Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
All topics-
Interview with Iranian dissident Abolhassan Banisadr
Selling the revolution on
Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, millions of Iranian dissidents were forced to flee the country for fear of reprisals. Prominent among them, Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president of the Islamic Republic. Having fallen out with Khomeini, he left Iran in the summer of 1981. Interview by Mahindokht Mesbah
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The situation post-Aleppo
An orphaned revolution
Russian′s bombing campaign in Syria has helped put an end to Aleppo′s civil democratic experiment, once a beacon of hope. What next? By Leila Al-Shami
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The influence of Iran′s religious foundations
Faith and profit enshrined
Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad to be near to the holy man. The tomb is an important economic factor for the city, but at the same time it is the centre of an extensive business em-pire wielding huge influence in Iranian politics. On the political economy of the holy man, by Ulrich von Schwerin
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US-Iranian relations following the presidential election
It's a chill wind
How will the outcome of the U.S. presidential election impact Iran? Experts predict that regardless of the election result, the new US presidency will mark a worsening of ties with the Islamic Republic. By Shahram Ahadi and Mitra Shodjaie
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Cultural policy and architecture in Iran
Far from an Islamist Utopia
The Islamist hardliners in Iran see themselves as a bulwark against the cultural influence of the West; their goal is to create an authentically Islamic culture. But what does that mean for things like architecture? Aesthetic observations by Ulrich von Schwerin in Iran
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Reform Islam
Can Iran do democracy?
A great deal of thought has been devoted to the issue of democracy in the Arab world over the last few decades. Katajun Amirpur examines the discourse with specific reference to Iran and its unique political system
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Cultural rapprochement with Iran
Laden with promise
Following the historic Iran nuclear deal that was clinched in Vienna in July 2015 and the subsequent lifting of sanctions against Iran in mid-January 2016, Germany and Iran are now looking for ways to stimulate cultural dialogue and exchange between the two countries. Dorothea Grassmann talks to Ali Fathollah-Nejad
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Interview with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe
"This situation is not temporary, it is the future"
In interview with Emran Feroz, Israeli historian and Exeter University professor Ilan Pappe criticises the unilateral policy favoured by the Netanyahu government, which is committed to retaining control of historical Palestine in its entirety and approves of the restoration of authoritarian Arab regimes
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Saudi Arabia and Iran
Defeat Islamic State - or become it
The dawn of 2016 has brought a new round of doomsday predictions that Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family cannot sustain its autocratic grip on power. The kingdom, pessimists argue, is caught in a perfect storm with economic problems, social challenges and foreign policy crises all converging at the same time. By James M. Dorsey
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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 Sadrzadeh
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Iran and the Revolutionary Guard
Pulling the economy's strings
They may dress in clerical garb or call themselves the "Seal of the Prophet", but their focus is on a different kind of profit. Religious foundations and the Revolutionary Guard are running Iran's business. Thomas Kohlmann reports
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Elections in Iran
Even Khomeini can be disqualified
The moderate cleric Hassan Khomeini has been excluded as a candidate for the Assembly of Experts in Iran, even though he is the grandson of the nation's founder. This example shows why it so difficult for the moderates and reformists to assert themselves against the country's conservative establishment. By Ulrich von Schwerin