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'Berlin Wall's Lessons For Today'

In an op-ed for "USA Today," Jeffrey Gedmin discusses RFE and the role of free media in societies living under repressive regimes. More
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Iran's Postelection Crisis

Iran Protesters Take To Streets Of Tehran, Other Cities

Demonstrations taking place amid an official march in support of the Palestinian cause are the first since police and vigilantes intimidated the opposition off the streets with mass arrests two months ago. More

Tehran Letter

How To Get Ahead In The Ad Biz

"What does advertising have to do with politics? The streets are filled with advertisements. It was only 15 years ago that advertising was considered to be a Western value, but now we have advertisements coming out of our ears." More

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Features & Commentary

Blog: Persian Letters

A window onto Iranian life through translations and the showcasing of the works of Persian-language bloggers. More

The Supreme Leader May Not Be So Supreme

Mahmud Tehrani, the nephew of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tells RFE/RL's Radio Farda he thinks President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the Revolutionary Guard are running the show in Iran, not Khamenei. More

Supreme Leader's Authority Is Key To Divisions

In the view of the conservatives, Khamenei is above the law, a status he inherited from the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who said the supreme leader can suspend or set aside even basic tenets of Islam to protect the Islamic republic. The reformists, however, seek checks on the leader's vast authority, and some have even challenged the notion that the supreme leader's authority comes directly from God. More

Fresh Arrests, Raids Further Squeeze Iran Opposition

A senior aide to Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi and an aide to reformist cleric Mehdi Karrubi have been arrested in Tehran. It's part of an ongoing campaign against groups and individuals who continue to dispute the reelection of Mahmud Ahmadinejad as president. More

Fears Of A New Cultural Revolution In Iran

As university students prepare to return to classes in Iran, recent statements by the country's supreme leader are increasing concerns that a new cultural revolution could be in the offing. Some recognize echoes of the mass purges and curriculum revisions that took place just after the founding of the Islamic Republic 30 years ago. More

Powerful Revolutionary Guard Chief Comes Under Fire

In Iran, the war of words between hard-liners and reformists shows no sign of letting up, with the head of the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard now getting involved. But reformists have struck back, denouncing military "interference" in politics. More

Hard-Line Prosecutor Transferred, But Little Changes

Iran's judiciary chief has named hard-line Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi deputy prosecutor-general, though it's not clear whether his powers will increase in his new post. Mortazavi, who has played a key role in the ongoing mass trail of reformists, has been behind the closures of many pro-reform publications as well as the arrests of activists and intellectuals. More

Prosecutor In 1994 Argentina Bombing Implicates Iran

RFE/RL's Radio Farda correspondent Mohammad Reza Kazemi interviewed Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor handling the case of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina. The prosecution asserts that the attack, which killed 85 people and wounded 300, can be traced to Hizbullah and Iran. Ahmed Vahidi, recently named to be Iranian defense minister, is alleged to have been involved in planning the attack. More

Ebadi Calls Iran Trials 'Illegal'

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi has condemned the ongoing trials of hundreds of people detained following the unrest that followed the country's disputed presidential poll. In an interview with RFE/RL, Ebadi describes the trials as "wizardry" and a "parody" of justice. More

New Allegations Bring Practice To Light In Iran

In response to the criticism that followed his revelation of the use of rape to punish those detained in Iran's postelection unrest, reformist presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi has upped the ante. The former parliament speaker has published on his website a graphic account of the rape of a young man who had been arrested and jailed amid the government's crackdown on protesters. More

Karrubi's Son Talks About Court Appearance

The son of reformist cleric and presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi tells RFE/RL's Radio Farda that he was summoned to court on security charges and for giving interviews to Persian-language media based outside Iran. He also says his father talked to parliament about his allegations that opposition protesters have been raped in detention. More

Fresh Faces, But Familiar Challenges Still Remain

Mahmud Ahmadinejad is busily piecing together his new cabinet, promising "major changes" and the addition of fresh faces to his team for his second term in office. But below the surface, the Iranian president continues to face considerable challenges both from his reformist rivals and his fellow conservatives. More

Will Ahmadinejad Be Stronger, Or Weaker, In Second Term?

Iran has been in deep political crisis for two months since the June 12 presidential elections. But the nature of the crisis seems to be changing with time. The first phase pitted hard-line conservatives against reformers who say Mahmud Ahmadinejad stole the election. But that fight is increasingly being overshadowed by a second one: a public battle between Ahmadinejad’s camp and other powerful members of the conservative establishment over how powerful he will be in his second term. More

Ahmadinejad's Cabinet Highlights Possible Iran Rift

As Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad prepares to present his new cabinet to parliament next week, experts say there are new signs of growing rift between the hard-line president and the conservative camp that traditionally supported him. Some conservative Iranian lawmakers have criticized Ahmadinejad for refusing to consult the parliament about his candidates and are hinting his actions could have an impact on the confidence vote. More

Two Months Later, Still Digging For The Truth

Official figures indicate that about 30 people died in the wake of Iran's June 12 presidential election, but rights groups say the real number is far higher. A newly published letter by opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi alleges that women and men in detention have been violently raped, while a senior Revolutionary Guards leader has questioned why Karrubi and fellow reformist candidate Mir Hossein Musavi are not being tried for staging a "velvet coup." More

Ahmadinejad's Special Brand Of Mysticism

The president’s first term was largely about completing the hard-line backlash, approved by the Supreme Leader, against the reformist camp led by former President Mohammad Khatami. And Ahmadinejad did the job thoroughly. But now Ahmadinejad begins his second term immediately after feuding with the supreme leader. At issue was Khamenei’s backing of conservative demands that the president dismiss a top aide. More

Hurdles Ahead For Ahmadinejad Video

Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad began his second term with a call for national unity, even as protesters clashed with security forces outside. With his position already weakened as a result of the postelection crisis, it appears he can expect more such difficulties in the coming weeks and months. More

New Mass Trial Opens In Iran

Defendants in the latest phase of a mass trial in Iran over postelection unrest include more pro-reform politicians, as well as British and French embassy staff workers and a young French national. Foreign governments were quick to castigate Tehran over what Iranian opposition leaders have denounced as a "ridiculous show." More

Amid Trials, Hard-Liners Go After Musavi And Khatami

The main leader of Iran's opposition, defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi, so far remains a free man. But that could change if some allies of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad have their way. As some 100 reformers face charges of inciting the postelection unrest, hard-liners are now calling for the prosecution of Musavi as well as former President Mohammad Khatami. More

Iranian Ex-President Khatami Denounces Trial Of Reformists

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has joined the voices denouncing the trial of around 100 people for their alleged involvement in the post-election violence in Iran. Khatami described the trial of prominent reformists as a "show" that will further damage the Iranian establishment, and said he hopes it will not "lead to ignorance of the real crimes," including the alleged torture and murder of detainees. More

Streets Quiet After Fresh Clashes Around Mourning Ceremony

The streets of the Iranian capital are reportedly quiet one day after clashes erupted in several neighborhoods when police forcibly dispersed mourners of those killed in Iran's postelection unrest. But is mounting public anger in the shadow of the clampdown emboldening the government's strongest critics? More

'I Asked Her Not To Go'

Neda Agha Soltan has become a symbol of Iran's brutal suppression of protests over the results of last month's presidential election. Forty days after her death, her mother talks to RFE/RL's Radio Farda about her daughter's shooting during a peaceful protest in Tehran. More

Musavi Says Green Movement Charter In The Works

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi has said he is working on the charter of a new political front that would lay the groundwork for a large-scale social movement. The charter, which Musavi has said will be issued in the coming days, is seen as a potential means of building on the unity exhibited by those protesting the results of Iran's June 12 presidential election. More

Iranian Journalist Implicates Nokia In His Arrest

Issa Saharkhiz, a prominent journalist and former senior Culture Ministry official, has told his family in a short phone call from prison that several of his ribs were broken during his arrest in northern Iran on July 4 in the postelection crackdown. More

A British 'Friend Of Iran' Discusses Crisis

Lord Lamont of Lerwick is a leading Conservative member of Britain's House of Lords. Lamont served as chancellor of the Exchequer in John Major's government, and he held several ministerial positions in the administration headed by Margaret Thatcher. He is chairman of the British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce and serves on the advisory board of the Iran Heritage Foundation. He is widely regarded in Europe as someone who wants better diplomatic and economic ties between Iran and the West. Lamont recently spoke with RFE/RL Executive Editor John O'Sullivan. More

U.S. Political Experts Examine Impact Of Iran Crisis

Speaking at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations last week, two political experts on Iran discussed the impact that Iran's postelection situation will have on its future policies at home and abroad. They were Mohsen Milani, a professor who chairs the Department of Government and International Affairs at the University of South Florida, and Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. More

Postelection Crackdown Scrutinized For Crimes Against Humanity

24-year-old Amir Javadifar was detained during a July 9 peaceful protest in Tehran. About two weeks later, the Iranian authorities informed Amir's family about his death. Amir's death in custody is one example of the many cases of violence committed in Iran in recent weeks, which some legal experts have said are violations under international law. More

Supreme Leader Warns Opposition About 'Instability'

Iran's supreme leader has warned the country's opposition against any actions that could destabilize the Islamic establishment, saying the country's "elite" should be cautious about the positions they take on the postelection crisis. More

All Eyes On Friday Prayers

Iran is bracing for Friday Prayers, with the opposition planning a show of strength at the official sermon in Tehran. Those prayers are to be led by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, while Mir Hossein Musavi is expected to attend. Neither has acknowledged the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. More

Nokia Faces Wrath Of Iran's Protesters

Some Iranians are boycotting Nokia products after reports emerged that a subsidiary of the Finnish mobile-telephone giant had provided the Iranian government with a "monitoring center" that enables security forces to tap cell phones, scramble text messages, and interrupt calls. More

Iran’s Long Slide Back To Absolute Rule

Revolutionaries often end up adopting the habits and methods of those they once opposed. In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has overseen a transformation back to absolute monarchy -- the difference being that this time, a cleric has control, not a dynasty. More

Teen Victim Of Unrest Buried In Tehran

Official reports say about 20 people have been killed in the unrest that has presented the Iranian political establishment with its biggest crisis in decades. One of them, a 19-year-old who disappeared from alongside his mother nearly a month ago, has now been buried in Tehran. More

Iran's Vote Critics Remain Defiant Despite Crackdown

This week's scattered rallies quickly turned into the most significant mass demonstration in the Iranian capital since security forces crushed protests against the presidential election that even conservative clerics have come to denounce. The message from one protester was clear: "We're here and we're still upset." More

'Confrontation Is Almost Inevitable'

It has become a routine event for all of us to join rallies, get beaten, and then escape through the alleyways and then scream our lungs out at 10 p.m. every night with chants of "God is great." More

Commentary: Mahmud Ahmadinejad Is The Product Of Fraud

Even if one accepts that Mahmud Ahmadinejad received 24 million votes and won reelection as Iran's president, Radio Farda's Mohammad Reza Kazemi argues, his statements and policies provide grounds to dismiss his reelection as based on deceit and untruth. More

Looking For Signs And Prophets

Everything here is still topsy-turvy. I never imagined I would watch and listen to the Friday Prayer sermon by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, call Rafsanjani the "last hope," listen and enjoy speeches by Hadi Ghaffari, who was one of the most radical clerics during the revolution and now has turned his attacks on the supreme leader. More

Power Struggle Begins

Iran's supreme leader is nominally above factional politics. But Ali Khamenei has backed hard-liners in key battles with reformists, and conservative methods and determination to win the recent election might hint that a battle for succession has already begun. More

The Rise Of The Ultra-Conservatives

The hard-line camp of Iran's ruling establishment has so far quashed a major challenge by reformists. But a much greater test may lie ahead. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is ill and a succession battle looms. The hard-liners are unlikely to leave the choice to chance. More

'Historic Cracks' And Hard-Liners In Iran

A fresh challenge of Iran's disputed election by a key group of religious leaders comes just as hard-liners step up their attacks on the opposition. Is it part of a growing rift in the establishment brought on by hidden efforts to pick the next supreme leader and snuff out republican institutions? More

New Avenues For Dissent

Nearly three weeks after Iran’s disputed presidential vote, mass protests have waned amid a crackdown by authorities that has left at least 20 dead. Warnings, arrests, and a media clampdown have limited the opposition’s options. But people inside Iran are still finding ways to be heard. More

Student Leader: 'First They Kill, Then They Count'

The Iranian government has reacted to the protests over the June 12 presidential election results with increased repression and force. Over the past two weeks more than 1,000 reformist figures, political activists, journalists, students, and critics have been arrested. Others have been forced into hiding. One of them, a student leader, discusses the postelection crisis and the future of the "Green" movement with RFE/RL. More

Cleric Says Many Colleagues Critical Of Vote Process

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, prominent Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Mohammad Ali Ayazi describes the deep divisions in the Iranian establishment and the significance of the clergy's growing criticism. More

G8 Calls For Halt To Iran Violence

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial countries have said they "deplore" the postelection violence in Iran, and called on Tehran to settle the crisis "soon" through democratic dialogue and peaceful means. More

'Iranians Have Inspired People Around the World'

Iran's postelection crisis and the protests by many Iranians calling for change have generated a lot of media interest around the world, especially in the United States, where a number of popular websites have been live blogging the events in Iran. One of these websites is "The Huffington Post," on which news editor Nico Pitney has been posting videos and pictures about the protests, violence, and acts of civil disobedience by Iranians. RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari spoke to Nico Pitney about his experience. More

Government Intensifies Crackdown

Iran is in the midst of one of the toughest security crackdowns in the history of the Islamic republic. Police have arrested dozens of former high-ranking officials and academics, in addition to the hundreds of protesters detained during rallies. More

Iran's Opposition Vows To Go On Challenging Poll

Iran's reformist opposition leaders have vowed to press on with legal challenges to an election they say was rigged, even as the hard-line government appeared to have largely crushed mass street protests. More

A Legal Dead End

The law permeates every aspect of the current crisis in Iran, including the legitimacy of Khamenei's postelection decisions, the lawfulness of the opposition protests and the resulting violent response, and, crucially, whether the authorities' calls to dispute the result through "legal channels" are merely a publicity ploy. More

State TV Airs Protesters' Confessions

Iranian state television has begun to broadcast confessions by some of the hundreds of people arrested in the protests that have rocked Tehran. The confessions follow a similar storyline: the protesters were provoked to act by VOA or the BBC. More

Obama Seeks To Silence Critics

The White House approach has prompted some critics, mostly Republicans, to accuse Barack Obama of staying on the sidelines and not being tough enough. But at a press conference this week, the U.S. president significantly hardened his administration's position toward Iran, condemning the violence and telling the protesters they are "on the right side of history." More

Tehran Takes Media Jamming To New Levels

Authoritarian governments often try to block public access to uncensored news during a crisis. But Tehran has gone a big step further -- jamming international satellite frequencies that normally carry Western government-sponsored newscasts in Persian. More

Women Take Matters Into Their Own Hands

The tragic image of "Neda," bleeding on a Tehran street, has underscored the widespread participation of women in protests against Iran's disputed presidential vote. From street demonstrators to politicians' wives, Iranian women are being heard. More

Riot Police Break Up Rally

Riot police in Iran have attacked hundreds of demonstrators with tear gas and fired in the air to disperse a rally in central Tehran. The confrontation came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard issued its sternest warning so far in the postelection crisis. More

Iran State TV Says 10 Dead In Clashes

Iran's state television has said 10 people died in clashes after security forces dispersed several thousand protesters who had gathered in downtown Tehran in defiance of the country's leadership. More

Khamenei On Crash Course

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. But after Khamenei's speech, it seems we are not in June or May, but still somewhere in December. More

New Yorkers Express Solidarity With Iran Protesters

Close to the UN headquarters in Manhattan, visibly distressed young Iranian women wearing black headscarves are chanting in Persian with a like-minded crowd. More

Khamenei Defends Iran Election Video

In his first nationwide address following days of opposition protests, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out any vote-rigging in the country's disputed presidential election. More

Defenders Of The Revolution, Fighting Against A New One

The Iranian supreme leader's order for street protests to stop gives a green light to security forces to quash any further rallies. At the forefront are the armed ideological wings of the Islamic Revolution -- the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia, both of which warned even before the presidential election that they would not tolerate a "Velvet Revolution" in Iran. More

Universal Values Make A Comeback

Less than a week after a pro-Kremlin think tank declared that democracy had exhausted itself worldwide, Iranians took to the streets -- in the name of democracy. Why are Russian citizens, unlike Iranians, willing to play by the rules their leaders establish for them? More

Whose Side Is The Supreme Leader On?

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is delivering Friday Prayers in Tehran that come after six days of protest against Iran's election results. While it might not happen in this address, ultimately he will have to take a clear position on the crisis. More

Dilemmas In The Midst Of A 'Coup'

In the recent election, former and current IRGC leaders who have benefited enormously during Ahmadinejad's rule, together with the supreme leader, foresaw the possible return of a reformist agenda and undertook brazen measures to "nip it in the bud." More

What Iranian Media Are Saying

From ultraconservative Tehran-based newspaper "Kayhan" owned by Supreme Leader Khamenei and run by hard-liner Hossein Shariatmadari. More

An Extraordinary Day In The Life Of A Tehrani

"I woke up with a splitting headache as the sounds of honking cars, loud explosions, and screams and chants from the previous night echoed in my head. After sipping a dark coffee, I headed out..." More

Nobel Laureate Ebadi Calls For New Elections

In an interview with RFE/RL, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi calls for fresh balloting in Iran, with international observers monitoring the vote. Ebadi also urged authorities to release all those arrested. More

Musavi Calls For Day Of Mourning Video

In defiance of an official ban, defeated Iranian presidential contender Mir Hossein Musavi has declared June 18 a day of mourning for those who have been killed in the protests. More

U.S. Senator Urges Iranians To 'Persist'

Influential U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman warns the world against "biting our tongues at this critical hour" as Iranians take their electoral grievances to the street. But he also says "engagement should go on...with open eyes by the United States." More

Eyewitness: Under Slate Skies, They Came

The 2009 election, featuring a controversial incumbent and -- for the first time ever -- televised debates, became the most democratic elections ever held in the country. Whether the elections were fraudulent is immaterial: the fact remains that they did not correspond to the desire of the majority of the urban voters for a meaningful change. More

The End Of Iran's 'Moral Government'

The 2009 election became the most democratic elections ever held in the country. Whether the elections were fraudulent is immaterial: the fact remains that they did not correspond to the desire of the majority of the urban voters for meaningful change. More

Cyberwarriors Stay Ahead Of Censors

Iranian demonstrators who allege vote-count fraud in the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad are using Internet media to stay ahead of government censors. And some young Iranians are taking the battle further, launching their own cyberattacks against government websites. More

In Iran, It’s Modernists Against Traditionalists

As reformists protest what they say is a rigged second-term for hard-liner President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, they are not just expressing dissatisfaction with the election’s outcome. They are exposing deep divides within Iran’s political establishment over the shape of the Islamic republic’s future. The central question is whether Iran should become a more modern, industrial society that is also more open to the world, or whether it should remain as it is now: conservative, closed, and with a stagna More

McCain: 'We Must Be Symbol Of Hope For Iranian People'

The events surrounding the contested election in Iran have drawn strong reactions from political leaders around the world. Among them is U.S. Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate for U.S. president in 2008 and a man known for his expertise in foreign and military affairs. McCain spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Andrew F. Tully in Washington. More

The Aftermath Of Iran's Election Video

Radio Farda correspondent Mehrdad Mirdamadi talks about warning signs soon after voting in Iran concluded, the reformists' lack of a unifying figure, and Supreme Leader Khamenei's extraordinary role in anointing a winner. More

Rival Rallies In Tehran Video

Supporters of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his main reformist rival, Mir Hossein Musavi, have staged rival rallies in Tehran following yesterday's deadly violence. More

Change For Iran A Long Way Off

Despite the minor earthquake that has jolted theocratic rule in Iran, those hoping for a popular revolution are likely to be disappointed. The likely scenario is a fierce internal power struggle with no tangible benefits for the Iranian people. More

Iran Vetting Body To Recount Some Ballots

Iran's top vetting body has said it was ready to carry out a partial recount in a disputed presidential election that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. More

Havel Expresses Solidarity With Iranian Demonstrators

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel remains actively engaged in the fight for human rights and democracy around the world, from Belarus to Burma. Discussing Iran's postelection crisis with RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari, Havel expressed his solidarity with the demonstrators who accuse the authorities of trying to steal the ballot. More

Commentary: Little Joy In 'Joyous Election'

In a nutshell, Iranians in this election faced a stark choice -- either confrontation with the West and growing authoritarianism at home or the reopening of a dialogue with the outside world and a gradual domestic liberalization. The announced results would seem to indicate convincingly that Iranians chose the first option. But a closer look reveals a different picture. Never before in Iran's history has a defeated candidate publicly disputed the results of an election. More

World Reacts Cautiously

International reaction to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's reelection has been cautious so far, and opposition activists inside Iran have called on countries to withhold recognition of what they call a fraudulent poll. But several countries, including regional powers, have already congratulated Ahmadinejad. More

Opposition Protests Ahmadinejad Victory Video

Several thousand supporters of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s main opponent clashed with police and set fire to tire barricades after Ahmadinejad was declared the decisive winner in the June 12 election. More

Dozens Protesting Election Results In Tehran

A video is making the rounds of Iran’s blogosphere of what appears to be a protest by supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi in the capital, Tehran. More

The Vote And Its Aftermath Photogallery

Iran's government has declared President Mahmud Ahmadinejad the decisive winner in the June 12 vote, described as one of the most important elections in the Islamic Republic's history. The election reportedly drew a turnout of more than 85 percent. After the announcement of Ahmadinejad's victory, thousands of supporters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Musavi took to the streets, angrily protesting what they said was massive election fraud. More

Iranian Cleric: 'The Establishment Seems To Fear Democracy'

In an exclusive interview with Radio Farda, Iranian reformist cleric Hassan Yusefi Eshkevari has spoken out following the government's announcement of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's election victory. He was interviewed by telephone from his home in Tehran by Elaheh Ravanshad. More

With Most Votes Counted, Iran's President Poised For Victory

Iranian election officials say incumbent conservative Mahmud Ahmadinejad has received 65 percent of the vote in the country's presidential election with a majority of the votes counted. But reformist Mir Hossein Musavi has already alleged flaws in the process. More

Huge Turnout In Iran Video

Iranians have gone to the polls in large numbers to vote in one of the most important elections in the Islamic Republic's short history. Voters are choosing from among four presidential candidates after a campaign marked by unprecedented public debates and massive rallies. More

'Why I'll Vote This Time'

I wish I could go back to Iran to vote, but I won't risk being detained or harassed as many of my colleagues have been for the "crime" of disseminating information that Iranians cannot get from the country's strictly controlled media. More

Voting Begins In Iran

Iranians appear to be turning out in big numbers to choose from among four candidates in a hard-fought race marked by unprecedented public debates and massive rallies. More

Economy Looms Large In Vote

Iran's president is known outside the country for his confrontational style. He dismisses UN resolutions as "scraps" and calls the Holocaust a myth. But when Iranians vote on June 12, their main interest will likely be how he has managed the economy. More

Iranians Vote, Even In New York City

At least 5 million Iranians live outside their homeland and a record number of them are expected to participate in the presidential election. Even in the United States, which has no diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic, voting is taking place. More

The Election That Changed A Nation

Westerners whose image of Iranians has been formed by watching Ahmadinejad on the world stage might be surprised to learn that Persians know how to kiss and make up. But this time, perhaps too many glasses have been broken. More

Slide Show: Iran's Campaign Fever

Photos and highlights from three weeks of campaigning, from first-ever televised debates to record numbers of Iranians turning out to support their candidate. More

Polling's Checkered Past In Iran Leaves Much In Doubt

Polling in Iran suggests that two reformist candidates could pose serious challenges to incumbent President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in this week's voting. But opinion polls there are notoriously inaccurate, particularly when trying to predict election results for the entire country. More

In Iran, The Election Is Being Televised

Some have argued that participating in this presidential election may be seen as legitimizing a rather undemocratic regime. But I see it as a step toward a more open, democratic political system. More

Rallies Bring Out Biggest Crowds Since Iran's Revolution

The rapid approach of Iran's presidential election is raising passions among voters to unseen heights. Supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Musavi filled the streets of Tehran overnight in a direct challenge to supporters of hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, with some of the biggest crowds seen since the 1979 revolution. More

Commentary: Even Iran Can Change

As recently as a month ago, the prevailing mood in Iran was apathy. But things have changed, says RFE/RL's Abbas Djavadi, and hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's calls for continuity are being shouted down from all sides. More

Ex-President Says Incumbent Playing With 'Fire'

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has inflamed an already heated presidential race. In an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Rafsanjani calls on Khamenei to prevent the "fire" sparked by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's accusations against his main rival from spreading “through the election and beyond." More

Could Military Tip Iran's Electoral Balance?

Since President Mahmud Ahmadinejad came to power, the militarization of politics in Iran has gained momentum. What role might the Revolutionary Guard, which answers directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, play in the upcoming presidential vote? More

Presidential Candidates Playing Ethnic-Minority Card

Iran's ethnic minorities, which make up about half of the country's population, stand to have a huge impact on the country's June 12 presidential election. Well aware of this, the candidates are courting minority voters as the election campaign reaches its climax. More

Iran's Vetters Prepare To Lower The Boom

What do a truck driver, a dentist, an unemployed woman, and a 12-year-old schoolboy have in common? They're all among the 475 people who want to compete in Iran's upcoming presidential election. They're also all equally doomed to failure. More

'Enemy Agent' Satirizes Iran From Exile

Ebrahim Nabavi says that while he wasn't planning on becoming a satirist -- or "enemy agent," as he is inclined to quip -- it was an inevitable path for him. He's set his sights squarely on Iran's presidential elections. More
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