Iran Insights

The idea of an “Iranian Gorbachev” has surfaced before in the Islamic Republic, but this time the conditions may be different.

Apparent divisions over negotiations with the United States may have strengthened the most confrontational elements within Iran’s political landscape and facilitated the rise of new hardline actors.

Pink missiles, pink drones and pink firearms. Women with uncovered hair—braids, ponytails, short bobs—stood beside weapons, waved flags and smiled for cameras in scenes broadcast across Iranian media. Tehran appears willing to try almost anything to preserve power.

Iran’s lead negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf defended indirect talks with the United States in a televised interview Saturday after hardline critics accused him of “betrayal” and even hinted at a “coup” over the negotiations in Islamabad.

One hundred days after one of the deadliest crackdowns in modern history, Iran remains suspended between grief and uncertainty, with a fractured public mood as some see justice in recent blows to the regime, while others feel left behind with it still in place.

The screening of a concert video by a Lebanese female singer at a pro-government rally in Iran has drawn unusual attention for appearing to cross two of the Islamic Republic’s long-standing cultural taboos: women’s solo singing and compulsory hijab.

Messages from Iran International viewers inside the country reveal a society grappling with a mix of hope, anger and deep uncertainty as a fragile ceasefire with the United States persists.

Hardline voices in Tehran are escalating rhetoric around the Strait of Hormuz, calling for transit fees on ships even as a US blockade challenges Iran’s control over the strategic waterway.

Fundraising drives across Indian-administered Kashmir have collected nearly $2 million for Iran following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, highlighting the depth of religious and ideological ties between the region’s Shia community and the Islamic Republic.

More than 1,000 hours of internet shutdown in Iran is crippling small businesses and startups, with officials estimating losses of at least $35 million per day.

Reactions in Tehran to the collapse of the Islamabad talks suggest Iran’s leadership is settling on a dual message: defiance toward Washington’s pressure while still leaving the door to diplomacy open.

Control of the Strait of Hormuz has become Tehran’s most powerful bargaining chip as it seeks maximum leverage in the ongoing peace talks with the United States in Islamabad.

Iran’s political establishment has largely rallied behind the decision by the Supreme National Security Council to accept a two-week ceasefire mediated by Pakistan, while critics warn the pause in fighting could harm prospects for political change.

As the newly announced ceasefire struggles to hold, Tehran is entering a contradictory moment marked by official celebrations, delayed funerals and renewed political infighting.

A temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran has triggered anger and cautious hope among Iranians who sent messages to Iran International, with many describing a sense of abandonment by President Donald Trump.

The details are still incomplete, but the positions Tehran and Washington have publicly tied to the ceasefire suggest not a shared settlement so much as a temporary halt layered over unresolved hostilities.

Donald Trump's threats to target Iran’s power plants and bridges in case of Tehran's failure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday night have triggered anxiety among many Iranians, even as some say the regime's survival poses a greater threat.

Majid Khademi, the IRGC intelligence chief killed in Tehran early Monday, was not a battlefield commander so much as a career security insider who rose through Iran’s secretive counterintelligence system and helped oversee repression, surveillance and anti-infiltration work.