Mahmoud Pargoo - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Mahmoud Pargoo

Mahmoud Pargoo is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Social Justice at Australian Catholic University in Sydney. He writes on the Middle East and Islam. On Twitter: @mpargoo

A Muslim Shiite cleric walks past the house of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the holy city of Qom, 130 kilometres south of Tehran on January 15, 2019. - In the religious capital of Iran, the Islamic revolution still holds a powerful sway even as once-unthinkable signs of modernity creep into the city of Qom to challenge the faithful. Qom, a couple of hours drive south of Tehran, is one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, home to dozens of seminaries and many of its m

How Iran's hard-liners aim to sideline traditionalist clerics

Mahmoud Pargoo

Separate and parallel: Why are Iranian conservatives creating ‘safe havens’?

Mahmoud Pargoo

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) during a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, February 17, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RC1353D19310

Iran, India eye closer cooperation amid tensions with Pakistan

Mahmoud Pargoo

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, China May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter - RC1EE6C163D0

Why Chinese public diplomacy is failing in Iran

Mahmoud Pargoo

A cleric speaks on his mobile phone on the campus of the Seminary in Qom, 120 km (75 miles) south of Tehran February 3, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN) - RTXB72O

Women gain foothold at Iran's seminaries

Mahmoud Pargoo

An Iranian couple walks in the sea in the Caspian Sea port city of Mahmoud Abad, in northern Mazandaran province on June 16, 2016.
/ AFP / ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians pushing boundaries in 'private sphere' debate

Mahmoud Pargoo

People attend the funeral of the victims who were killed on the June 7 attack at the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum, in Tehran, Iran June 9, 2017. TIMA via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY? - RTX39TEM

Iranian hard-liners use Tehran attacks to snipe at Rouhani

Mahmoud Pargoo

An employee works with her laptop at Takhfifan company in Tehran, Iran, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2330Q

How sanctions helped Iranian tech industry

Mahmoud Pargoo

Tehran’s smog problem unlikely to clear up anytime soon

Mahmoud Pargoo

Is Congress empowering Iranian hard-liners?

Mahmoud Pargoo

Why Saudi Arabia needs to trust its man on Iran

Mahmoud Pargoo

An Iranian woman adjusts her face veil as she participates in the Jerusalem Day demonstration in Tehran August 26, 2011 . REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2QC5V

More veils lift as topic loses political punch in Iran

Mahmoud Pargoo