occupy the same place in the global order.…
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Inside Tehran, Under Bombs, Arguing About War and Power
One month after the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a long conversation was recorded in Tehran between Sobhan Yahyaei, a media researcher and host of the Panorama podcast, and Mohammad Mehdi Ardabili, a philosopher and public intellectual. This was not just an abstract discussion. In the middle of the conversation, they say they…
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Iran Beyond the Myth of a Unified People
One of the laziest clichés about Iran is the idea that a single, unified “people” are standing against a single, unified “regime.” This formula works well for headlines, for rushed journalism, and for simple moral commentary. But when it comes to understanding real politics, it is almost useless. Iranian society is not a homogeneous block.…
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Not progressive, just American: how Iranian society is erased in political debate
This article was written in response to a conversation Bernie Sanders had with three experts about the tense and troubled history of relations between Iran and the United States. The discussion rightly highlights the legacy of the 1953 coup, the destructive impact of sanctions and military interventions, the warmongering of the Trump administration, Israel’s role…
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Kharg, Hormuz, and the Boundaries of U.S. Power
The US attacked Kharg, but it did not hit Iran’s oil export terminal there. That apparent contradiction may explain the nature of this war better than any official statement. Kharg is not just an island. It is a place where military force, the Iranian state budget, oil tanker routes, and the nerves of the global…
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Mojtaba Khamenei and the Rule of the Shadows
When it comes to Mojtaba Khamenei, the issue is not just whether he has become, or may become, his father’s successor. The more important issue is the kind of power concentrated around his name: faceless power, backstage power, security-driven power, and power deeply shaped by the logic of control. If we put together the many…
