Author: Payam Ghalehdar & Ali Fathollah-Nejad

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An Iranian student holds up a placard bearing the likenesses of Khamenei and Khomeini in front of the former American embassy in Tehran. The background graffiti was painted over in autumn 2019, before the Islamic Republic's 40th anniversary celebrations (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The mirage of regime change

Why the United States is Khamenei’s bogeyman

According to the leadership in Tehran, the USA is driven by an insurmountable hostility towards Iran. But even if Trump's policy of "maximum pressure" seems to confirm this notion, the U.S. government is not pursuing a policy of regime change. By Payam Ghalehdar & Ali Fathollah-NejadMore

Foreign academics risk arrest in Iran: Tehran's new hostage policyIran and the West: Big little SatanU.S. policy on Iran: Middle East nightmare – made in Washington

In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Favourite of the hardliners: Ebrahim Raisi, a 61-year-old cleric, is running for the second time; in 2017 he lost to incumbent President Rouhani. In 2019, he was appointed head of the judiciary by religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei and is being touted as a possible successor to Khamenei. In the 1980s, Raisi was part of the so-called "death committee" responsible for executing thousands of political prisoners

Iran's presidential election: Contest of losers

Iran's Guardian Council has selected seven candidates for the mid-July presidential election. Most have run in the past. By Shabnam von Hein