• العربية
  • فارسی
Brand
  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Theme
  • Language
    • العربية
    • فارسی
  • Iran Insight
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Analysis
  • Special Report
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
All rights reserved for Volant Media UK Limited
volant media logo

Society

Funeral expenses deepen anger over Ali Khamenei's week-long burial

Funeral expenses deepen anger over Ali Khamenei's week-long burial

Funeral spending for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has fueled public anger, with messages to Iran International saying authorities are forcing businesses and state employees to fund ceremonies, provide services or attend events before his burial.

Counterfeit drugs kill 7,000 people annually in Iran

Counterfeit drugs kill 7,000 people annually in Iran

Counterfeit and adulterated illicit drugs kill around 7,000 people in Iran each year, a senior anti-narcotics official said on Thursday, warning that dangerous impurities in illegal drugs have become a major public health concern.

Khamenei funeral preparations draw complaints of forced attendance

Dozens of messages sent to Iran International say Iranian authorities and state-linked institutions are pressuring workers, businesses and charities to take part in funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Turkey’s tighter residency rules leave more Iranians in limbo

Turkey’s tougher residency rules are leaving growing numbers of Iranians facing legal uncertainty, financial losses and difficult choices over whether they can remain in a country that was once among their most accessible migration destinations.

IRGC moves to seize historic Protestant church in Tehran

IRGC moves to seize historic Protestant church in Tehran

Iranian authorities have stepped up pressure on one of the country’s few surviving Protestant churches, threatening to confiscate its valuable central Tehran compound and evict residents, in what church leaders describe as the latest assault on Christian worship sites.

Two-week banking disruption leaves Iranians struggling to access money

Two-week banking disruption leaves Iranians struggling to access money

A banking disruption lasting more than two weeks has left many Iranians unable to access their accounts, make purchases or transfer money, adding to financial pressures after the recent war and ceasefire.

Citizens tell Iran football team it lost the public long ago

Citizens tell Iran football team it lost the public long ago

Iran's elimination from the FIFA World Cup prompted a wave of public reactions, with many citizens arguing the team's defeat reflected the political positions of some players rather than simply a sporting failure, according to messages sent to Iran International.

Direct-to-cell offers Iranians future hope, not a fix today

Direct-to-cell offers Iranians future hope, not a fix today

Direct-to-cell satellite technology could one day help Iranians bypass part of the Islamic Republic’s digital blockade, but it is not yet a practical solution to the country’s internet shutdown despite widespread hopes.

Iran's Pride Match is about visibility, not politics

Iran's Pride Match is about visibility, not politics

Iran’s World Cup match against Egypt has become a test not only of FIFA’s approach to inclusion but also of whether LGBTQ+ Iranians can claim visibility on one of the world’s biggest sporting stages.

Iranians recast Ashura mourning to remember January protest victims

Iranians recast Ashura mourning to remember January protest victims

Many Iranians are using the Shiite mourning period of Muharram to commemorate those killed in January's nationwide protests rather than take part in state-backed religious ceremonies, according to messages sent to Iran International and videos from across the country.

Global index says torture is embedded in Iran’s laws, courts and prisons

Global index says torture is embedded in Iran’s laws, courts and prisons

Iran was listed among the world’s highest-risk countries for torture, impunity and state violence in the 2026 Global Torture Index, released Thursday by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and partner groups.

Rival visions of Iran take to the streets during Ashura

Rival visions of Iran take to the streets during Ashura

Iran's Ashura commemorations have again become a stage for competing political narratives, with government supporters and opponents alike using Shi'ite mourning rituals to advance sharply different messages.

World Cup déjà vu: Iran’s ominous Brazil-Scotland quake memory haunts Venezuela

World Cup déjà vu: Iran’s ominous Brazil-Scotland quake memory haunts Venezuela

A World Cup fixture etched in Iran’s memory since the 1990 Rudbar-Manjil earthquake gained a grim new echo after twin quakes struck Venezuela as Brazil and Scotland met again 36 years later.

Power, water outages disrupt daily life across Iran

Power, water outages disrupt daily life across Iran

Daily electricity and water outages disrupted life across Iran as summer began, with residents blaming years of underinvestment and deteriorating infrastructure despite officials citing rising demand and shrinking water supplies.

Unveiled in wartime, targeted in peacetime?

Unveiled in wartime, targeted in peacetime?

Many Iranians fear that a diplomatic opening with the United States could come at the cost of renewed social restrictions at home, as reports of stricter hijab enforcement begin circulating following the recent war.

Opium for survival: Inside a shift in Iran’s Zagros villages

Opium for survival: Inside a shift in Iran’s Zagros villages

Opium poppy cultivation in some villages of the Zagros mountains in western Iran has evolved from a hidden, scattered practice into an essential part of the rural subsistence economy, an Iran International investigation found.

Banking disruption hits services at eight Iranian banks

Banking disruption hits services at eight Iranian banks

At least eight Iranian banks suffered widespread service disruptions on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to access many electronic and card-based services days after a separate outage affected four major banks.

Tehran bread prices jump up to 100% in latest increase

Tehran bread prices jump up to 100% in latest increase

Bread prices across Tehran province have risen by as much as 100%, pushing the cost of one of the most important staple foods sharply higher and raising fresh concerns over government plans to overhaul the country's subsidy system.

Rising gym fees push fitness beyond reach for many Iranians

Rising gym fees push fitness beyond reach for many Iranians

Soaring gym fees and shrinking household budgets are forcing many Iranians to abandon sports and fitness activities, turning what was once a routine part of daily life into an unaffordable luxury, according to messages sent to Iran International.

Students protest exam schedule, demand postponement of final tests

Students protest exam schedule, demand postponement of final tests

High school students in several Iranian cities gathered outside education offices on Monday, demanding that final exams be postponed after a compressed testing schedule left them with too little time to prepare.

Iran’s legal drug market is being hollowed out as shortages feed illicit channels

Iran’s legal drug market is being hollowed out as shortages feed illicit channels

Iran’s official medicine market is being hollowed out as policy instability, currency disruptions and shortages push more patients toward illegal sellers, counterfeit drugs and informal supply networks, industry figures and officials have warned.

Illegal adoptions expose Iran’s hidden baby-selling market, child advocate warns

Illegal adoptions expose Iran’s hidden baby-selling market, child advocate warns

Nearly one-third of registered adoptions in Iran over the past decade were illegal, according to state welfare data, exposing a hidden child-transfer market that advocates say can leave babies vulnerable to sale, abandonment, domestic servitude and other forms of abuse.