By pushing Russia to consider the option of greater sanctions on Iran in her meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be endorsing a policy that will end up biting her in the back of her pantsuit. Apart from the fact that Moscow is...

In the lead-up to his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is up to his old tricks. And sadly, the global community seems to be falling for them.

Ahmadinejad has managed to divert attention from his disputed re-election in June...

The Iranian people reminded the world on Friday that they will not let themselves be ignored or forgotten. Despite the orders and warnings of the regime against any opposition protests, defiant Iranians poured into the streets in the thousands.

The occasion was Quds Day, the annual day on which Iran...

Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out Clear from Error. Whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most Trustworthy Handhold, that never breaks, and God hears and knows all things. ~ The Qur'an. Al Baqarah (The Cow), 2:256

It doesn't take an...

While the current Iranian uprising began as a green revolution, it is quickly turning red. With each death at the hands of the regime, a martyr is born, and with each martyr, the seed of revolution is planted. According to Shi'a legend, where the blood of a martyr spills, a...

An increasingly common call amid the many protests since Iran's presidential election has become "Join us!" This is not a vague invitation. It is frequently directed specifically at the members of Iran's volunteer civilian militia known as the Basij. They are subject to the direct orders of the Supreme Leader...

At the heart of Iran's Islamic Revolution was a stencil duplicator and a tape recorder. These were the Ayatollah Khomeini's Facebook and Twitter. He used them to get his sermons into Iran when he was in exile in Iraq and France.

Khomeini's mimeographed and tape-recorded messages made their way...

I throw socks at my television. When I disapprove of something, when most people would just change the channel, I start hurling socks. It isn't exactly the most productive use of my time, or my socks for that matter, but it gives me a small sense of satisfaction. Lately, however,...

Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of the growing opposition movement inside of Iran is its dependence on the hospitality of strangers. The place of a guest in Iranian culture is far different than that in most so-called Western cultures. Guests are a blessing. They receive preferential treatment over any...

One of the many chants heard outside of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's campaign headquarters before the Iranian presidential election was "Doctor boro Doctor," which means "Go to the doctor, Doctor." This chant refers to Ahmadinejad as its subject ("Doctor" because he has a PhD in civil engineering), and it suggests that he...

Ayatullah Khamenei mentioned the 12th or "hidden" imam, also known as the Mahdi, several times in his speech at Friday's prayers. After his awkward rant about the Branch Davidians, the mention of the hidden imam was surely the most confusing to many in the so-called West.

The Mahdi is...

As the protests all over Iran continue, many Iranians are beginning to expand their hopes and aims beyond a potential Mousavi presidency. With growing comparisons between the current protests and those that ushered in the Islamic revolution, demonstrators are starting to realize that they too may be able to usher...

While Iranians are a highly politically savvy lot, getting them to do more than merely talk politics is a near-herculean task. The combination of cynicism from a revolution gone bad and fear of a potentially oppressive and retaliatory government is an unlikely formula for public displays of political activism.

So,...

Most Americans know little, if anything, about the Iran-Iraq War, which is troubling given how deeply involved we were in it. Well over a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers, as well as civilians, perished during the war, with many more injured and wounded.

Iranian public animosity toward the US in...