A dramatic cultural opening is sweeping across Iran, not as a government reform but as a bottom-up movement driven by a young generation that is less willing to be intimidated by the state, Iran analyst Omid Memarian told Eye for Iran.
A prominent academic’s assertion that many of Iran’s problems stem from “the dominance of the economically weak class” in governance has stoked outrage in a country whose theocracy bills itself as a champion of the downtrodden.
Rap has moved from the margins to the spotlight in Iran, where it is being promoted on streaming platforms, entertainment shows and Instagram feeds tied to state interests and seen by millions.
Half a century of rule built on clerical authority has secularized Iran, available data suggests, with most still believing in God but not in the theocracy.
The political storm over a marathon on Iran’s Kish Island may have started as a dispute over unveiled participants, but it now reflects a deeper struggle between a society pushing for change and institutions intent on reasserting control.
Former US diplomat John Limbert, a hostage during the 1979 Tehran embassy takeover, told Eye for Iran that Iran's society has radically developed in recent decades even as its ruling system has barely changed.
Tehran’s move to sharply limit a man’s liability for paying his wife mehriyeh—a gift of value promised at marriage—has triggered a fierce social debate, with critics warning that it tilts the legal balance further away from women.
The once-hushed conversation about who will succeed Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not only spilled into the open, but has curdled into public intimidation of contender and former president Hassan Rouhani.
Moderate insiders in Tehran are warning that the public’s alienation may have deprived the system of the very vehicle it once relied on to manage public anger.
An Iranian singer who won a Grammy for a ballad which became the unofficial song for a scotched national uprising in 2022 has incurred fury for announcing the release of an album which received an official state license.
The revelation that Iranian journalists received government-issued SIM cards for unfettered access internet access while most users endured heavy state censorship has led to accusations that their privilege skewed their output.
Iran’s fractious parliament is the crosshairs of increasingly strident criticism as factional infighting has precluded any concerted response to a deepening economic and ecological crisis.
Tehran may be poised to carry out a politically explosive crackdown on Islamic veiling after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a directive to step up enforcement according to a leaked directive.
The decision by Iran’s state broadcaster to produce a film about a female presenter whose image went viral when Israeli missiles hit its headquarters has sparked a wave of criticism and accusations of political propaganda.
Under unprecedented strain at home and abroad after the June war, Tehran is adopting new tones and messaging to steady its own base.
Tehran's crackdowns on media persist despite the state’s mounting political and economic troubles, with bans of various forms imposed on those who drifts beyond acceptable bounds.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is trying to turn Iran’s mounting economic turmoil into political capital, casting himself as a problem-solver while President Massoud Pezeshkian takes political blows for perceived inaction.
Mounting pressure on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration from hardline opponents and an ailing economy appears to be cutting deep into his inner circle, triggering resignations, public spats and mistrust.
Tehran’s messaging this week suggests it may be open to a limited agreement with Washington, but its preconditions leave little room for a deal that US President Donald Trump deemed 'probable' this week.
Tehran is once again tiptoeing around the issue of gasoline prices under the long shadow of November 2019 protests that became one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the Islamic Republic’s history.
The sudden closure of the Tehran Design Week exhibition at Tehran University has ignited a storm of reactions—from hardline groups that pushed for its shutdown to students and sympathizers who lamented the decision.
A new school curriculum mandated by Iran’s education ministry has cast a 12-day war with Israel in June as a national triumph, underscoring a bid by the country's clerical rulers to boost support following the punishing conflict.