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S. Rouzbeh reflects on reports of eye injuries in Iran, drawing a comparison with the mass blinding after the fall of Kerman in 1794 and asking what patterns of repression, silence and official narrative these reports may reveal.
An analysis of an army statement as a sign of strained deterrence, institutional responsibility and the tension between military loyalty and social conscience.
S. Rouzbeh examines a government that, faced with political deadlock, resorts to naked violence and cuts off communications. The central argument is that extreme brutality signals not strength but the failure of political solutions.
Iran’s 1405 military and security budget appears to prioritise regime survival and domestic control over national defence, with the army left behind despite its larger personnel strength. Questions remain about opaque budget figures, defence spending and the consequences of this political choice.
When does a political system move from governance to emergency survival? This article examines how, as the softer tools of persuasion, law and media fail, a government may turn to coercion, prioritising the preservation of its power over managing the country.
S. Rouzbeh examines how to turn discontent into collective action, resist the regime’s efforts to divide society, build unity around shared principles, and encourage members of the security forces and armed forces not to take part in repression.
The proposed National Migration Organisation would make marriage to an Iranian woman a route to residency for foreign men, while narrowing paths to identity and citizenship for their children. The article examines the legal and social consequences, with a focus on Qom, and asks who bears the cost of these policies.
This article outlines the legal and professional procedures for investigating deaths outside hospital, and asks how the cause of Khosrow Alikordi’s death was established before the investigation process was made clear.
The import of Russian Spartak armoured vehicles, amid Iran’s economic crisis, raises questions about the government’s priorities and whether the vehicles are intended for border security, protecting security officials or suppressing domestic dissent.
How structural corruption, patronage and a politicised banking system in the Islamic Republic protect the powerful while protesters are imprisoned.
S. Rouzbeh reflects on 16 Azar, its history as Student Day and what it means for students today, amid political repression, economic hardship and pressure on universities.
S. Rouzbeh examines the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, from the successful coinages of its early years to the political identity, public mistrust and awkward, belated word-making associated with the institution today.
The absence of reliable technical reporting and full IAEA access after the attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites raises questions about safety, casualties and the risks posed by uranium hexafluoride (UF6).
The appearance of two people in army uniforms carrying the Lion and Sun flag in a Tehran metro station raises a broader question: when a crisis comes, will Iran’s military and police stand with the people or the regime? The article examines ideological surveillance, internal purges and the pressures facing the forces.
The story of 74 bodies allegedly found in the Karaj Dam quickly disappeared from the headlines, but it exposed a deeper crisis of public trust. S. Rouzbeh argues that years of violence, unanswered questions and official denials have made people more likely to believe accounts of unexplained deaths, whether or not this particular story is true.
Following the death of Omid Sarlak, a young man from Aligudarz, after a video was published showing him setting fire to Ali Khamenei’s image, a wave of anger and grief swept through the public. Reports said he was found hours later in his car with a gunshot wound. Local officials raised the possibility of suicide, but direct chants against the Islamic Republic’s leader were heard at his funeral, and new videos of people burning the leader’s image circulated widely. This event raises a central question: why do people burn a leader’s image, and what does this act signify?
An analysis of the regime’s ‘securitisation’ tactic and its efforts to equate the civil opposition with the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran. The article examines how the ‘terror cells’ narrative legitimises repression, sows fear and undermines civil organising, while warning of the danger of deliberately provoking violence.
7 Aban has become a broad civic tradition, as Iranians at home and abroad invoke Cyrus the Great in speaking of national identity, the rule of law and human dignity. The article traces the Pahlavi-era celebration of Cyrus and the subsequent threats to and neglect of ancient heritage, alongside restrictions on public gatherings and the repression of those who commemorate the day.