Saloumeh Peyman

TEHRAN – By allowing inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit and verify its nuclear program this week, Iran has indicated its readiness to work with the United Nations watchdog, while continuing to limit the role of the Western powers. Ali Larijani, Iran’s topmost security official, told the state-run Islamic Republic News … Continue reading “Iran’s Approach: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back”

TEHRAN – Promising a better life to the society’s downtrodden, the son of a blacksmith and mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad, has stunned Iran by beating an establishment figure to become the nation’s new president. While Ahmadinedjad’s promises of "fighting corruption, poverty, and discrimination" appealed to the minds and hearts of millions of jobless youth … Continue reading “Iran’s Hardliners Reinvent Themselves”

TEHRAN – "This election is absolutely unprecedented in terms of numbers of candidates and their supporters. [But] it seems the people and the eight hopefuls are from different planets," says Ali Hasani, 56, a self-employed businessman commuting between Dubai and Tehran. "I have been carrying this big luggage [pointing to a trunk next to him] … Continue reading “Iran’s Cynical Voters Look at Presidential Race”

TEHRAN – It is said that the only time Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic revolution, smiled was when he sat next to Yasser Arafat in the Iranian capital in 1979. Arafat was the first foreign dignitary to pay tribute to the revolution and was greeted as a hero by the mullahs, after Iranians … Continue reading “From Loving Arafat to Calling Him ‘Traitor’”

TEHRAN – Diplomats might be optimistic about a breakthrough with Tehran over its nuclear program after weekend talks between Tehran and three European Union heavyweights, but realities are more complicated, since many Iranians say their country has a legitimate right to have full access to nuclear technology. The talks in Paris, between France, Germany, and … Continue reading “EU, US Pressure on Iran Could Backfire”

TEHRAN – A combination of light entertainment, talk shows and politics beamed into Iran by a dozen or so satellite stations set up by Iranian exiles in the United States is proving to be explosive in the Islamic country. Iranian hardliners have denounced foreign satellite broadcasts for trampling on Islamic values and say they are … Continue reading “Iranian Exiles Use Satellite TV to Promote Change”