Oxford (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – On Tuesday afternoon (6 February 2024), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took part in a joint press conference with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha. The press conference was mainly about the war in Gaza and the possibility […]
Dual Iranian-British national Alireza Akbari’s execution plunges Iranian Relations with the West to a new Low
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – On Saturday 14 January, the Iranian regime executed a 61-year old dual Iranian-British national and a former deputy defence minister, Alireza Akbari. The 15th branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Abolqasem Salavati who had been the judge of numerous controversial cases and who has been sanctioned […]
Women are the Victors in Iranian Officials’ Trial Balloon on Abolishing the Morals Police
By Farhang Jahanpour | – Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – Various Iranian and foreign news agencies have reported that Iran’s Prosecutor General has announced the shutting down of the. Guidance Patrol (often referred to in the West as the morality police). In response to a question about the dismantling of the Guidance Patrol, Prosecutor […]
Tax Cuts for the Rich, Fracking and Harsh Discipline undid UK’s Liz Truss, in Warning to Conservative Parties Everywhere
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – The British Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to step down on Thursday 20th October only after 44 days in office, making her tenure the shortest in British history. It is important to point out that she was elected by only 81,326 Tory members and not by nearly 50 […]
Who will Britain’s Next Leader Be? 3rd female Prime Minister or the 1st PM of Indian Origin?
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – The two candidates selected by the Conservative members of the British Parliament to replace Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, went head-to-head in their first TV debate organized by the BBC on Monday night, 25 July. The new selection of Conservative Party leader and therefore Prime Minister comes […]
On Nowruz, the Persian New Year: Can the United States and Iran Turn a New Page in Their Relations?
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – Sunday 20th March is the vernal equinox, which has been traditionally celebrated by Iranians as Now Ruz (New Day), the Iranian New Year. It is also celebrated in many countries in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The first recorded mention of Now Ruz dates back to […]
Top Nine Policy Recommendations for U.S. in wake of Afghanistan Debacle
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – I do not wish to rub salt into the wounds of US and British officials who are responsible for the humiliating debacle in Afghanistan, but there is no way of sugar-coating this appalling tragedy, especially for hard-pressed Afghans who have experienced war and occupation for over 40 years. In […]
America wants to be known in Mideast as Champion of Free Speech, so Why is it Censoring Iranian Websites?
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment) – The Bureau of Industry and Security, an agency of the United States Department of Justice, in a statement on Tuesday 22 June announced that it had seized 33 websites and news outlets used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU), and another three run by the “Iran-backed” […]
Iran: The Election Trump did succeed in Spoiling
Oxford, U.K (Special to Informed Comment) – Although Iran is one of the few countries in the Middle East that has regular presidential, parliamentary and local council elections, those elections are far from free and fair when judged by the standards of advanced democracies. The June, 2021 polls will be even more flawed, in large […]