Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani adjusts a translation headphone during a news conference in New York, United States, on Friday, September 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Opinion: Karbala via Glasgow

by Amir Taheri | Oct 31, 2014 | Opinion

Anxious to reach agreement with the P5+1 on Iran’s nuclear program, President Hassan Rouhani is trying to mobilize support for his divisive policy. Last month, he tried to woo nationalists with a speech in which there was no mention of Islam, let alone the “Supreme...

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Supporters of the Shi’ite Houthi movement attend an anti-government rally in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on August 29, 2014. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)

Opinion: Embers of Khomeini’s Fire

by Mshari Al-Zaydi | Sep 21, 2014 | Opinion

What is happening in Yemen represents as great a threat, if not more so, than what is happening in Iraq and Syria, at least in the eyes of the Gulf states and particularly Saudi Arabia. The Houthis represent a greater strategic threat to Saudi Arabia and Arabs,...

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Did the BBC help overthrow the Shah?

by Amir Taheri | Mar 19, 2014 | Book Reviews

[inset_left]Persian Service: The BBC and British Interests in Iran By Annabelle Sreberny and Massoumeh Torfeh I.B.Tauris, 226 pages London 2014[/inset_left] “It’s all the work of the English!” Even when said in jest, for many Iranians this popular adage still has a...

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An Iranian girl shows her hand painted with Iran’s national flag during a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, at the Azadi (Freedom) square in Tehran, Iran, 11 February 2014. (EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH)

Iran: A revolution of broken promises and forlorn hopes

by Amir Taheri | Feb 11, 2014 | Features

In 1978, as the turmoil in Iran rapidly developed into a mass movement for regime change, those who took part in the events were unable to agree on a word that would describe what was happening. The Mussadeqist middle classes, who provided the façade of the movement,...

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Iran’s national flags are seen on a square in Tehran in this file photo taken on February 10, 2012. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/Files)

Opinion: Iran, the Revolution and “Iranian Modernism”

by Seyyed Ali Mir Mousavi | Feb 11, 2014 | Opinion

The relationship between Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and modernity is a controversial one. Views on the issue can be divided into three categories: progressive, regressive and post-modern. From a progressive standpoint, the Iranian revolution is seen as a step...