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The Life Uprising in Iran, Imperialism, and International Solidarity

During her visit to Tehran with her family on September 13, Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, a 22-year-old from Kurdistan province, was arrested at the central metro station by the infamous “morality police” for ‘bad hijab’(wearing her headscarf slightly looser around her neck and head.) In a statement issued two days after her arrest, Tehran police said she suffered […]

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Against “Economic Surgery”: The Resurgence of Protest in Iran 

Since the winter of 2017, hardly a day has gone by in Iran without public demonstrations. Largely unemployed or underemployed young people from the most marginalized and impoverished suburbs of south-western provinces of Iran, as well as the urban working class, have turned the streets into the primary venue for the expression of their discontent with […]

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A Vicious Scenario: Stupid, but Possible in Iran

When reality surpasses speculation “One day you wake up and find out that the mullahs are gone”: on social media and in public spaces, this sentence is a common joke and a dream at the same time. But what if one day the mullahs wake up and find out that the people are gone? A […]

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Iranians, Elections, Sanctions: Oppressed by the Islamic Republic and Starved by the International Regime

Whatever the international players do or do not do, they should immediately stop penalizing the primary victims of the regime, the peoples of Iran. In addition to the endless suffering of innocent people, the only tangible outcome to be expected from the continued economic sanctions is the antagonizing of more and more ordinary Iranians, which is precisely what the fundamentalist regime aims to accomplish.

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Class and minority struggles in Iran today: Interview with Kamran Matin

Following Donald Trump’s repudiation of the Iran sanctions deal and threats of war and the economic protests that brought thousands of people out to the streets against the country’s government, the Islamic Republic is now increasing its repression in the predominantly Kurdish Northwest. LeftEast’s interview with Dr. Kamran Matin of the Department of International Relations […]

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‘’Bread, jobs and freedom”: A conversation with Soheil Asefi about the street protests in Iran, neoliberal policies and Imperialist threats.

Soheil Asefi is an independent leftist journalist and academic. At a very young age, he started writing articles and working for various media and publications, both in cyber and print media. As part of his work, he covered the Majlis [Iranian parliament] and has interviewed numerous high-ranking government officials in Iran. He was arrested in […]

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We knew, but we could not believe: a short essay about Iranians’ attitude towards the current protests

933 Of course everyone knew! Amidst family photos, selfies, and anecdotes, other types of pictures have surfaced on social media. These images have spread, bit by bit, news of horror across the country: homeless sleeping in empty graves, 3 to 7 million child labourers employed, humans used as border couriers in Kurdistan, an unfolding fresh water […]

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Iran again? Rouhani’s new challenges

Note from LeftEast Editors: This article is republished from the blog Presidential Power, which follows the activity of both directly elected and indirectly elected presidents. On Friday 19th May, Iranians residing in the Islamic Republic and abroad confirmed Hassan Rouhani as the president of the Republic. The electoral campaign had been particularly contentious, and since the first […]

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Interview: Gilbert Achcar on the Russian military operation in Syria 

Ilya Budraitskis: It has been several days since the start of the Russian military operation in Syria and the goals and strategy of this operation are still unclear. The explanation coming from Russian officials is unclear. On one hand they put an anti-ISIS agenda as the main reason of the operation, and on the other […]