With Russia’s UN Security Council presidency and China’s economic leverage, Tehran is betting Moscow and Beijing can shield it from the impact of UN sanctions through legal maneuvers, committee vetoes, and strategic investments.
A measure now before Iran’s parliament promoted as curbing infiltration by foreign intelligence services in practice expands state control over journalists, students, academics and artists.
As Iran’s factions bicker over whether returning UN sanctions are calamitous or mere “psychological” warfare, ordinary people stare into an economic abyss.
Iranian officials are downplaying talk of another war with Israel and the United States but US carrier and tanker movements have sparked anxiety as weary citizens weigh readiness for a possible re-run of a punishing summer war.
While Iran’s hardline-led parliament resounds with defiant statements dismissing the impact of new UN sanctions, a few lawmakers are beginning to admit the likely economic toll.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blocked any potential signal of compromise before President Masoud Pezeshkian even landed in New York—a move some saw as a reckless gamble but in fact a calculated strategy rooted in decades of survival.
One thing unchanged by the return of UN sanctions is Tehran’s internal discord, with hardliners and moderates battling it out over decisions ultimately taken elsewhere.
Pop concerts and late summer parties are spreading across Iran as music, as dance and fashion become battlegrounds testing the limits of state control.
The reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran, atop the US sanctions President Masoud Pezeshkian had pledged to lift during his election campaign, has disillusioned many of his moderate supporters and prompted hardliners to call for his resignation.
All UN sanctions suspended under the 2015 deal with Iran snapped back into force at 8 pm Eastern Time on September 27, one month after European powers triggered the so-called "snapback" mechanism. What are they, and what impact will they have?
A documentary released by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry claiming infiltration into Israel has drawn ridicule from both opposition groups and hardline loyalists of the Islamic Republic who criticized it for relying on public images and exaggerating its claims.
Iran is sliding into stagflation that could spark unrest, economists warn, as official data reveal the first economic contraction in four years on the eve of the UN sanctions returning.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s speech at the United Nations drew an unusual split in Tehran: while conservatives and hardliners rallied behind him, many of his moderate supporters voiced sharp disappointment.
In Tehran today, debate over Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s hardline stance on nuclear negotiations carries an unmistakable echo of the end of Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq in 1988.
Officials in Tehran are scrambling to blunt the impact of impending UN sanctions later this month and avert another popular flare-up that even insiders warn is near.
Debate has erupted in Iran over President Masoud Pezeshkian’s upcoming trip to the UN General Assembly in New York, with politicians, clerics and commentators split on whether he should meet Donald Trump or avoid the risk.
Moderates are pushing for President Masoud Pezeshkian to meet Donald Trump at the United Nations in hopes of easing mounting pressure on Iran, but entrenched hardline opposition makes such a breakthrough highly unlikely.
Iran’s goal of achieving 8% economic growth, a key target of its seventh five-year development plan, faces steep hurdles, with economists warning that key drivers such as investment, productivity, and financing are faltering, the daily Samt reported on Monday.
Iran's Shi'ite establishment promotes temporary marriage as a way to prevent illicit relationships. Yet even devout families often disapprove, associating the practice with prostitution and social shame.
The UN Security Council’s decision not to lift sanctions on Iran has heightened the stakes for Tehran, with hardliners pushing for nuclear escalation, reformists urging engagement, and a public already strained by inflation.
A decisive UN Security Council vote setting Iran on course for the automatic return of pre-2015 sanctions has heightened tensions inside Tehran, as rival factions clash over strategy while officials strive to project a unified message abroad.
Moderates in Tehran—often accused by rivals of weakening the system—are now accusing the hardliners of undermining the supreme leader's authority through escalating factional battles.