Tag: Iranian Society
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Beyond the Headlines: Why Iran’s Protest Wave Can’t Be Reduced to One Name
As Iran’s new wave of nationwide protests enters its twelfth day, and reports of a sweeping internet blackout continue to emerge, an old question has returned to the center of political debate with renewed urgency: are political figures leading the streets, or are they trying to catch up with a movement already in motion? In…
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Iran After the Blackout: From Repression to Resistance
Video showing the brutal massacre of dozens of people by Islamic fascism in Tehran. Iran Human Rights says it has so far verified the identities of 192 victims. These videos are from the bodies of those killed on Thursday, at the Kahrizak forensic center in Tehran. Someone who has just managed to leave Iran brought…
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Council of the Left: An Iranian Experiment
On 10 January 2026, a cluster of Iranian Marxist parties and organizations will gather in Stockholm under the banner of the “Council for Cooperation of Left and Communist Forces.” On paper it’s just another exile conference. In reality, it’s a rare attempt to weld together fragments of a socialist left that has been scattered by…
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Panahi’s Cinema and the Art of Smuggling Truth
At an event held in honor of courageous, resilient cinema, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and legendary director Martin Scorsese sat down for a deep conversation about obstacles, inspirations, and the power of film under extreme restrictions. The talk, in New York, gave Panahi space to speak about the roots of his passion and how a…
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Iran’s New ‘Hijab Situation Room’ and the Failure of Control
On Friday, October 17, 2025, the secretary of Tehran province’s “Enjoining Good & Forbidding Wrong” headquarters, announced a new “Situation Room for Chastity & Hijab,” alongside the organization and activation of “more than 80,000 trained volunteers” plus 4,575 trainers and judicial auxiliaries (“zabet-e qazaei”). Officials framed it as a cultural-social campaign run with “cultural and…
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How Taghvai’s Cinema Teaches Us to Replace Paranoia with Practice
Nasser Taghvai, a renowned Iranian filmmaker and creator of enduring works, who for years resisted censorship and chose seclusion rather than making films under official policies, has passed away at 84. He was a pioneer of the Iranian New Wave and, at the same time, widely known to the public for his popular works. His…
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After Jina Amini: Bodies, Labor, and the Regime’s Social Defeat
After “Woman, Life, Freedom,” Iran’s hijab law has neither changed nor been repealed; yet in social reality the state has failed to enforce it effectively. The streets of Tehran and other cities now look less like scenes of discipline and more like a daily referendum: women without hijab or with diverse forms of dress move…
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Iranian Cinema in a Shapeless Moment: Dissecting Survival, Agency, and Paradox in a Transitional Era
One of the latest conversations in cinema and art, hosted by an Iranian YouTube channel, brought together two of today’s most prominent Iranian film directors. Their discussion about censorship and cultural authoritarianism was gripping. But one point in their remarks clearly showed how different Iranian society is from three years ago. The key analysis in…
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Iran’s Reform Front Statement: Insiders Expose a System in Crisis
Less than two months after the “ceasefire” between Iran and Israel, on August 17 Iran’s Reform Front (including more than 30 political party and groups) released a statement titled “National Reconciliation: A Golden Opportunity for Change and a Return to the People,” offering immediate and practical steps for structural reforms in both domestic and foreign…
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Environmental Activism and Resistance in Kurdistan
In early August 2025, four environmental activists lost their lives while trying to control a wildfire in the Abidar mountains near Sanandaj, in Iran’s Kurdistan province. They were not the first to die this way. In recent years, at least 20 Kurdish environmental defenders have been killed in similar circumstances across the Zagros forests. These…
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Authoritarianism in Exile: the Future Iran Doesn’t Need
In late July, a political gathering took place in Munich that brought together a wide range of Iranian right-wing opposition figures in exile under title of “National Cooperation to Save Iran.” On the surface, it looked like another conference of activists and politicians trying to present themselves as an alternative to the Islamic Republic. Yet,…
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Between Theocracy and Monarchy: The Silencing of Iran’s Democratic Voices
In recent years, especially after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising we have witnessed a phenomenon that has not only reshaped the political landscape of the Iranian diaspora, but also deeply challenged our understanding of concepts like freedom, secularism, and solidarity. The growing prominence of monarchist discourse in Persian-language media abroad, alongside the increasing number and…
