Iran

To keep the men away, just cover up

Sophie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:03:00 +0200

"You can't stop them. But you can protect yourself. Your creator has your best interests at heart."

One of our Observers in Egypt received this image in a forwarded email. The message to women: Cover up to protect yourself. We ask our Observers if whether covering up really deters unwanted attention.

According to observers in Egypt, the hijab has crept up in popularity in recent years. It's not obligatory to cover up in the Arab republic and the government does little to promote the concept, but many Muslim women choose to cover their hair and bodies. This viral campaign, spread via forwarded email, suggests that women go one step further to "protect themselves". One of our Observers for Egypt told us that the person behind it is promoting the adoption of the niqab — a garment which covers everything but the eyes. Where the email originated, however, nobody seems to know. Despite efforts by some to track it through various sources, its origins remain unknown.

The nuclear crisis from an Iranian viewpoint

Sophie — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:03:52 +0200

Accusing Teheran of withholding information, the International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday that Iran still owed it "substantial explanations" concerning its nuclear programme. This firm standpoint by the IAEA once again revives the polemic over Iran's right to nuclear weapons.

Iran bins "bad influence" Barbie

Julien — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:35:57 +0200

Photo: Joel Day

Iran's top prosecutor Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi called for a crackdown on imports of western toys Monday, in particular Barbie dolls, saying that her curvy figure, which continues to find its way into the country, is threatening the country's Islamic culture and revolutionary values.

In a letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi, Dori says that Iran is the third biggest importer of toys in the world and that American dolls such as Barbie, Harry Potter and Batman are encouraging the westernisation of the country. Previous attempts to replace the popular figures failed miserably with the modestly-dressed Sara and Dara, launched in 2002, barely selling in toyshops.

Obama wants to talk to Iran, but is the feeling mutual?

Julien — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:51:19 +0200

In a speech on Tuesday Barack Obama declared that he is in favour of talking to Iran - something that would constitute a huge shift in American diplomatic policy. Abolhassan Banisadr, the first ever elected Iranian president, today exiled in France, reacts to the announcement.

Cut your hair or we'll do it for you

Julien — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:35:56 +0100

This video was sent to us on Sunday by our Iranian Observer, blogger Arash Kamangir, who says that the young man in the clip has been arrested for having long hair. The video has provoked strong reactions on the Iranian blogosphere and floods of comments on YouTube. We don't know where or when it was filmed yet, but the men's uniforms seem to be those of the Iranian police force. We'll try to provide further information during the course of the day. Warning, you might find the images upsetting.

UPDATE 1 (10.03.08 - 4pm): The link to the video was first posted on Balatarin, a Farsi site where web-users vote on the quality of publications. And so the polemic began. The video has already been watched 34,000 times on YouTube, resulting in many strong reactions. Some say the video is fake, others say that it's not rare for young Iranians to have their heads' shaved because long hair is seen as too western. We still don't know who the man is or why he was being grilled.

The other face of Tehran

Julien — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:09:33 +0100

After years spent in Los Angeles, Azad returns to live in Tehran. He wanders his vast and rambling town capturing these striking images on his simple mobile phone. His message: ‘Don't believe what they tell you; life goes on in Tehran'.

And the prize for Best Actress?! We’re not entirely sure…

Julien — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:57:27 +0100

Iran's International Fajr Film Festival was hosted in Tehran last week for the 26^th time. But pictures from this year's edition of the popular festival offered an unusual view of the showbiz affair. The FARS news agency blurred out the faces of female guests, making them almost unrecognisable. Our Observer for Iran, feminist Farnaz Seifi, explains why.

UPDATE (17.30 15 Feb. 08): Thanks to comments on this post, we have found photos posted by the Fars agency where actresses' faces are not blurred. The photos are part of a different set found at a seperate link. This would suggest that the agency has no consistent policy on whether or not their photographers can show the faces of female actresses.

Ahmadinejad is called to order by the almighty one

Julien — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:21:04 +0100

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a letter from the revolutionary figurehead Ayatollah Khamenei on Monday, urging him to unblock resources that fund gas supplies to isolated villages in Iran. This public disavowal could add to Ahmadinejad's worsening reputation concerning economic policy, which has already come under criticism from the largely dissatisfied population. While Iranians battle through a particularly harsh winter, rising gas and oil prices are a hotter topic of conversation than nuclear power. One of our Iran Observers, Reza Moini, explains why the conflict between the two Islamic leaders flared up this week.

Gas pipes cut from Turkmenistan to Iran

Julien — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:02:16 +0100

By our Observer for Turkmenistan, 'Maciula'.

Two weeks have passed since the suspension of Turkmen gas supplies to Iran. The pipelines are still empty and both sides are stiffening their position. Ashgabat obstinately claims that the suspension is due to maintenance works (but who conducts such works during the harshest winter in decades?) and at the same time warns that supplies will not be restored unless the Iranians pay off the debt they allegedly owe Turkmenistan.

Tehran's position is quite different, as described by Bruce Pannier from the Radio Free Europe:

Iranian officials have now made it clear that the issue clearly involves price. Iranian Oil and Gas Minister Gholamhossein Nozari recently said that talks on raising the price for Turkmen natural gas, from the current $75 to $140 per 1,000 cubic meters, would resume only when the supplies were restored. Nozari added that if deliveries did not resume, Iran could refuse to buy Turkmen gas.

Only the highest officials in Ashgabat probably know the true reason of the crisis. Nevertheless, the commentators have already come up with various theories and written about the activity of Washington, which has supposedly been trying to exert pressure on Berdymukhammedov to take hostile measures against Tehran, as well as about the rights of the Turkmen minority living in northern Iran being violated by the Iranian authorities and the backstairs activity of Russia aimed against... Turkey, etc.

It seems, however, that there is no hidden agenda here. The two reasons that most likely lie behind the suspended gas supplies are: shortage of gas in Turkmenistan (I have written about it in one of my recent posts) and Ashgabat's growing assertiveness encouraged by the recent success in its negotiations with the Gazprom which ended up in a 30-percent price rise on gas sold to Russia.

There is one more interesting aspect to this issue that has probably not been raised yet. Interestingly enough, the parties to the conflict (especially Turkmenistan) communicate with each other not only through diplomatic channels but also by public announcements in the media. However, I would not attribute it to their openness or concern to keep the public informed. This rather indicates that the conflict is indeed severe and, thus, unlikely to end soon."

Article published on Neweurasia 17 January 2008.

My little bomb

Julien — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:36:00 +0100

Since being posted just over a year ago, this video has been viewed almost 200,000 times. The song is an altered version of an Iranian nursery rhyme that's usually sung as part of a popular children's game. Our young Observer, Delazad, has translated and sub-titled it.