Author: Ali Sadrzadeh

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Rouhani supporters celebrate their president′s victory in Tehran (photo: Tasnim)

Presidential election aftermath in Iran

Rouhani, take note!

With the latest presidential election result, Iranians have sent a clear message across the nation and to the world at large. Their voices should be heeded, writes Ali Sadrzadeh in his commentaryMore

Reformists sweep Tehran municipal vote as Rouhani wins Iran Economic policy in Iran: Rouhani′s inevitable failureIran following the death of Rafsanjani: On a knife edge
Shia clerics in Qom (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Iranian scholars in exile

The Shia shakedown

Religious scholars in exile are challenging the basic tenets of Shia Islam. Their professional authority is indisputable. And they are in close contact with Shia teaching activities in their homeland via the Internet. One of the heretical questions they are asking: is the Koran the word of God or a dream told by the Prophet? By Ali SadrzadehMore

Iranian reformist thinkers in exile: More freedom, less impact?Political Islam and violence: A question of powerInterview with Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari (Part 1): ''Islam is a religion, not a political agenda''The Reform Islam debate: Islam doesn′t need a Martin Luther!
Proteste konservativ-islamischer Studenten in Teheran für eine "widerstandsfähige Wirtschaft" und gegen die ökonomische Öffnung des Landes und Integration des Iran in die Weltwirtschaft; Foto: Fars

Politics and economics in Iran

Pie in the sky

Four months after the historic nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been left practically empty-handed. UN sanctions against Iran have been largely lifted, but those still in force are so complex that few financial institutions in Europe are daring to conduct any business with Tehran, where there is a growing sense of disappointment – leaving rich pickings for the radicals. By Ali SadrzadehMore

Iran and the Revolutionary Guard: Pulling the economy's stringsIran′s image in the Arab world: Conservative regime and open-minded societyAfter the nuclear agreement with Iran: Where to from here?
Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections in Tehran (photo: Reuters/R. Homavandi)

Elections in Iran

A lesson for the powerful and the disempowered

Granted, elections in Iran have little impact on the real political conditions in the Islamic Republic, where to this day the leader of the revolution retains his hold on the reins of power. But even so, the latest round of voting has highlighted the atmosphere among large sections of the civilian population. An analysis by Ali SadrzadehMore

Elections in Iran: Even Khomeini can be disqualifiedSocial justice and political reforms in Iran: A ticking time bombFive years after Iran's "Green Movement": Past and present
Demonstration by General Qassem Soleimani′s supporters in Mashhad (photo: SNN.ir)

The role of Qassem Soleimani in Iraq

Reining in the lion

Until recently, General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards "Quds" Force, was still being hailed as a military hero and man for the future. But more and more details are emerging concerning his destructive role in Iraq. By Ali SadrzadehMore

Profile: Qassem Soleimani: The man who pulls the stringsIran's role in the Iraq conflict: An ally, but not a puppetProtesting corruption and mismanagement in Iraq: Caught in the spotlight
A building in Faj Attan, near Sanaa, destroyed in a Saudi airstrike (photo: Reuters/M. Al Sayaghi)

The Yemen conflict

The threat of a regional conflagration

It is not clear what Saudi Arabia hopes to achieve with the war in Yemen. In any case, the ongoing airstrikes are not going to solve any problems. On the contrary: many new ones are emerging, such as the strengthening of the al-Qaida network or a dangerous confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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Military intervention in the Islamic world: What good is an Arab military alliance?Media reports on the Yemen conflict: A skewed view of Yemen's plightThe crisis in Yemen: History can help us to understand
Yemeni Shia Houthi rebels in Sanaa on 21 September 2014 (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Iran's foreign policy in Yemen and Iraq

Arab fear of the "extended arm of Iran"

The recent capture of Sanaa by Zaidi fighters was celebrated in the Iranian media as a "victory for the revolutionaries". The Arab press, by contrast, accused Iran of trying to influence events in Yemen after already getting involved in Iraq and Syria. The conflict increasingly threatens to be seen as an exclusively Sunni–Shia power struggle. By Ali SadrzadehMore

Political upheaval in Yemen: The triumphant advance of the Houthi rebelsFederalism and state-building in Yemen: Between transition and stagnationThe Iranian president and his political opponents: Rouhani under fire and on fire
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsandjani (photo: ILNA)

Iran in the Run-up to Presidential Elections

The Reformers' Swan Song

For Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a man viewed as the architect of the Islamic Republic who was the nation's most powerful figure for two decades, the outcome of presidential elections this coming June has already been decided: The reformers don't stand a chance, as Supreme Leader Khamenei will in any eventuality install his chosen candidate. By Ali SadrzadehMore

State Surveillance in Iran: ''There's No Such Thing as Your Own Four Walls''Parliamentary Elections in Iran: A Well-staged ShowPower Struggle in Iran: The Might of Oil
An Iranian police officer standing in front of a poster of the Grand Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran (photo: mehrnews)

State Surveillance in Iran

''There's No Such Thing as Your Own Four Walls''

People in Iran – and women in particular – have long known that not much is private in the Islamic Republic of Iran: the state is all too fond of monitoring and trying to control what its citizens do in private. But when a cult TV figure starts telling the nation that there should be no distinction between the public and the private in the Islamic Republic, it does not bode well for the future. By Ali SadrzadehMore

Living out of Wedlock in Iran: A Quiet Social RevolutionTurning away from Shia in Iran: "A Tsunami of Atheism"Writers in Iran: Fighting a Losing Battle
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (photo: IRNA)

Iran's Economic Crisis

On the Edge of the Abyss

The everyday lives of the Iranian people look set to be dominated by rationing and food coupons. And four months ahead of presidential elections, a bitter power struggle has been raging – one that is turning out to be a veritable struggle for survival for some of those involved. By Ali SadrzadehMore

Turning away from Shia in Iran: ''A Tsunami of Atheism''Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader: Showdown in TehranPower Struggle in Iran: The Might of Oil
Christian service in the Serkis Church in Tehran (photo: MEHR)

Turning away from Shia in Iran

7

''A Tsunami of Atheism''

Iran's moral guardians are concerned: while Islam is increasing in political importance throughout the Arab world, people in the Islamic Republic of Iran are leaving the mosques in droves. As Ali Sadrzadeh found out, young people seem especially susceptible to the attractions of sects or ChristianityMore

Mohsen Kadivar: ''People Have Started Believing in Their Own Strength''Iranian Reformist Thinkers in Exile: More Freedom, Less Impact?Interview with Ali Granmayeh about Iran and the ''Arabellions'': Yearning for Lost Freedoms

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Free meals are distributed to the needy in many Muslim countries during Ramadan. The giving of alms forms one of the "five pillars of Islam" – alongside the declaration of faith, daily prayers, the pilgrimage to Mecca and fasting. Followers of the faith refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. When evening comes, many meet in mosques, on public squares or in marquees such as in this picture from Cairo, to celebrate the breaking of the fast, known as "Iftar"

From Jakarta to Cairo – Ramadan around the world

For Muslims all around the world, Ramadan begins on 27 May. The period of fasting that always takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar is one of the five pillars of Islam, intended to be a time for contemplation, mediation and moderation.