Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Iran

War Across Boundaries–Perspectives on Iran and a Region Under Siege
Smoke rises from Shahran oil depot after US and Israeli attacks, Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images
Current Analysis

War Across Boundaries–Perspectives on Iran and a Region Under Siege

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, initiating a war with wide-ranging consequences for Iran and the broader region and devastating effects for their populations. Already, millions have been displaced and thousands killed. But this war is not a sudden rupture. It is
The Editors • 28 min read
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