by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jun 11, 2013 | Features, Profiles
For many years, Ali Akbar Velayati was known as the top man in Iranian diplomacy. He served as Iran’s foreign minister for 16 years, from 1981 until 1997, during the presidencies of Ayatollah Khamenei and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Notably, he is among those whose...
by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jun 9, 2013 | Features, Profiles
Saeed Jalili was almost completely unknown in Iranian politics until October 20, 2007, when he was appointed as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, after service as a diplomat in Iran’s foreign ministry. Since...
by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jun 8, 2013 | Features, Profiles
Though he has held a number of official posts in the power structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran over his lengthy political career, Hassan Rouhani has come to be seen by many of Iran’s beleaguered reformist movement as their best hope in 2013. The only...
by Barçin Yinanç | Apr 14, 2013 | Majalla Blogs
Imagine yourself catching a taxi in Paris or London. On discovering you are a tourist, the driver may—or likely will not—inquire after your opinion of the city. This is small talk, and the driver invests little in your response. The experience is rather different in...
