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TWI Arabic: اللغة العربية Fikra Forum

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  • Policy Analysis

Iran's Domestic Affairs

Policy Analysis on Iran's Domestic Affairs

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Iran protests
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Iran on the Threshold of Another Revolution
The most recent wave of protests in Iran appears more unified and determined, suggesting it may be the start of something much bigger.
Sep 28, 2022
◆
  • Shukriya Bradost
chabahar port
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Failed Promises in Iran’s Free Trade Zones
Iran’s free trade zone project was intended to create jobs, boost investment, and integrate Iran’s economy. Instead, poor infrastructure and corrupt officials turned the zones into monopolized markets that do more harm than good.
Aug 17, 2022
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  • Bahman Azar
Iranian woman drummer with bandmate at cafe
In-Depth Reports
Iranian Perceptions of the U.S. Soft Power Threat
Fearing a Western-inspired overthrow, Tehran has intensified enforcement of morality laws, purged professors from universities, and poured billions of dollars into the creation of a separate national intranet.
Nov 14, 2021
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  • Amir Toumaj
Iran's Majlis head Qalibaf, former defense minister Dehghan
In-Depth Reports
The 2021 Iranian Presidential Election
A Preliminary Assessment
Whoever wins, the result will intimate deeper trends in Iranian society, such as public support for the regime and the Supreme Leader’s intentions for the country’s future.
Feb 23, 2021
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  • Albert B. Wolf
◆ Sudden Succession Essay Series
In-Depth Reports
Iran's 2021 Presidential Vote and the Tightening of Regime Control
Joe Biden's victory in America may herald a measure of de-escalation with Iran, but the Supreme Leader is unlikely to be moved. Ayatollah Khamenei does not really distinguish between Democratic and Republican intentions—after all, he agreed to a nuclear deal with the Obama administration only to see President Trump tear
Nov 23, 2020
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  • Mehdi Khalaji
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Protests and Regime Suppression in Post-Revolutionary Iran
Since its formation in 1979, the Islamic Republic has seen multiple cycles of unrest, from ethnic movements in the early 1980s to urban riots in the early 1990s, student protests spanning 1999-2003, the Green Movement response to the 2009 election, and the December 2017-January 2018 upheaval in smaller cities and
Oct 8, 2020
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  • Saeid Golkar
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Taking Back the Neighborhood:
The IRGC Provincial Guard's Mission to Re-Islamize Iran
In 2008, the IRGC established a new branch that remains little known or studied today: the Provincial Guard. Operating in all of Iran's thirty-one provinces plus Tehran city, the IRGC-PG carries out the regime's revolutionary aims at the local level, inculcating conservative religious values, shaping educational curricula, and even sponsoring
Jun 4, 2020
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  • Saeid Golkar
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, gestures while speaking
Brief Analysis
The Most Important Speech of the Year in Iran: Hostile to the West, No Concessions at Home
Historically a reliable indicator of Khamenei’s thinking, the Supreme Leader’s annual Mashhad address focused mainly on foreign policy, especially why the West should not be trusted, along with his usual call for Iran to develop its non-oil economy.
Mar 26, 2019
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  • Patrick Clawson
In-Depth Reports
The Supreme Leader and the Guard:
Civil-Military Relations and Regime Survival in Iran
As the Islamic Republic of Iran turns forty, the dream of a unified theocratic state remains elusive. The national leadership faces three converging threats: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's uncertain health and the prospect of a destabilizing succession process; domestic dissatisfaction, manifested in daily protests across the country; and economic struggles brought
Feb 25, 2019
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  • Saeid Golkar
Brief Analysis
Iran’s ‘Resistance’ Bloc Rises amid New U.S. Sanctions
Hardliners see the latest pressure as proof that defiance works better than compromise—an attitude they are likely to change only if the pressure intensifies.
Oct 29, 2018
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  • Mehdi Khalaji
Articles & Testimony
Nuclear Deal Was Not a Magic Wand for Rouhani—Iran in New Crisis
The Iranian president focused on the nuclear file to the exclusion of all other issues, and his country is feeling the consequences today.
Sep 28, 2018
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
The Shia Arabs of Khuzestan
Tribal identity supersedes religious affiliation in this community, helping explain why Tehran can expect further challenges from this southwestern province.
Sep 25, 2018
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  • Mehdi Khalaji

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