Vahid Sepehri

Also by Vahid Sepehri

• May 25, 2005

  Iran: Politicians Change Their Vocabulary, Albeit Slowly

  Campaigning for the 2004 parliamentary elections 25 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The discourse of Iranian politicians has diversified since the country's 1979 revolution. The language of revolutionary struggle has come to include the terminology of civic rights, rule of law, and open government, as some politicians have sought to respond to growing demands by Iranians for more liberties and less meddling in their lives.

• May 20, 2005

  Iran: Will Violence Punctuate Presidential Election?

  Large-scale electoral violence is not a defining trait of Iranian elections, but violent incidents do occur, and they have chiefly targeted reformers. The culprits are usually rowdy men who disrupt electoral gatherings. Sometimes they beat attendees -- and the speaker, if they are sufficiently determined -- in incidents that spread fear and cause injuries rather than deaths. And, despite threats from officials to take action, the perpetrators often go unpunished, strengthening an impression that the political thugs enjoy discreet support from elements within the political establishment.

• October 05, 2004

  Analysis: Iran's Parliament Gets Involved In Foreign Economic Relations

  Iran's parliament ratified a bill on 26 September obliging the government of President Mohammad Khatami to seek parliamentary approval before the implementation of two major foreign contracts, both with Turkish firms: to expand and run a new international airport in Tehran and to run a national mobile-phone network.