Iran’s president under fire as economic malaise buries campaign pledges
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is coming under growing pressure for what critics call his failure to match tough talk on economic reform with concrete action.
Iran Insights
New Tehran Fashion Week set to test Iran's morality limits
The debut of Tehran Fashion Week, held as part of Tehran Design Week, has set social media abuzz as the officially sanctioned fashion on show looked nothing like its past editions which extolled Islamic modesty.
Tehran debates female bike ban but the streets have already decided
Iran’s political establishment is once again flirting changing laws to allow women to ride motorcycles even as women and girls have already spent years doing it without waiting for an official green light.
Tehran’s 'Kneel Before Iran' statue rekindles debate over nationalist turn
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
Iran hardliners take Khamenei hint as green light for hijab crackdown
Hardliners in Iran have seized on oblique remarks made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this week as a green light to crack down on women who have shunned the hijab amid lax enforcement in recent years.
Reports of campus YouTube access renew fears of Iran ‘digital apartheid’
Reports that YouTube access had been restored for students at the University of Tehran while it remains blocked for the wider population, though denied swiftly by officials, triggered outrage among critics of Iran's censorship of the internet.
Broken machine: why Tehran’s food distribution plan won’t move the needle
Iran’s latest attempt to curb soaring food prices—delegating the distribution of staple goods in Tehran to the city’s municipality—has again exposed a deeper truth about the country’s economic crisis: quick fixes rarely work when the foundations are broken.
Why Tehran insiders think parliament speaker Ghalibaf may be on the rise
The latest chatter in Tehran’s political circles is that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei may be eyeing a bigger role for former Revolutionary Guards general and current parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Iran reacts to Mamdani win: from Islam triumphant to democracy masterclass
Zohran Mamdani’s stomping win in New York’s mayoral race drew starkly different reactions in Iran, with views on the first Muslim to run America’s largest city reflecting a bitterly divided political landscape.
Detained economist had linked rise of Tehran ultra-hardliners to Khamenei
An Iranian economist detained this week had suggested that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei helped empower the country's ultra-hardliners, in remarks that quickly drew Tehran's ire and underscored a widening clampdown on critical voices.
Tehran’s nuclear rhetoric fuels fears of renewed conflict
Combative comments by senior officials in Tehran about Iran’s nuclear program have drawn sharp criticism at home and abroad, with analysts warning that the rhetoric makes another round of war on Iran more likely.
Iran officials demand concessions to unblock Telegram but use it themselves
As Iran demands strict new "France-style" concessions from Telegram, officials continue to use the banned app freely, fueling public anger and accusations that President Pezeshkian has failed to deliver on a campaign pledge to unfetter internet access.
Tehran factions battle in mayoral race despite voter apathy
The race for Tehran’s City Council elections is heating up among state-aligned factions almost entirely detached from an electorate which has largely quit the ballot box.
Too big to hide: Revolutionary Guards daily admits Iranians' economic pain
An outlet linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday conceded that life is getting harder for Iranian families, in a sign that economic malaise has become too severe to ignore even by the ruling establishment.
Fear of fun: what Halloween ban reveals about culture and control in Iran
Iran’s ban on Halloween celebrations has turned plastic pumpkins into symbols of defiance, exposing deeper tensions over culture, joy and control in a nation long haunted by the politics of morality.
Ayandeh Bank collapse lays bare Iran's economic rot
The collapse of Iran’s Ayandeh Bank resembles a national-scale Ponzi scheme, exposing how reckless lending, political patronage, and failed mega-projects drained public wealth.
Comeback or last stand? Rouhani in crosshairs of Iran’s power struggle
The president who once stood triumphant after the 2015 nuclear deal is now under fierce attack from hardliners, with no public defense—a stark sign of how far Iran’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade.
Russian Roulette: Tehran’s elite turn on each other over Moscow's role
The clash over Russia’s role in Iran has reached unprecedented levels, with the parliament speaker publicly attacking a former president and his foreign minister for speaking out against Moscow.
‘A hungry nation can’t resist’: Tehran centrists call for Washington thaw
Prominent centrist figures in Tehran are calling for pragmatic measures including a rethink of relations with Washington to address Iran’s deepening economic problems and foreign policy challenges.
A joke that hit a nerve: actress stirs fury over class fault lines in Iran
A viral celebrity interview has reignited debate in Iran over class privilege and widening social divides, exposing deep resentment toward wealth and the growing gulf between everyday struggle and elite detachment.
Iran’s factions gear up for local elections despite public apathy
Many Iranians may have turned away from the ballot box in recent elections, but establishment factions are taking next year’s local polls as seriously as ever.
'America Is Gone': Tehran hardliners rally behind Khamenei, reject US talks
Hardliners in Tehran have grown more vocal in their opposition to renewed diplomacy with Washington following Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s defiant speech this week.