TEHRAN INSIDERInside Tehran’s nightlife: a hidden world of dance, drinks and defiance
It starts with a text message on social media by an established cafe. A few million rials deposit, and a promise of a night unlike any other in Tehran.
Tehran Insider
Firsthand reports from contributors inside Iran
TEHRAN INSIDERWhether it's talks or war, we'll suffer all the same
US president Donald Trump has sent Iran’s leader a letter, we’re told, and that it’s significant. It probably is, but nobody I know seems to think so.
TEHRAN INSIDERThe kids are alright: they can't tell Khamenei from Khomenei
Last week I took my teenage niece to a concert at Tehran’s iconic Vahdat Hall, where two large portraits hang high on stage walls, watching over the audience. “What’s the Islamic Republic doing here,” my niece joked.
TEHRAN INSIDERBreaking up is hard to do, but more Iranian women dare divorce anyway
Almost four in ten marriages in Iran end in divorce, according to the latest official figures, giving rise to theocrats' cries of a crisis that may not be as obvious to some of the women gaining their freedom.
TEHRAN INSIDERBreathing the air that’s no more
A vast, dark cloud blankets Tehran. We don't even need to say when: it’s almost all the time, with fewer than ten days of clean air last year.
TEHRAN INSIDERNotes from underground: an evening of secret theater in Tehran
Tehran's art scene is moving underground with exhibitions and performances that defy pervasive censorship, turning home venues into sanctuaries for creative self-expression.
TEHRAN INSIDERSyrians have every right to hate us Iranians
"I can’t remember the last time I was so shaken as I was watching images of Assad’s prisons," says Fatemeh, who has seen the inside of Iran’s prisons for her activism. “My country funded these crimes. Syrians have every right to hate us."
TEHRAN INSIDERYou think it's bad today? Wait till you see tomorrow
Mahmoud looks spent; he’s 45 but looks older. Grey-haired, unshaven, bespectacled — financial anxiety has worn him out. He owns no home, holds no significant assets and dares not think about the future. "Let’s make it to tomorrow is our motto," he says.
TEHRAN INSIDEREnough on our plates: Iranians with no tears for Palestine
Iranian perspectives on the conflicts in the Middle East are mostly dominated by the prevailing resentment toward their own rulers.
TEHRAN INSIDERNo matter Trump, the problem is our own leaders, Iranians say
Donald Trump won. Some Iranians are thrilled, seeing him as a catalyst for the collapse of the Islamic Republic. Others are gutted, thinking Kamala Harris would have meant less sanctions and some relief from unbearable economic pressure.
TEHRAN INSIDEROn the student who shed her clothes: If she's crazy, so are we all
A few days after a university student in Iran was bundled into an unmarked car by security forces for removing her clothes in an apparent protest at hijab-enforcers on campus, her identity and fate remain unknown.
TEHRAN INSIDERWar wary Iranian capital awaits the worst
Israel’s air strikes revived the specter of war long gone - a ghastly déjà vu for Iranians who weathered the nigh decade-old struggle with Iraq and a grim induction into its sights and sounds for those too young to remember.
TEHRAN INSIDERBehind the wheel, under the stars: The story of Tehran’s car-sleeping drivers
Tehran, a city of contrasts, where the glow of high-rises hides the struggles of those who keep it moving. For many internet taxi drivers from distant provinces, driving through Tehran’s jammed streets isn’t just a job—it’s a desperate bid for survival.
TEHRAN INSIDERWar seems inevitable and yet we cling to hope
Iran's missile attack on Israel has reignited talk of war, leaving many anxious. Some hope an Israeli strike could free them from the Islamic government. But most remain silently apprehensive—numbed, perhaps, or resigned to their helplessness.
TEHRAN INSIDERThe final straw: Iranians dread plans for a 'national' internet
Watching YouTube in Iran feels like torture. So does downloading an app from Google Play, or even sending a voice message on WhatsApp. In short, using the internet here is like living with a chronic disease—you may learn to cope, but you'll never stop hating it.
TEHRAN INSIDERIranians brace for the impact of US presidential elections
The 2024 US presidential campaign is being closely followed in Iran, as many Iranians believe the outcome will directly impact their lives, especially with Donald Trump once again on the ballot.
TEHRAN INSIDERElection reactions from Tehran: Few care, fewer hope
Iran’s 2024 presidential election -- held almost a year early, after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May -- gave rise to a President that few had heard of a few weeks before.
TEHRAN INSIDERIran’s generation Z rejects the clerics’ ballot box
One of the more telling features of the election campaign in Iran was that no candidate seemed to appeal to Generation Z first-time voters. Perhaps they assumed it was a lost cause, believing Gen Z wouldn't vote.
TEHRAN INSIDER‘To vote or not to vote’ – That is the question
Iranians can vote for a new president on June 28, after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. How many will vote, we just don’t know - a report from Tehran.
