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Mashhad Erodes Iranian Regime’s Religious Legitimacy
“Death to the dictator … death to Khamenei” were among the chants heard in the broad streets of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, during the popular protests that have swept the country in recent days. Mashhad is unlike other Iranian cities. Here, the story does not begin with politics alone, but with sanctity. The city defines…
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Inside Iran’s Staying Power, and the Risks of a “Venezuelan Model”
As large-scale protests continue across Iran, a central question has emerged: why has the country’s ruling system remained intact so far? From the outset of the current unrest, some Iranian officials—including President Masoud Pezeshkian—have voiced understanding of public grievances and called for efforts to address economic problems. Those statements, however, have not translated into broader…
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Will China and Russia Abandon Iran?
As Iran’s crisis deepens, another question is quietly emerging in Washington: are Tehran’s key partners starting to step back? We asked our great-power competition experts Min Mitchell, who tracks China, and Andres Ilves, a veteran Iran and Russia watcher, to assess whether Moscow and Beijing are recalibrating their support — and what a weaker Iran…
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Managing Tension with Iran, Israel Seeks to Avoid Miscalculation
Israel’s public broadcaster reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has enlisted Russian President Vladimir Putin to convey calming messages to Iran, signaling that Israel does not intend, at this time, to attack. According to the channel, citing diplomatic sources, these messages were sent recently, including through direct phone calls between Netanyahu and Putin. The initiative…
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Fears of Being ‘the Next Victim’ Constrain Iran
Iran’s efforts to quell anti-government protests have become knotty by a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in support of demonstrators, Iranian officials and people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. One day before U.S. special forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 and transferred them…
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Iranian Forces Use Live Ammunition, Raid Hospitals to Quell Mass Protests
Informed sources inside Iran told Alhurra that Iranian security forces have used live ammunition against demonstrators protesting the country’s worsening economic conditions, particularly in Ilam Province in western Iran. Rafiq Banahi, a leader in the group Jiyanewey Kurdistan, told Alhurra that “Iranian security services used live ammunition extensively against demonstrators in Ilam. The excessive violence…
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U.S.-Iran: Warning and Responses
Street protests continued in Iran for a fifth consecutive day, accompanied by Iranian and foreign reactions. Three people were killed in an attack on a police headquarters in Lorestan Province in western Iran, and two others were killed during protests marked by unrest in the country’s southwest, according to the Fars News Agency. The semi-official…
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Iran: Growing Protests and Uncertain Responses
Protests over worsening economic conditions in Iran continue to spread and have started to claim casualties. Although the protests have taken a new trajectory, their fate remains ultimately and firmly in the hands of the regime. On the ground, several protesters have been killed in different areas, according to Iranian media and human rights organizations.…
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Year of Unfinished Endings: How 2025 Reset the Middle East’s Fault Lines
2025 began as yet another chapter in what has felt like a perpetual decade of conflict in the Middle East. The war in Gaza continued unabated, sectarian tensions once again threatened to plunge Syria into chaos, clashes persisted between Hezbollah and Israel along the Lebanese border, and a brief but intense conflict erupted between Israel and Iran. As the…
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Kurdish Sources Tell Alhurra of Iranian Activities Along the Border
Iranian opposition figures told Alhurra that Iran is building a security wall inside Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, running parallel to the Iranian border. Khalil Kani Sinani, a senior figure in the Iranian Kurdish Kurdistan Freedom Party, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is constructing what he described as a high-tech security barrier along the border, stretching…