Want to book a flight to Iran on Kayak? Sorry. But North Korea’s nice this time of year.
When Iranian Americans started reaching out to us a few weeks ago asking why websites like Kayak and Priceline were no longer allowing users to book flights to Iran, NIAC contacted the top executives of seven online travel agencies currently engaging in the practice to attempt to fix the problem. We told these companies – Orbitz, Priceline, […]
Rouhani Raises Hopes for Diplomacy at First News Conference as President
By Samira Damavandi and Caroline Cohn At his first press conference as Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani indicated his willingness to reengage in diplomatic talks with the West, raising hopes for finding a solution to the current standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Rouhani replaced outgoing President Ahmadinejad, whose bellicose anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rhetoric only exacerbated […]
Stop talking war, start talking…
We’re slowly reaching a critical point in the nuclear impasse with Iran. If you listen to Iran hawks on the right, Iran is hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon. They just know that’s what Iran wants, despite, as Roger Cohen suggests, no evidence or logical basis supporting their conclusion. Unfortunately, there’s been little to […]
Paying for the US-Iran Feud With Blood
In the summer of 2009, in the aftermath of the elections, there was obviously a lot going on in Iran. But one of the things that I remember made everyone hold their breaths in those months is probably not what you’re assuming right now. On July 15 2009, an Iranian passenger jet – a Russian-made […]
Military Attack on Iran: A Combination of Ignorance and Naivety
As always, those who talk about what US policy towards Iran should look like, are already prepared for failure of current US policy. Now Senator Joe Lieberman is preparing to “up the rhetorical ante” on Iran and endorse military actions if sanctions fail In an excerpt of what his staff has labeled a “major policy […]
Bad Hair Days Now Mandatory
In Iran, summer came with a severe crackdown on the Islamic dress code. Said Tehran’s police chief Hossein Sajedinia on the recent crackdown: The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehavior by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values… In some areas of north Tehran we can […]
Talented Iranian American Top Ranked in Film Competition
Ali Tabibnejad knew he was meant to be a film-maker since he was a child in Ahvaz. He would go into a room by himself and act out entire films. He imagined an entire film industry in his head: from different studios — different rooms in the house– to different theaters and directors. He would […]
A Half-Hearted Attempt at Accountability
A military court in Iran sentenced two men on Wednesday to death and nine others to jail for the torture of three protesters which resulted in their death last summer at the notorious Kahrizak detention center. According to the report on Jahan News, an additional 33 others were also accused of attacking a student dormitory […]
A Majlis of the IRGC, by the IRGC, and for the IRGC
The recent battle over Azad University and its assets is not only a sign of a growing division in Iran’s hardliners. If one looks more closely, the growing importance of the IRGC in Iranian politics is also becoming clearer. Originally created by Ayatollah Khomeini to be the Supreme Leader’s personal militia, the IRGC acts […]
Will the Real Iranians Please Stand Up?
In the past three decades, American perceptions of Iran have shifted dramatically. The very people who once had an empire, who drafted the first human rights declaration, and who were one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East are now among the most misunderstood and discriminated-against populations in the country. First, Iran was labeled […]
Whitewashing Neda’s Death
[vodpod id=Video.3838962&w=425&h=350&fv=] This state-produced propaganda video was broadcast on the anniversary of the June 12th election, alleging that Neda Agha Soltan was not murdered by a Basij militiamember but rather by members of the Iranian government’s favorite scapegoat: the MEK. In an interview with the suspect who is widely believed to have been behind Neda’s […]
IRI’s Helping Hand
While some Iranians came out to protest on the one-year anniversary of the fraudulent presidential elections this weekend, others came out to attack Mehdi Karroubi and the offices of Grand Ayatollah Saanei and late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. Karroubi, who traveled to Qom on Sunday for a mourning ceremony, planned on visiting Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei, […]