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Nostalgia vs. History: Why the Iranian Revolution Was No Accident
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Khosrow Sadeghi Boroujeni’s article critically dismantles revisionist narratives that seek to erase the realities of Iran’s pre-revolutionary era while blaming the 1979 revolutionaries for the rise of the Islamic regime. He challenges both monarchist nostalgia and reformist pragmatism, exposing how these perspectives manipulate historical memory to serve political agendas. Boroujeni highlights the extreme inequalities…
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Iran’s Condition: God, Money, Guns, and Fascist Rule
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Georges Bataille’s theory of fascism provides a unique framework for understanding the psychological and structural dynamics of authoritarian regimes. His analysis, rooted in the tension between homogeneity and heterogeneity, explores how societies maintain control through hierarchical structures and sacred symbols of authority. Fascism, as Bataille describes it, thrives on a dualistic structure of sacred…
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Strikes Across Kurdistan in Protest Against Executions
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On Wednesday, January 22, shopkeepers and merchants across Kurdistan launched a strike to protest against the death sentences issued by the Islamic regime. This organized demonstration faced threats of shop closures and conflicting reports from regime-linked sources, highlighting the tense environment surrounding the protests.
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The Sacred Fig and the Death of Patriarchy
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I watched The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof at an alternative cinema in old town of Bern. They’re saying it’s up for the Best International Feature at the Oscars, and honestly, I see why. The story follows Iman, a man who’s spent 21 years serving the regime. He’s just been promoted…
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The Struggles of Iranian Workers in 2024
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The year 2024 was a testament to the unyielding spirit of Iran’s labor movement, even as it battled relentless oppression. Across 31 provinces and 70 cities, workers, teachers, retirees, and healthcare professionals staged 2,396 protests and 169 strikes. Their demands were not extravagant—wages above the poverty line, payment of long-overdue salaries, and basic workplace…
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The Machinery of Death and the Myth of Resistance
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The ceasefire is not a gift from Donald Trump. It’s the result of a temporary exhaustion of the machinery of death. Killing costs money, after all, and even the West can only dress up its carnage as a fight against terror for so long before the façade starts to crack. There’s also the matter…
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Strategic Depth or Internal Collapse? Iran’s Military Obsession
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The Shah’s relentless militarization, symbolized by his obsession with F-14 fighter jets, showcased a regime entrenched in contradictions. It prioritized external threats over internal stability, pouring resources into military Keynesianism while neglecting fundamental needs like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. This militarized economy deepened social inequalities and fueled repression, leaving Iran’s workers, peasants, and students…
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The Dangers of Nationalism: Lessons from Mansoor Hekmat
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My acquaintance with Mansoor Hekmat began in 2004, during a time of turbulence, both in the world and in my own search for meaning. It was in Sanandaj, center city of Kurdistan province in Iran, in the quiet defiance of an underground gathering, that I met a group of members from the Communist Workers’…
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Concrete Sovereignty: The Geopolitics of Iran’s Border Walls
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Iran’s border walls, stretching along its eastern and western frontiers, are more than physical barriers—they are tools of political control and exclusion. Framed as security measures against smuggling, migration, and terrorism, these projects reflect a deeper agenda of consolidating state power and addressing regional pressures. The eastern wall, designed to block crossings from Afghanistan,…
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Impact of the Hijab Law on Iranian Society
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The newly approved Hijab Law in Iran, composed of 74 articles across five chapters, has ignited a storm of criticism among legal experts, citizens, journalists, and political figures. Many see it as a direct assault on individual and social freedoms, imposing restrictions that clash with the realities of daily life in a rapidly evolving…
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Navigating Oppression: Women’s Stories from Tehran’s Settlements
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In the southeast shadow of Tehran, where the city’s heartbeat fades into the hum of agriculture and unpaved roads, lies Hesaramir. Its duality—a historic Upper Hesaramir and a migrant-built Turkabad—creates a kaleidoscope of lives, traditions, and struggles. Yet, the soul of this settlement is found in its women, whose voices, though often subdued, tell…
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Femicide Crisis in Iran: Understanding the Urgent Need for Change
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In just two days, two cases of femicide have shaken Iran. First, a lawyer murdered his journalist wife, Mansoureh Ghadiri Javi with brutal blows from a knife and dumbbell. In another case, another male lawyer killed his wife and son before ending his own life. According to the Iranian newspaper “Etemad”, from June 2021…