“Turkey’s Kissinger”

by Abbas Djavadi29.10.2009
Davutoglu

During a recent televized discussion on foreign policy, six former Turkish foreign ministers recently rated Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s performance with eight out of a maximum of 10 points. The six included some harsh Social Democrat critics of the current Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
Even before his promotion from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s [...]

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What Was That Voice?

by Abbas Djavadi19.10.2009
amir and rosa

… و الیه راجعون
Last Friday, our dear colleagues Amir Zamanifar and Rosa Ajiri were flown to Tehran (from there to Rasht) and Los Angeles, respectively, to be left to rest in peace.
On September 29, they were killed in a tragic car accident near Prague, Czech Republic, where they lived and worked for RFE/RL’s Radio [...]

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Iran: The Media Can Make It!

by Abbas Djavadi10.10.2009
media

 Speaking at a conference of Islamic countries’ national radio and TV networks, Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad recently said that the media are the main tool Western powers use to overthrow other governments. “Nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons are just a distraction. Today, the enemy’s main weaponry is the media,” he said.
Ahmadinejad is right in his [...]

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Rosa and Amir

by Abbas Djavadi30.09.2009
Rosa and Amir

از خون جوانان وطن لاله دمیده
They were young and vibrant. Optimistic and hopeful. Open and lovely. Smiling and fun. Hard working and helpful. Educated and dedicated — to their families, friends, their country and to freedom.
In the morning of September 29, 2009, we lost Rosa Ajiri, 27, and Amir Zamani Far, 29, both staff members [...]

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Should Iranians Care About Jerusalem?

by Abbas Djavadi14.09.2009
Ghods

This coming Friday, September 18, is the “Day of Jerusalem” in Iran. Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in chorus with some other Islamic countries and organizations, declared the last Friday of the month of Ramadan the “Day of Jerusalem” to demonstrate support for Palestinians and their drive to impose their [...]

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Why Should We Care About Jerusalem?

by Abbas Djavadi13.09.2009
Ghods

(In Persian)
قدس به ما چه مربوط؟
جمعه آینده در ایران “روز قدس”
است.  آیت الله روح الله خمینی بنیانگذار جمهوری اسلامی در همپائی با بعضی کشور ها و سازمانهای اسلامی آخرین روز ماه رمضان را به نشانه حمایت از فلسطینی ها و خواست آنها مبنی بر حاکمیت (حد اقل نسبی) بر این شهر قدیمی “روز قدس” اعلام کرده بود. نه اینکه شما تصور کنید [...]

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This Is The Voice of Free Iran!

by Abbas Djavadi23.06.2009

  (In German)
Hier spricht der freie Iran
Von Hans-jörg Schmidt
(Die Welt, 23. Juni 2009)
(In English on PressEurop)
 Aus einem streng bewachten Gebäude in Prag werden Nachrichten in die Heimat gesendet: Ein Besuch in der iranischen Redaktion von Radio Liberty
Der Musikcomputer spielt einen persischen Popsong, dann zieht die Technikerin den Regler für das Jingle des Senders auf, mit dem [...]

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Iran: Evolutionary Change

by Abbas Djavadi22.06.2009

National Review Online, Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Iranian Revolt [Rich Lowry]
John O’Sullivan wrote me this note today.
Dear Rich,
Thanks for your note. I am happy to give you my judgment on the Iranian revolt. In brief, it’s one of the most important movements of our time. It radically undermines both the realist argument that Muslims are [...]

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Iran’s Khamenei On Crash Course

by Abbas Djavadi19.06.2009

For the past couple of months, we thought some kind of spring was coming to our beloved Iran. We deserved it, we thought, finally, after so many years of un-freedom, state-ideological one-way-turbo-course, and international isolation and humiliation. But after the much expected speech yesterday by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it seems we are not in [...]

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An Electoral Coup in Iran

by Abbas Djavadi13.06.2009

It was a night of fundamental change of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was, however, not the change the overwhelming majority of the electorate indicated to be producing with their real votes yesterday, but a change in the ruling establishment of the country, an almost complete control by Revolutionary Guards, intelligence services, and the [...]

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Iran Has Already Changed

by Abbas Djavadi12.06.2009
mousavi3

Voting started a few hours ago in Iran to answer one question: if President Ahmadinejad should be removed from office. Turnout is reportedly very high. There may be a relatively considerable election fraud. Still, the anti-Ahmadinejad candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is expected to win — maybe today, maybe in the run-off next Friday.
But even before [...]

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Even Iran Can Change

by Abbas Djavadi10.06.2009
posters

Iran is always good for big surprises. Over the last four years, the international community has come to love to hate Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (sort of like former U.S. President George W. Bush).
But now it seems there’s a real chance of Ahmadinejad becoming the first Iranian leader since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago [...]

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A Friend’s Note: Mesbah Yazdi’s Decree to Rig Votes

by Abbas Djavadi09.06.2009

Following the discovery of a “Fatwa” (“religious decree”) issued by ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi which sanctions cheating in Friday’s presidential election and was published in an open letter written by a group of Ministry of Interior employees, the heads of the Election Supervision Committees established by reformist candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi sent a [...]

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هویت طلبی و حقی اجتماعی با یک “اما”ی بزرگ

by Abbas Djavadi27.05.2009

در این چند سال گذشته تعبیر جدید و خوش آهنگی رایج شده: هویت طلبی. هویت طلب به کسانی گفته میشود که خواهان احقاق حقوق گروه اجتماعی و یا  قومی خود هستند. ممکن است شما از یک گروه دینی-مذهبی مانند مسیحیان، بهائیان و یا اهل تسنن باشید و بخواهید حقوقی که شما بعنوان شهروندان ایران دارید و [...]

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کسی به ترکهای آذربایجان توهین نکرده – آب را گل آلود نکنید

by Abbas Djavadi22.05.2009

یک هفته پیش یکی از دوستان آذزی اهل باکو با حالتی هیجان زده تلفن کرد که “خبر داری؟ خاتمی به آذربایجانیان ایران توهین کرده. مردم عصبانیند و ممکن است وضع ناآرام شود.” چندان جدی نگرفتم اما ویدئوئی را که میگفت در یوتیوب تماشا کردم.
 در یک مجلسی خصوصی آقای خاتمی نشسته با چند معمم دیگر. محیطی [...]

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Ahmadinejad For Four More Years?

by Abbas Djavadi27.04.2009
ahmadinejad

The uncertainty over whether or not conservative forces in Iran will throw their support behind incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bid for a second presidential term is dissipating. On April 25, a coalition of 14 conservative and clerical parties and groups announced that they will indeed support Ahmadinejad’s candidacy in the June 12 presidential election.
Coalition secretary [...]

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Ahmadinejad — An Embarrassment for Iran

by Abbas Djavadi20.04.2009
ahmadinejad3

In a first reaction to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the UN conference in Geneva, Ahmad Moussavi from Iran wrote on Radio Farda’s Facebook page: “I am ashamed as an Iranian. And I don’t know what else to say.”
At the anti-racism conference on Monday, Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being “racist.” “Using the Jewish suffering and [...]

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