Iran tomorrow

Hassan Rouhani was sworn in for his second term as president of Iran on August 5, surrounded by fresh flowers, fervent followers, and around 500 foreign officials. Representatives of the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations, and the Vatican rubbed shoulders with the Syrian prime minister, Hezbollah second-in-command Naim Qassem, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader and FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list member Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, and murderous Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. The Westerners didn’t seem uncomfortable in such company; indeed, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was described as the star of the show after Iranian members of parliament elbowed through the crowd to take selfies with the diplomat. But why should they have been bothered? They were in Tehran, after all, to celebrate the renewed rule of a man who has overseen a steady increase in killings—Iran has the world’s highest per capita execution rate. Three days before Rouhani’s inaugur...

Iran's triangle of fear By  Shahriar Kia There is a Persian proverb saying those fearing the dark scream to overcome their fears. Iran, considering its domestic and foreign dilemmas, resembles that very individual who is afraid of the dark and is screaming to overcome its fears. On Wednesday, June 7th Iran was  attacked by terrorists  in a twin assault that ISIS claimed responsibility for, targeting the parliament and the tomb of the regime’s founder. In contrast to others victimized by terrorism, Tehran actually welcomed this attack and portrays itself as the victim. Iran was under intense pressure from an international coalition against its measures in the Middle East and needed an escape route. Tehran sought to cloak the reality of being the central banker of international terrorism. The position taken by U.S. President Donald Trump and a recent  Senate resolution  became impassable hurdles. To this end, Iran began broadcasting fa...