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Wednesday, May 27, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
US/IRAN: Changing of the Guard Key to Talks
A week after Senator Hillary Clinton's harsh remarks that if hardliners in Tehran were to launch an attack on Israel, it would result in the "total obliteration" of Iran, a Republican member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Peter Hoekstra, suggested on CNN that "engaging in a full-court diplomatic press with Iran is a good thing to begin the process" of reaching out to Tehran.
POLITICS-IRAN: "The Government Suffers From Delusions"
If your grandfather was the founder of the first Islamic Republic of Iran, you would probably expect to have a very comfortable life in the land of Ayatollahs, where Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is president and Khomeini's successor has absolute power. But you would be wrong.
IRAN: Candidate Purge Smacks of a “Vendetta”, Critics Say
The mass disqualification of reformist parliamentary candidates by Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees the electoral rolls, has diminished the possibility of fair elections on Mar. 14, observers say.POLITICS-US: Iranian-Americans Seek Least-Hawkish Candidate
Jaded toward their government back home and cynical of the current U.S. administration and the Republicans they historically supported, a new generation of Iranian-Americans appears to be looking to Barack Obama to bring about change, especially with regards to U.S. foreign policy toward Iran.
RIGHTS-IRAN: Gov't "Leading by Fear", Activists Say
Iran's recent use of extreme punishments such as amputations and public executions has deepened concerns about the situation of human rights amid the strict enforcement of Islamic law, which has worsened since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardliner government came to power in June 2005.POLITICS-US: West Coast City Formally Rejects Iran Attack
The eight-member city council of Oakland, home to nearly half a million people, unanimously passed a symbolic resolution opposing any U.S. attack against Iran Tuesday, in a bid to pressure lawmakers in Congress to reestablish their constitutional authority over U.S foreign policy and war policy and funding.RELIGION-US: Keeping the Muslim Faith – And a Low Profile
Ali Hanif is an African-American Muslim living in Oakland, California. On Fridays, his day off, he attends group prayers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Northern California (CCNC). But Hanif says that he never volunteers his religion to strangers.MEDIA-US: Cockroach Cartoon Crossed the Line, Iranians Say
As the war of words between Western nations led by United States and Iran's hardliner government over its nuclear programme has escalated in the last few weeks, a cartoon published on the editorial page of the Columbus Dispatch on Sep. 4 has created a furor amongst Iranians worldwide.
RIGHTS-IRAN: "Blood Was Everywhere, the Smell of Death"
Criticism of Iran's judiciary is mounting following the brutal execution of a man who was convicted of adultery more than a decade ago and stoned to death on Jul. 5. Although the head of the judiciary branch, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, issued a written order stopping the execution almost a month ago, the judge in the case insisted on stoning Jafar Kiani to death.
RIGHTS-IRAN: Dark Days for Women
Judicial authorities in Iran have sentenced two women activists who participated in a peaceful protest against discriminatory laws in June 2006 to more than 30 months in jail and ten lashes.IRAN: Charges Against Renowned Scholar Called "Absurd"
The arrest of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, Middle East programme director at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Centre, by Iranian security forces in Tehran on May 8 has sparked grave concerns among Iranian-Americans with dual citizenship who travel to Iran.POLITICS: A Softer, Gentler Era of U.S., Iran Relations?
Tehran's high-level presence at the meeting this week in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss Iraq's security boosts the chances for eventual negotiations between Tehran and Washington over their long-running disputes, say analysts here and in Iran.POLITICS: A Softer, Gentler Era of U.S., Iran Relations?
Tehran's high-level presence at the meeting this week in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss Iraq's security boosts the chances for eventual negotiations between Tehran and Washington over their long-running disputes, say analysts here and in Iran.IRAN: Nobel Peace Laureate Calls for Nuclear Referendum
Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is urging the Iranian government to hold a national referendum on the country's controversial nuclear programme, because it "has a direct impact" on the lives of millions of Iranian citizens.RIGHTS-IRAN: Journalist Gets the Kafka Treatment
In a continued effort to suppress reform-minded critics, the Iranian government has sentenced yet another prominent journalist, Ali Farahbakhsh, to three years in jail and slapped him with a huge fine, partly due to a typo in the court documents.POLITICS: U.S. City Takes Stand Against War With Iran
As thousands of Iranians in northern California celebrated the Persian tradition of "Chaharshanbeh Souri" on Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution opposing the use of military force against Iran and urging that Congress attach an amendment barring such action to the Pentagon's 93-billion-dollar supplemental funding request.MEDIA: Journalists Targeted for Traveling Outside Iran
In a new blow to free expression in Iran, security forces arrested three members of a 15-woman delegation of journalists en route to a training workshop in India last week, accusing them of infringing national security interests and threatening them with trial.US/IRAN: Ahmadinejad Feels Economic Heat
The arrests by a U.S. military unit of six Iranians in Erbil, Iraq and several others in Baghdad earlier this month indicate the deployment of a new strategy against Iran's hardliner government.RIGHTS-IRAN: Bloggers Rebel at New Censorship
In a bid to clamp down even harder on information disseminated through the Internet, Iran's hardliner government has demanded the registration of all websites and weblogs sourced in the country by Mar. 1, drawing objections from many Iranian bloggers who say the move clearly violates free speech.POLITICS: Gulf Security Hinges on Axis of Realpolitik
As the sectarian conflict in Iraq escalates, along with stepped up attacks on U.S. troops and civilians, Dr. Houchang E. Chehabi, an international relations professor at Boston University and expert on Persian Gulf issues, says Iran could step in to stabilise Iraq - if offered an incentive to do so.POLITICS-IRAN: Ahmadinejad’s Divine Inspiration
Amid a struggle between two major clerical factions for control of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to shore up his conservative base by portraying himself as a man with a direct link to god.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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