Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Iran

Courts of Exclusion—Working-Class Masculinity and Anti-Afghan Racism in Iran
The poster for the 2016 documentary film “Overruled” by Farnaz and Mohammad Reza Jurabchian. The original title in Persian is “Eteraz Vared Nist.”Ismael Khodaei, seen in a still from the film.An Afghan broom maker in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Broom making (Jarubafi) is a profession predominantly taken up by Afghans in the city. Reza Heidari Shahbidak.
MER Article

Courts of Exclusion—Working-Class Masculinity and Anti-Afghan Racism in Iran

In 2016, Gol Agha, a ball boy and worker at a private tennis club in Tajrish—an affluent neighborhood in northern Tehran—went to an administrative office in Karaj to receive a headcount slip. There, Gol Agha was told by employees at the registration desk that the headcount slip could
Paniz Musawi Natanzi • 15 min read
Narratives of 'the Oppressed'—The Dialectic of Resistance Behind the Axis
Iranian Ambassador in Syria Mohammad Hassan Akhtari (2nd L) and Ahmed Jibril (2nd R), the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), lead a demonstration January 23, 1998, at the Yarmouk Palestinian camp, near Damascus to mark International Quds Day in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Louai Behsara/AFP via Getty Images
MER Article

Narratives of 'the Oppressed'—The Dialectic of Resistance Behind the Axis

Since its formation, the Axis of Resistance has embodied a defiant stance against imperialism and Zionism. The phrase itself first circulated in the English-language media, in the early 2000s—a response to then-President George W. Bush’s ominous talk of the “axis of evil.” By 2010, at the latest, the
Olmo Gölz, Ruth Vollmer • 10 min read
Iran, Palestine and the Axis of Resistance
In Tehran’s Palestine Square the far mural on the tall building displays slogans on a map pointing at Israeli cities that read in Hebrew: “All targets are within reach, we choose” (top) and in Farsi: “All the targets are available, we will choose” on December 4, 2024. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
MER Article

Iran, Palestine and the Axis of Resistance

Tehran's meydan-e Felestin—Palestine Square—is a historic site when it comes to the country's relations with Israel and Palestine. Before the 1979 revolution, it hosted Israel’s embassy and went by a different name: Kakh (Palace) Square. In February of 1979, days after the revolution&
Maryam Alemzadeh • 10 min read
Transnational Repression Against Exiled Women Activists
A projection on the Louvre Museum in Paris by Amnesty International depicts jailed Saudi human rights activists including Loujain Al-Athloul (C) and reads “Mr Macron, demand their release,” ahead of the virtual G20 summit in November 2020. Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images

Transnational Repression Against Exiled Women Activists

In Spring 2011, as the uprising against Bashar Al-Assad erupted in Syria, Sana, the daughter of Syrian exiles living in Canada, began engaging in online activism. Her support for the revolution rapidly gained traction among fellow Syrians and a widening global audience. But as her voice grew louder, she found
Noura Aljizawi, Siena Anstis, Marcus Michaelsen • 13 min read