
Iran moderates sound alarm over lost role as buffer between state, people
Moderate insiders in Tehran are warning that the public’s alienation may have deprived the system of the very vehicle it once relied on to manage public anger.

Moderate insiders in Tehran are warning that the public’s alienation may have deprived the system of the very vehicle it once relied on to manage public anger.

In Iran today, the riskiest act is neither protest nor journalism. It's conversation.
Iran’s fractious parliament is the crosshairs of increasingly strident criticism as factional infighting has precluded any concerted response to a deepening economic and ecological crisis.
Iran’s online media regulator has suspended the platform streaming a hit reality show after a segment showing contestants pelting targets resembling ancient Persian emblems sparked a public backlash, the latest move in a push to rally support via once-taboo nationalism.

More than 150 Iranian lawmakers have accused the judiciary of failing to act against growing public defiance of the hijab, saying inaction has fueled what they called lawlessness in society, state media reported on Tuesday.

Tehran may be poised to carry out a politically explosive crackdown on Islamic veiling after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a directive to step up enforcement according to a leaked directive.

Former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said Iran remains in a fragile security limbo months after the 12-day war in June, warning that the country cannot restore stability or economic confidence without rebuilding deterrence and addressing persistent public insecurity.

The decision by Iran’s state broadcaster to produce a film about a female presenter whose image went viral when Israeli missiles hit its headquarters has sparked a wave of criticism and accusations of political propaganda.

The office of Iran's Supreme Leader has come under fire from hardline supporters after its online newspaper posted a photo of a woman killed in June’s war with Israel without a headscarf, sparking a rare public dispute within the pro-theocracy camp.

Iran’s Karkheh Dam hydroelectric power plant has stopped generating electricity because of a sharp drop in the reservoir’s water level, state media reported on Saturday.

Under unprecedented strain at home and abroad after the June war, Tehran is adopting new tones and messaging to steady its own base.

Iran held large-scale state funerals this week for unidentified soldiers from the 1980s war with Iraq, nearly six months after its 12-day clash with Israel, and amid deepening public distrust fueled by ongoing security, economic, and environmental crises.

Authorities in Tehran have issued an orange pollution alert, warning that stagnant air and rising emissions could push pollution levels into the “very unhealthy” range in the days ahead.

Authorities in the western Iranian city of Baneh have increased pressure on local journalists and social media administrators following days of severe water shortages, a Kurdish rights group reported.

An Iranian lawmaker has warned that the government’s new three-tier gasoline pricing system will drive up the cost of goods and services nationwide, saying the move was made without coordination with parliament or the public.

At an official ceremony in Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's compound on Thursday, a religious official chanted to congregants that US President Donald Trump's death was nigh and that Iran would vanquish Israel.

Senior Guards commanders cast the Revolutionary Guard's paramilitary Basij force as central to Iran’s response in June’s 12-day war with Israel and pressed for an expanded role for the force at home and in any future confrontation.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is trying to turn Iran’s mounting economic turmoil into political capital, casting himself as a problem-solver while President Massoud Pezeshkian takes political blows for perceived inaction.

An Iranian lawmaker said price-based water policies risk serving as fiscal stopgaps rather than tackling the country’s chronic shortages, urging non-price reforms and stricter controls on water-intensive industry placement before any tariff overhaul.

Hamzeh Safavi, a Tehran University professor and son of senior Khamenei military adviser, said Iran should consider a Saudi-backed approach that conditions any recognition of Israel on acceptance of a two-state solution along 1967 borders, the Financial Times reported.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has drawn fire over his decision to hand leadership over a crucial new energy body tasked with confronting an acute power crisis to a bureaucrat with no background in the sector.

Mounting pressure on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration from hardline opponents and an ailing economy appears to be cutting deep into his inner circle, triggering resignations, public spats and mistrust.