Current Analysis Iran's Unfair Nationality Laws At an October meeting of young Iranian-American leaders at the residence of the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, I asked Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif about the country’s unfair nationality laws. By these statutes, no Iranian woman married to a non-Iranian man can pass on her citizen Narges Bajoghli • 3 min read
MER Article Debating the Iran-Iraq War on Film For supporters of the Islamic Republic, it is the Iran-Iraq war, and not the 1979 revolution, that evokes the true spirit of the Islamic Republic. In 1979, the plethora of political groups that poured into the streets was united in the desire to get rid of the US-backed Shah, but divided as to the s Narges Bajoghli • 10 min read
Current Analysis Argo and the Roots of US-Iranian Tensions The box-office hit Argo brings back long-faded memories of the Iran hostage crisis for many Americans. News in November 1979 that US diplomats had been taken hostage in Tehran shocked the United States. Students stormed the US embassy, blindfolding 52 Americans and threatening them at gunpoint. The Narges Bajoghli • 3 min read
Current Analysis Blisters and Sanctions It was February 1987, at the front lines near Khorramshahr, in the south of Iran along the Iraqi border. We had been engaged in heavy battles for over a week. Our troops had penetrated fortified Iraqi positions, and the Iraqis were making us pay: Artillery and mortar shells rained down on us with a Shahriar Khateri, Narges Bajoghli • 6 min read
Current Analysis Iranian Cyber-Struggles From the Green Movement in Iran in 2009 through the Arab revolts that began in 2011, social media have held center stage in coverage of popular protest in the Middle East. Though the first flush of overwrought enthusiasm is long past, there is consensus that Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 appli Narges Bajoghli • 9 min read