Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
All topics-
Frustration boils over in Iran
The mass protests in Iran were initially about economic woes and foreign policy. Now, demonstrators are questioning the country's system of government. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is blaming the "enemies of Iran"
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Protests in Iran
An own-goal for the hardliners
The blaze of popular wrath that has been ignited in Iran's provinces has long since begun to consume the cities as well. Initially intended by hardliners as a demonstration of dissatisfaction with President Rouhani, the demonstrations are now directed at the system as a whole. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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Saudi-Iranian conflict
Sleepwalking into war
War between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be of no use to anyone, not even to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Ben Salman in Riyadh or Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. On the contrary: both men could conceivably find themselves ousted. Yet powerful political factions exist that are intent on warmongering. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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Annulling the Iran deal
When amateurs rule
Abandoning the nuclear deal with Iran will leave the U.S. completely isolated, undermine global security and strain relations with its allies, which are already under mounting stress thanks to Trump′s unseemly and erratic behaviour. Commentary by Alon Ben-Meir
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Iran and the USA
Trump's UN debut: The axis of evil is back
The USA no longer accepts the nuclear agreement with Iran in its current form and instead wants to renegotiate elements of the international treaty. President Hassan Rouhani now has to manoeuvre between Trump and the radicals at home – hoping all the while that Europe will act as mediator. A commentary by Ali Sadrzadeh
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Women's rights in Iran
Farewell compulsory veiling? Time to go with the flow
After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic regime began to force women to adopt Islamic dress. Resistance to the rule has never ceased, though it has changed. And suddenly compulsory veiling in the theocracy no longer seems to be on solid ground. An abridged version of the original article by Nasrin Bassiri
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The Islamic Republic
The West's Iran policy: For real change through trade
Despite four years of moderate rule under President Rouhani and the historic nuclear deal with the West in 2015, little has changed in Iran. There has been no improvement in the human rights situation and the lifting of economic sanctions has mainly benefitted companies close to the state, writes political analyst Ali Fathollah-Nejad
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Iran′s ″Holy Defence″
Dulce et decorum est...
Iran has many museums dedicated to its rich history. Nevertheless, those places that focus on events during which Iranians and other prominent 'Defenders of Islam' lost their lives, enjoy special status. By Philipp Breu
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Iran and Saudi Arabia
Chalk and cheese
Iran and Saudi Arabia are more than just two regimes, they are also two societies. And these are fundamentally different. Charlotte Wiedemann assesses the differences, from their fundamental attitude to life, to the pace and scale of modernisation
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Nepotism in Iran's Islamic Republic
At home with the mullahs
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, which once vowed to eliminate hereditary rule, large family dynasties are increasingly dominating the political landscape. Critical voices assert that the Shah has been replaced by a clerical "king" as ruler of the country, complete with his own court and state nobility. However, some of the hereditary princes are demonstrating remarkable independence. By Ulrich von Schwerin
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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 commentary
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Iran's economy after the nuclear agreement
State firms win most foreign deals
When world powers agreed in 2015 to lift sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, the deal's supporters in the United States, Europe and Tehran hoped renewed trade and investment could boost Iran's private sector and weaken the state's hold on the economy. But a Reuters review of business accords reached since then shows that the Iranian winners so far are mostly companies owned or controlled by the state, including Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. By Yeganeh Torbati, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Babak Dehghanpisheh