Iran
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...
Afghanistan
How Erdogan will “manage” the Afghan refugee crisis
Images of Afghan refugees scrambling to escape Kabul following the Taliban’s seizure of power will haunt the international community for decades. According to the...
Analysis
An EU diplomatic ‘bâdgir’ in Vienna: The Iran nuclear deal 2.0
When things get hot, you look to cool them down. Persian culture is too familiar with heat with scorching Middle East temperatures. One of...
Afghanistan
The EU is nothing but a feckless spectator in the unfolding Afghan crisis
The surprising speed by which the Taliban seized control, with relative ease, of the whole of Afghanistan is a major geopolitical debacle for the...
Afghanistan
A monster miracle from a cave
In the history of sport, there have been many unforgettable victories. True testaments of teams achieving the unthinkable. The 1980 Winter Olympics men’s hockey...
Afghanistan
Russia and China poised to gain influence in Afghanistan
Amidst the chaotic scenes that ushered in the Taliban’s take over of the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with the West's harried exodus from the...
Afghanistan
The legacy of failure in Afghanistan starts in 1979, not 2001
A decade ago, John Lamberton Harper, a professor of US Foreign Policy and European Studies at Johns Hopkins in Bologna, Italy published an indispensable...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: No peace without a clear vision
Peace is the absence of war, while war is the absence of peace! A negotiated peace in Afghanistan presents a number of challenges. The...
Afghanistan
Making sense of the Italy-UAE rift
Earlier this month the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered the withdrawal of all Italian aircraft and personnel from its Al Minhad Air Force Base...
Afghanistan
When the “New Middle East” meets the “New Europe”
Middle Eastern experts have commented widely on the “new” foreign policy of the United Arab Emirates. Many of these same commentators have gone so...
Armenia
Is Armenia heading towards a collision with the West?
As Iran sinks deeper into crisis, the ayatollahs are desperately seeking to strengthen ally-ships wherever they can.Iran’s economic situation has gone from bad to...
Afghanistan
From Vienna to Tripoli, the Muslim Brotherhood’s impact is felt on both sides of the Mediterranean
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has recently undertaken a number of legislative initiatives that target Islamist groups and movements, which are active within the country,...
Afghanistan
A broken migration system
Turkey and Greece are both transit countries for migrants on their way to Germany and wealthy destinations in northern Europe. Migrants are resilient. Many...
Afghanistan
Tribal truths: The wounds of the US’ Afghanistan exit
As a land heavily influenced by tribal practices, an Afghan proverb stating, “The wound of the sword will heal, but not that of the...
Archive
China tensions, Iran nuclear talks support oil price hike
Oil prices traded close to a three-year high on June 24, supported by geopolitical tensions, including China and Iran, falling US inventories and prospects...
Iran
Europe should not remain silent as a mass murderer becomes Iran’s next president
Europe faces a new moral challenge of either standing by its human rights principles or forgoing them for economic interests after Ebrahim Raisi, a...
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