Iran Insights

A viral series of photos showing women without headscarves on the streets of Tehran has ignited heated debate on social media over claims that the Islamic Republic has loosened its enforcement of compulsory hijab.

Stanford professor and historian Abbas Milani says the Islamic Republic's real opposition is not abroad but inside the country: women walking unveiled, teachers refusing propaganda, and artists reimagining history.

A conservative daily in Tehran has accused the Taliban of deliberately withholding water to pressure Iran, urging the government to use diplomatic, economic and other tools to punish the group.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Belarus this week, a heavily sanctioned Russian ally, in a trip that highlighted how Tehran’s “Look East” strategy ties it more closely to Moscow and Beijing and their sanctioned partners.

Many malnourished children in Iran’s rural and nomadic schools set out on long morning walks without breakfast, leaving some to collapse from weakness during school line-ups and unable to learn during long school days, Shargh newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Moderates’ call for an overhaul of Iran’s political order has drawn fierce conservative backlash, with some critics invoking reformist appeals of 2003 that ended in bans, prison, and exile.

A reformist call to suspend uranium enrichment, release political prisoners, and curb the Revolutionary Guards’ power has intensified debate over Iran’s future at a moment of heightened pressure.

A section of Tehran’s largest cemetery holding executed dissidents from the early 1980s has been turned into a parking lot, Iranian officials have confirmed.

Even without open war, Israel and Iran are locked in a psychological battle—one marked by devastating Israeli intelligence strikes and more modest but highly publicized Iranian attempts to recruit and infiltrate the Jewish state.

Iran’s economy is reeling from an acute labor shortage following the mass deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants, with key industries such as construction and agriculture struggling to function.

A fierce battle has erupted inside Iran’s political establishment over the country’s future, with moderates urging sweeping reforms and hardliners branding their proposals a thinly veiled bid for regime change.

Iran’s capital and several provinces will see a full-day closure of government offices due to a worsening electricity crisis, officials said Monday.

The state funeral of renowned miniature artist and "national treasure" Mahmoud Farshchian drew large crowds in Isfahan on Monday, reigniting heated debates on Persian social media over the notion of “state-affiliated artists.”

Iran may be heading into even greater financial strain as fresh data points to a worsening outlook for global oil markets, threatening the country’s most vital source of revenue.

Amid deteriorating ties with Europe and the looming threat of another war with Israel, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian is under mounting attack from Tehran’s hardliners, who question both his competence and his political judgment.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s call on Iranians to rise up—coupled with a promise of Israeli help to solve the country’s water shortages—set off a wave of praise, criticism, and ridicule across Iran’s political spectrum and online.

With the supreme leader’s retreat from view since the 12-Day War with Israel, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) appear to have taken on his role as political disciplinarian, nudging senior figures to keep their feuds out of public view.

Iran’s customs data indicates that strategic reserves of animal feed have declined, raising warnings about potential impacts on the country's food security.