Iran protests

People carry a banner during a march demanding truth and justice for Kurdish activists, Paris, Jan. 11, 2025.

27 Kurdish civilians, activists arrested in Iran following protests

After protests over the death sentences of Kurdish political prisoners, Iranian authorities arrested at least 27 people across the Kurdistan region.

Iranians lift up a flag and the mock up of a missile during a celebration following Iran's missiles and drones attack on Israel, on April 15, 2024, at Palestine square in central Tehran.

Analysis

Iran's turbulent 2024: Regional losses, economic pains and impending threats

Iran is bidding farewell to a 2024 rife with severe setbacks ranging from the Gaza war and escalating tensions with Israel to major geopolitical shifts and a faltering economy at home.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iranian miners look on at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran's Khorasan province on September 22, 2024. The blast caused by a gas leak at the coal mine in eastern Iran has killed at least 50 people, state media said on September 22, in one of Iran's deadliest work accidents in years. (Photo by Mohsen NOFERESTY / IRNA / AFP) (Photo by MOHSEN NOFERESTY/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Iran coal mine tragedy highlights prevalent corruption, workers' plight

Reactions from pundits, activists and ordinary Iranians focused in large part on how corruption and mismanagement has grown over the years, with companies and oversight bodies increasingly ignoring the safety of workers who were digging "for a loaf of bread."

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former Iranian Foreign Minister, flashes victory sign during an election rally in support of Iranian presidential election candidate Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran, Iran, on June 24, 2024. Iran is holding snap presidential elections to choose the next president after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. After the election with a historically low turnout on Friday, Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's presidential election candidate and former reformist member of the Iranian parliam

Analysis

What’s behind Javad Zarif's resignation from Iran’s new government?

Zarif's sudden resignation came in response to apparent interference by the powerful hard-liners and stirred debate on the deadlock for meaningful reform within the existing frameworks of the Islamic Republic.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Latest News

Even as Iran denies $500M arms deal with Armenia, foothold in Caucasus is priority

Armenia's foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, meets with his counterpart from Iran in Tehran on July 24, 2023.

Women activists face 'severe sentences' in Iran, as new president vows easing of restrictions

Two Iranian women are walking in the street of Tehran with optional covering.

Iraq aims to host first meeting between Turkey's Erdogan, Syria's Assad

A composite image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan (L) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Polls close in Iran's presidential runoff: Estimates of nearly 50% turnout

Iranian reformist presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian (C) gestures while surrounded by supporters outside a polling station in Tehran on July 5, 2024.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Iran's Ahmadinejad, Haghanian grab spotlight in tight presidential race

All eyes are now on the hard-line Guardian Council, which is expected to remove the vast majority of the 80 hopefuls, leaving a limited number to compete in a controlled election process.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi attend a joint press conference in Ankara, on Jan. 24, 2024.

How Raisi’s death will impact Turkey-Iran geopolitical rivalry

While leaders and some commentators in Turkey posthumously praised the late Iranian president and foreign minister, many geopolitical challenges await Ankara and Tehran once Iran elects a new president.

An Iranian woman in Tehran passes by a poster of Iran's late president Ebrahim Raisi two days after his death on May 21, 2024.

Iran: 8 key contenders to watch as potential successors to Raisi

Facing the key issue of turnout of a disfranchised, apathetic public, Iranian authorities will be holding an early election next month to replace Ebrahim Raisi, whose tenure was cut short due to a deadly chopper crash.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian gestures during a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos on January 17, 2024. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Israel is more concerned over Iran's FM replacement than Raisi's

Israel estimates that the death of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi will not significantly change Tehran’s policies on the region, but the death of Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian could have some consequences.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A female protester holds up photographs of Mahsa Amini before cutting her hair with scissors as an act of solidarity with women in Iran during a demonstration against the death Amini on Sep. 23, 2022, in Berlin, Germany.

Iran’s case against the BBC over killed teenage girl: What we know

Nika Shakarami disappeared after attending an anti-government protest in Iran in 2022 and became a symbol of the demonstrations.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 01: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R)leaves after casting his ballots during the parliamentary and key clerical body elections at a polling station on March 1, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections and will also cast ballots for the Assembly of Experts, which selects and nominally oversees the work of Iran's supreme leader. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Two winners from Iran's elections: Hardliners and security crackdown

The ruling establishment scrambled to persuade voters, anticipating a record low turnout following its deadly crackdown on the 2022 unrest.

A man watches a video of Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, who was released in Tehran today after being arrested for his song in support of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on October 4, 2022. - Hajipour, a 25-year-old Iranian pop singer and songwriter, rose to fame for the song "Baraye", "For", in which he put together messages posted on Twitter about the reasons for protests. The emotional performance became a viral hit on different social media platforms, with million

Iran sentences 'Baraye' singer Shervin Hajipour to three years in jail

The singer’s hit "Baraye" became an anthem for the 2022 anti-government protests in Iran and his sentencing is the latest example of the Islamic Republic’s repression of those who took part in them.

AFP via Getty Images

With voter apathy at 77%, what will Iran's elections bring next week?

Next week's elections will be the first since the massive national protests were met with a violent crackdown.

Ebrahim Raisi waves after casting his ballot for presidential election, in Tehran, on June 18, 2021.

Iran officials scramble to reverse voter apathy ahead of key elections

Anxious about anticipated record lows in voter turnout, the Islamic Republic is widely campaigning to get the nation to ballot boxes amid pent-up grievances and growing discontent.

A seal on the exterior of the US Department of Treasury building, March 13, 2023.

Who are the Iranians sanctioned by US, UK for murder plots against dissidents?

One of the plots culminated in the 2019 assassination of Iranian government critic Mas’ud Vardanjani in Istanbul, according to a statement by the US Treasury Monday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference in the capital Tehran, on Feb. 16, 2020.

Why are Iran hard-liners axing Rouhani from political scene?

By disqualifying Rouhani, Iran's ruling hard-liners pushed yet another boundary in their campaign to ensure that no influential, moderate figure will have a say in deciding the country's next supreme leader.

Mohammad Ghobadlou

Outcry as Iran executes young protester with mental illness: judiciary

Mohammad Ghobadlou, who had allegedly a history of mental illness, was hanged in an Iranian prison in relation to his role in the 2022 nationwide protests.