With a Homeland or Without One
A response to accusations of disloyalty against Iranians abroad, contrasting attachment to a country with the record of those who govern it.
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Articles · S. Rouzbeh · 21 April 2026Iran: A Land of Memory and Accountability
On foreign proxy forces entering Iran and serving its machinery of repression.
The Trojan Horse Is Not Wooden; It Is Economic. It Is Not a Gift Marking the End of War, but a Gift Marking the End of Illusion
S. Rouzbeh examines how economic pressure and a new kind of soft siege may expose the vulnerabilities of the Islamic Republic, and asks whether the people of Iran can, under Prince Reza Pahlavi’s leadership, complete their unfinished work when the regime is weakened.
A Warning for Iran from Lebanon: The Danger Is More Than a Few Yellow Flags
S. Rouzbeh warns that the gradual normalisation of foreign-backed armed networks and their symbols could erode Iran’s national sovereignty, drawing lessons from Lebanon’s experience.
The Strait of Hormuz Is Not the Suez Canal: The Legal Error in Normalising Iran’s Claim
S. Rouzbeh examines why the Strait of Hormuz cannot be equated with artificial canals such as Suez and Panama, and why treating tolls for passage through it as normal risks legitimising a weak and costly legal claim.
Why Does the Government Fear Celebrities but Pay Less Attention to Scientists?
An examination of celebrity influence, weak institutions and the right to disagree, arguing for a democratic culture that values independent scholarship and collective work without idolising or destroying public figures.
Iran Is No Longer Beautiful, but It Will Be Beautiful Again Soon
S. Rouzbeh reflects on a country scarred by war, fear and the government’s treatment of its people, while holding on to the belief that better days will come for Iran.
Trump’s threats had an effect: a pause in the war, Iran’s escape from collapse
S. Rouzbeh argues that the two-week pause is neither peace nor a final ceasefire, but a temporary retreat from the risk of a more destructive phase of war. He rejects both claims of total victory and total surrender, describing the pause instead as a tactical reprieve—and a temporary escape from faster collapse—secured at the cost of a people long burdened by the government’s policies.
The War That Brought Arabs and Israel Closer: The Birth of the Middle East’s Informal NATO
The latest war is driving the Middle East beyond symbolic diplomacy towards practical security cooperation. Though no formal NATO-style pact exists, a layered network linking Israel, the United States and some Arab states is taking shape around intelligence-sharing, air defence and the protection of energy and shipping routes—bringing strategic alignment as well as risks of deeper regional polarisation.
What Was Destroyed in Iran That Money Cannot Bring Back?
A country’s infrastructure is not only its roads, bridges and refineries. When people are killed, injured, imprisoned, forced to emigrate or excluded from the work of building their country, what is lost is not merely population, but part of its future. The destruction of human capital represents decades of a nation’s accumulated time—something money alone cannot restore.
A Rational Route to Stability: An Agreement That Requires Iran’s Regime to Face a Free Vote
A proposal to focus international pressure on a credible agreement for a free vote, with safeguards for implementation and a transfer of power based on the result.
Stop at Every Checkpoint: Five Years of Bloodshed and Fear at Iran’s Checkpoints
Documented reports from 1400 to 1404 show that at least 19 civilians have been killed in incidents involving checkpoints in Iran. This account examines how checkpoints have become sources of fear, the consequences of inexperienced or unaccountable forces, and the deeper crisis of governance behind the shootings.
After Khamenei: The Crisis Is Not Just Succession, but the Transfer of Responsibility
S. Rouzbeh examines the uncertainty surrounding Iran’s leadership after Ali Khamenei, arguing that while power may have been transferred hastily, responsibility for war, repression and political failure has not. Drawing on the film The Death of Stalin, the article describes a system in which authority is concentrated among a small circle while accountability remains obscured.
Who Benefits from the Islamic Republic’s Survival? From Moscow and Beijing to Hesitant European Capitals and Neighbours
S. Rouzbeh examines why Europe and NATO act cautiously towards the Islamic Republic, which countries benefit from its survival, and why the world prioritises containing the conflict over decisive action. The article contrasts human-rights rhetoric with the calculations of energy security, trade and regional stability.
Negotiation or Fabrication? The Islamic Republic’s Six Conditions and Its Fear of the Media and the Truth
S. Rouzbeh examines the reported six conditions Iran has set for ending the war, arguing that the list is less a genuine peace proposal than a reflection of the Islamic Republic’s priorities: preserving its regional proxy network and suppressing independent media. The demand to hand over journalists, the article argues, exposes the regime’s fear of truth and its continuing efforts to treat journalism as a security threat.
When Hitler Is Used as an Instrument of Patriotism
An analysis of an attributed quotation and a political poster, examining how fear, insult and emotional shock can displace public reasoning.
The Strait of Hormuz, Infrastructure and the Logic of Scorched Earth
The Strait of Hormuz crisis risks escalating from a confrontation over a maritime passage into attacks on vital infrastructure. The article considers the threats from Washington and Tehran, the risks of miscalculation, and Reza Pahlavi’s warning against targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure.
A Coup by the People or a Leadership Vacuum? When All That Remains at the Top Is a Statement
A critique of the language used in the message attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, asking whether unarmed protesters can be called coup plotters and what the absence of a visible leader says about the Islamic Republic’s authority and legitimacy.