Iran
Invasion of Ukraine
G7 Foreign Ministers condemn Tehran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized powers condemned on September 14 "in the strongest terms" Iran's sales and Russia's purchases...
Interviews
Tackling new threats to critical energy infrastructure
The explosions that targeted the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany in September 2022 and the suspected sabotage of Baltic-connector pipeline, which supplies...
Sanctions and related policies
New sanctions ordered following Iran’s April 13 missile and drone attacks against Israel
Following Iran’s massive, but ineffective, missile and drone strikes against Israel April 13, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their new sanctions...
Sanctions and related policies
U.S. zeroes in on Houthi revenue sources
The U.S. Government made several announcements this month regarding new sanctions on Houthi revenue sources, building on steps taken in coordination with the U.K....
Democracy & Human Rights
Young Iranians fight for a better future
Providing an opportunity for young people around the world to listen to each other and to share their understanding of the fundamental concept of...
Democracy & Human Rights
Lawmakers, NGO reps, human rights experts, Iranian dissidents condemn appointment of Iran’s envoy to UNHRC’s social forum
During a press conference held in Geneva on November 2, lawmakers, NGOs, and Iranian Dissidents condemned the appointment of Iran’s regime envoy to the...
Economy & Business
US slaps new separate sanctions on Iran, Russia and Hamas
On October 18, the US Department of State announced new separate sanctions packages against Iran and Hamas; they are not directly connected. A number...
Economy & Business
Shockwaves from the Gaza War begin impacting the global economy
In this era of globalization almost any regional crisis can be expected to trigger defensive strategies on the part of major companies and investors....
Analysis
Freedom is just another word for ‘nothin left to lose’
President Joe Biden described the events taking place in Israel as “sheer evil, abhorrent, and terrorism.” It sure is. Husbands and wives slaughtered, children...
Democracy & Human Rights
Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”
Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan gathered by the thousands on September 30 to stage protests marking the first anniversary of...
Democracy & Human Rights
Europe’s lawmakers see opportunity for regime change a year after Iran’s latest uprising
On September 21, representatives of various political groups held a meeting in the European Parliament to discuss the situation in Iran one year after...
Iran
Domestic operatives carried out cyberattacks on Iranian regime websites
Treadstone 71, a provider of cyber security consulting and training services, has published a new report on highly-publicized breaches of Iranian government websites and...
Democracy & Human Rights
Former UN judges, prominent jurists & politicians demand Iran’s leaders be held accountable for 1988 massacre
During an international conference on August 21, former UN Judges, renowned legal experts, and prominent politicians from the US, Europe, and Africa called on...
Democracy & Human Rights
The Iranian opposition issues an urgent call to action to prevent a political prisoner’s execution
This morning, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, a judge at Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, capital of the northeastern Razavi Khorasan Province, sentenced to death...
Albania
Iranians hold rallies to protest police raid on opposition’s Albania-based HQ
Protests were held outside Albanian embassies and consulates in at least ten cities on June 20th and 21st following a raid by police on...
Iran
Iran’s ruling mullahs have demanded that European governments crackdown on opposition groups
As European and Iranian officials actively work to reduce tensions, some diplomatic sources privately say that Tehran has demanded from France that it silence...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Belgium’s prisoner swap with Iran proves the EU is unwilling to punish state sponsors of terror
An Iranian terrorist, Asadollah Assadi, is heading home from Belgium just two years into a 20-year sentence. He is the beneficiary of the Islamic...
Democracy & Human Rights
EU parliamentarians, former world leaders demand policy changes, recognition of Iranian resistance
On May 24, dozens of members of the European Parliament held a meeting in Brussels to discuss prospective changes in policy toward the Iran....
Iran
Italian senators back Iran’s democratic opposition; call for immediate blacklisting of Revolutionary Guards
During a news conference held at the Italian Parliament on April 13, key lawmakers announced that a bipartisan majority of senators have officially backed...
Azerbaijan
The Iranian regime is becoming ruthlessly paranoid about ethnic Azeri demands for civil rights guarantees
Complete disregard for the well-being of Iran’s Azeri minority has sparked a wave of intense anger within the community.
Democracy & Human Rights
Opponents of ayatollahs vow Iranian women will transform the country into a democratic republic
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi say a democratic revolution is unfolding in Iran.
Rajavi was the keynote speaker of an international conference in Brussels on...
Democracy & Human Rights
Iranian diaspora’s push for democracy: Rejects the past, advocates for the future
In recent rallies and conferences, including in Paris, Berlin, London, Belgium, Oslo, Rome, Washington, DC and Toronto, Iranian expatriates and associated organizations have called...
Democracy & Human Rights
Thousands of Iranians hold pro-democracy rally in Paris
On a cold and wintry day in Paris, some 10,000 supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, gathered to mark...
Democracy & Human Rights
NE Global interviews Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi
Iranians have tried every other possible way to work for change, for many years. Those who thought they could reform the regime have continually been disappointed. Now they know that they have no other solution.
Iran
Political prisoners in Iran do not bow to the absolute authority of the Supreme Leader
The legal system of the Islamic Republic is in no way compliant with the requirements of modern international laws or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Iran
Ignored for too long, Europe should realize a democratic Iran is closer than ever
The unity of urban intellectuals and the more underprivileged sectors of Iranian society poses a unique challenge to the regime.
Iran
Iran’s protests underscore the strength and viability of a democratic alternative
The mullahs are struggling to maintain their hold on power. Western nations should support the people’s will by further isolating the regime, closing Iranian embassies and halting diplomatic relations. The clerical regime may have once seemed an immovable fixture of the Middle East landscape, but this isn’t the case any longer.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s opening of an embassy in Israel is a major tectonic shift on the regional geopolitical map
With the regional geopolitical situation as it is, and amidst pressure and threats on multiple fronts, Azerbaijan has responded with a key decision to bolster relations with a key ally by formally opening an embassy in Israel.
Democracy & Human Rights
We are fighting for the freedom of all Iranians. Where does Europe stand?
Western governments should recognize the Iranian people’s right to defend themselves, and they should isolate the regime completely.
Iran
Opposition leader tells Irish MPs Iran is going through a major transformative period
Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi met virtually with members of the Irish parliament on November 16, two months into the wave of protests that...
Democracy & Human Rights
EU politicians slam Tehran’s sanctions targeting European supporters of Iran’s organized resistance
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s decision on October 26 to sanction several MEPs, as well as...
Democracy & Human Rights
The Iranian people have committed to a revolution, so where is the West?
Huge changes have occurred in Iran's political landscape since the start of the protests two months ago. Western governments, however, need to unequivocally and immediately back the movement instead of playing lip-service to vague notions of solidarity and outrage.
Iran
British MPs urge UK govt to support Iran’s ongoing protest movement
More than a dozen British lawmakers met this week with the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi to discuss the ongoing protests in the Islamic...
Democracy & Human Rights
Ahead of EU ministerial meeting, lawmakers offer support for Iranian protesters’ right to resist
Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 members sent a unanimous signal on October 12 after coming to an agreement on a plan to impose...
Iran
European Parliament takes formal step towards showing solidarity with Iranian protesters
Following an invitation from the Friends of Free Iran intergroup of the European Parliament, the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi met several prominent EU...
Iran
Recurrence of uprisings in Iran highlights missing factor in Western policy
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a uniquely difficult area for American and European foreign policy since the Islamist dictatorship was established in...
Finance
The Pandora Papers: Exposing Iran’s clandestine financial system
As the international community continues to coordinate a response to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, longstanding debates surrounding sanction efficacy and compliance have...
Analysis
The Second Karabakh War, one year later
One year after the end of the Second Karabakh War, the landscape in the South Caucasus has changed: both politically and physically. Against all...
Analysis
New political patterns in the South Caucasus
Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...
Archive
A dash of UK Hubris: Containing China
Hubris is a fickle emotion. Too much of it can be deadly, while too little of it can be crushing. A country with a...
Afghanistan
In US foreign policy, realists are finally on the rise
During the autumn of 2020, the United States lost one of its most brilliant, incisive, yet unheralded thinkers in Sherle R. Schwenninger.One of Schwenninger’s...
Analysis
The West needs to unite to fight for human rights
Human rights seem nonexistent in today’s world. That’s because the world’s democracies are not fighting for it.
While the world’s dictatorships always seem to have...
Afghanistan
Why the Taliban’s promise to stop the opium trade rings hollow
One of the first announcements the Taliban made after seizing power in Afghanistan in August was that they were going to “ban the production and sale...
Afghanistan
Why the fall of Afghanistan sllows Iran to expand its influence
Since 2020, the United States has been working to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Americans' announcement emboldened the Taliban, who recently took control...
Afghanistan
With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners
In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...
Afghanistan
Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?
Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...
Afghanistan
What are Turkey’s ambitions in Afghanistan after the US’ withdrawal?
After the United States finished its withdrawal from the two-decade war in Afghanistan on August 31, regional powers remain at work trying to understand...
Afghanistan
On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy
A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...
Afghanistan
What next after 20 years of war in Afghanistan? Anatol Lieven on the U.S.’ legacy and the Taliban’s rise
On August 30, 2021, a C-17 transport plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling the end of America’s longest war....
Analysis
Under Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s LGBTQ community fears the worst
The recent election of Ebrahim Raisi as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran has sent shockwaves through the country's LGBTQ community, with many...
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