Iran

This post was originally published in 2015. In light of recent events, I think it's worth taking another look. One of the first challenges faced by Iran's new regime was to gain control of weapons that had been captured by individuals and groups involved in the attacks on military arms depots in the last days of Iran's revolutionary conflict. The head of the new … [Read more...] about IRAN: THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS CORPS

Last month on February 11, Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to herald the new Islamic Republic of Iran. Aljeerza reports that Iranians poured into the streets across the country,  "renewing their allegiance to the country's Islamic principles at a time of rising economic and political pressure amid the resumption of … [Read more...] about The Shah Celebrates

Unlike the case of Manchuria, the United States and the Soviet Union had no longstanding rivalry in Iran. Instead, the Russians had long battled the British for concessions and influence in that country. Although there had been an extensive foreign presence in Persia, in contrast to Manchuria, Iran had never been "officially" colonized. Formal occupation began in 1941 with … [Read more...] about ROUND ONE: IRAN

  Demands for democratization inherent in some aspects of the revolutionary process have, until recently, gone largely unaddressed. The formation of political parties was not precluded by Iran's 1979 constitution which in Article 26 provides that the formation of parties, societies, political or professional associations, as well as religious societies, whether Islamic … [Read more...] about Democratization in Post Revolutionary Iran