Published in the Liberties Iran today may be best known for two things: one of the most repressive regimes in the world and one of the most remarkable cinemas in the world. The coexistence of the two is a conundrum that perplexes many people. How does a country known for ferocious repression of dissent and …
Published by Liberties “Were you culture-shocked?” is the question people often ask upon discovering that, at the age of twenty, I moved from Iran to the West. “Of course I was,” I usually say. “I still am.” But I suspect they mis-imagine the tribulations of that transition. Exchanging the Tehran of the 2000s, where I …
Published by the Atlantic On March 29, a friend of mine, the Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, was crossing the road outside his Wimbledon home in southwestern London, to get his car. A man approached him and asked for change; then another man, with his face covered, gave Zeraati a bear hug while the first man …
Published by the Spectator The Middle East is bracing for an attack whose exact source, targets, method, timing and scope are unknown. On Monday, a suspected Israeli air strike targeted a group of Iranian officials in Damascus, Syria, and citizens of the region are now waiting to see how Iran’s regime will respond. Israel has …
Published by the Atlantic American leftists are facing a question that has become a perennial bugbear. Come November, should they support the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump? Or, given their profound reservations about both candidates, should they abstain from voting at all? Biden’s support for Israel’s brutal war in Gaza has given …
Published by the National Late March is a festive occasion for Iranians and many others, as we celebrate the beginning of Persian New Year, coinciding with the beginning of the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. Known as Nowruz, the festival has gained global recognition in recent years and even got its own Google doodle …
Co-written with Didi Tal for IranWire In their attempt to reconstruct the past, historians often rely on archival documents. But these documents never tell the full story and we often have to work through the gaps. Looking at some of the major archives related to the Holocaust, we sifted through official documents, lists, registrations, and …
Published by IranWire Floriane Azoulay, director of an archive dedicated to documenting Nazi crimes, is used to dealing with harrowing material. But many of her stories from her eight years at the Arolsen Archives are also incredibly touching. Take the story of Thomas Buergenthal, the famed Czechoslovak-born American international lawyer who passed away in May …
Published by the New York Times On March 1, Iranians went to the polls for the first time since the protest movement of 2022 and the war in Gaza. The vote, for the Parliament and Assembly of Experts, which appoints the supreme leader, was far from a referendum on current leaders, though. The big result …
Published by the Washington Post Arash Azizi, a professor of history at Clemson University, is author of “What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom.” This piece is adapted from an essay in the spring 2024 issue of Liberties, a journal of culture and politics. Iran today might be best known for two things: one of the …