Press restrictions and cronyism mean a high turnout at the Iranian polls tells us little about what most people really want. from The Guardian
Why Turnout Matters Not
March 2nd, 2012
Sanctioning in Silence
February 13th, 2012
The West is losing goodwill amongst ordinary Iranians as it allows Tehran to set the debate on sanctions. from The Guardian
View From a Prison
February 10th, 2012
My review of Maziar Bahari’s “Then They Came For Me” in the Financial Times.
Iran’s Regime Takes Daughter of Critic Hostage
January 5th, 2012
Desperate to project unity before a key election, authorities sentence Rafsanjani daughter to six months in prison. from Time
The Arbabsiar Case: Could Rogue Elements in Iran be Behind It?
October 14th, 2011
The nutty alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. A used car salesman, Mexican narcos, and more spectacular details, all in: Time
900 Channels of the Great Satan
October 14th, 2011
In Iran’s latest TV obsession, the Ugly American is — themselves. Read the article in Foreign Policy.
The Strategic Debate Amongst Iran’s Reformers
June 16th, 2011
Read Azadeh’s piece in Foreign Policy on the strategic debate amongst Iran’s reformers
“The Smiling Cleric’s Revolution: Iran’s optimistic reformers realize they’ve hit a dead end.”
First the hooch, then the pooch
June 16th, 2011
Azadeh reports on the proposed ban on pet dogs in Iran: ARTICLE HERE
Let’s Face It, I Don’t Blog
July 14th, 2010
After over two hopeful years, during which I perpetually slapped post-it notes with blog ideas on my computer and then reflexively ignored them, I must finally admit that I’m not a blogger. Either that or I don’t have enough time, which amounts to the same thing. Instead, I invite everyone who might be interested in my occasional thoughts and work to follow me on Twitter and Facebook, where I am, believe it or not, fairly active.
On Riz Khan’s Al Jazeera English program
January 7th, 2010
Riz Khan kindly invited me to discuss the protests in Iran on his show. I found it quite surprising that the other guests and also many of the callers seemed to think that the West is orchestrating the demonstrations in Iran. This clip doesn’t include the bit where one guest argues that VOA has instigated the protests, or the caller who calls the protesters hooligans: http://bit.ly/6IXWEL