Stories about Iran
Iranian women’s rights activists face new online threats
Flooding social media accounts with fake followers and then mass reporting the accounts is a regular tactic used by state forces to silence rights defenders in Iran.
Opening of shipping routes from Ukraine will not abate commodity and food pressure on the Middle East and North Africa
Despite the opening up of shipping routs for grain exports from Ukraine, persistent challenges from the war will continue to exacerbate pressures on the Middle East and North Africa
Iraq, Iran, and local residents continue to oppose Turkey's hydroelectric projects along the Tigris
The Ilisu Dam, completed in 2019, has flooded the 12,000-year-old city of Hasankeyf, destroyed farms in Iraq, and caused dust storms in Iran. Is the destruction worth the benefit?
Iran’s latest surge in executions heavily targets Baloch minority
'Data gathered by Iran Human Rights shows that Baluch prisoners accounted for 21 percent of all executions in 2021, while only representing 2–6 percent of Iran's population'
Iranian protesters demand justice after deaths in Abadan’s building collapse
Thousands of Abadan residents in southwest Iran took to the streets to protest against the incompetence of their government after the catastrophic collapse of a building, and chanted anti-government slogans
‘The ambition of expressing myself freely': A conversation with Iranian artist Arghavan Khosravi
"One does not need to be Iranian to relate to the sense of uncertainty and repression woven into [Khosravi's] paintings."
Well known Iranian blogger Hossein Ronaghi goes on hunger strike after his abduction by authorities
Security forces took the blogger away in a raid, without informing his family of charges or his whereabouts. He later appeared in the notorious Evin prison where he was held in 2010.
Iranians demand justice on anniversary of airplane downing
Protesters in Tehran and Toronto, where many of the victims lived, called for justice against those responsible, as April's court ruling did not reveal identities, ranks or punishments of those convicted.
Roundup of Shia figures continues in Azerbaijan
Rustamov is the latest Shia figure targeted by the authorities in an apparent roundup of prominent Shia figures in the country.
Tensions are escalating between Azerbaijan and Iran over border issue and Armenia
For weeks, Iran and Azerbaijan have exchanged accusations, and played war games, in what can be best described as chest-thumping.
Can LGBTQ+ rights activism be the key to reversing retrogressive policies in the Middle East?
"From Egypt to Turkey to Iran, governments are pushing back against LGBTQ+ inclusion, even resorting to social media and mobile phones to track and target the community."
As Ebrahim Raisi begins his presidential role, oppression is set to soar in Iran
Iran's former Chief Justice and head of the regime's judiciary apparatus won the presidential election on June 19 in a landslide victory.
Iranian state comes down hard on protests over ‘Thirsty Khuzestan’
Three years ago, protests broke out in Iran's richest province of Khuzestan against water shortages. Like today's, these were also met with force, as protesters blame government corruption and mismanagement.
Income, age and obesity: South Asia's advantages in the COVID-19 pandemic
Poverty, lack of public medical facilities, lower levels of adult literacy, and less medical expertise would, it was assumed, work strongly against the ability of South Asia to weather the COVID-19 storm.
Baloch protests in Iran underscore repression against the ethnic minority
Sandwiched between borders of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, the Baloch population is a disenfranchised minority relegated to the fringes of society, provided little economic opportunity, and systematically targeted by state violence.
Iran's oppression of its Christians tears daughter from convert parents
The court ruling denying Sam Khosravi and his wife custody of their adopted daughter after converting to Christianity is one way the state's utilizes the judiciary to clampdown on minorities.
Nearly a hundred Kurdish activists detained by Iran's security forces in 2021
An interview with Switzerland-based KMMG’s director reveals how recent arbitrary detentions of Kurds and other minorities coincides with the regime’s bid to fortify its rule amidst piling internal challenges.
‘Stop silencing MENA critical voices,’ say activists in open letter to Twitter and Facebook
A decade after uprisings heavily relied on social media to topple dictators across the region, human rights defenders denounce these platforms' discrimination against voices of dissent still fight for freedoms.
Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert freed from Iranian jail in prisoner swap
"It’s far past time for democratic allies — indeed all responsible governments — to work together to end state sponsored hostage taking once and for all, beginning with #Iran"
Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh raises scrutiny of Israel's arms sales to Azerbaijan
Israeli-produced weaponry gave Azerbaijan a key advantage over Armenia in the latest war over Nagorno-Karabakh. But for some human rights activists in Israel, that's not a matter of pride.
Ali Banisadr and the art of ‘visual thinking’
Ali Banisadr's MATRIX 185 exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the Iranian-American artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the US.
