http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com The World Affairs Blog Network Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:41:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The following piece was originally published in Iran Times International's annual Special Nowruz Edition. On March 20 Iranians the world over will start Nowruz celebrations, the first day of spring, marking the start of the Persian new year. Since the time of Achaemenids Empire the centuries-old Nowruz tradition, which literally means ‘new day’ ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/03/19/empires-revisited-iran-and-turkey-adrift-in-search-of-direction/ 12Petals Media Group is an Iranian-American organization based in San Francisco. 12 Petals strives to be a union of creators and social entrepreneurs of media and visual arts working together to promote and encourage respect for those rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is 12 Petals' first major ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/03/15/iranian-american-group-promotes-culture-of-human-rights/ If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were to make a list of countries that he loves right now, I would imagine his list would be very similar to this: 5. Iraq: For stealing the spotlight away from Iran. This week, Iran and its nuclear program took the backseat as the American policy makers ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/03/10/top-5-list-favorite-states-of-the-iranian-government/ Every year, February 11-or 22 Bahman in the Persian calendar-is celebrated with great fervor in Iran, because this is the day when the 1979 revolution succeeded in toppling the dictatorship of Western-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The annual holiday is a deeply significant and symbolic date for the regime as ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/17/examining-february-11th-2010/ [gallery] The Latest on the 31st Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution (February 11, 2010) : There are reports of martial law in Tehran to stem the growing anti-government demonstrations Anti-government protesters tear posters of Ayatollah Khamenei and Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Republic Widespread clashes in different parts of Tehran between pro-democracy demonstrators ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/11/iran-revolution-anniversary-highlights/ One of the bluntest anti-Iran piece was published in The Wall Street Journal this week. Bret Stephens, in "Seven Myths About Iran", tries to show why attacking Iran is perfectly reasonable. He tries to counter "myths" like  "Military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities would accomplish nothing." But as Teymoor Nabili points out in ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/06/a-weekly-round-up/ [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="152" caption="Notice the difference?"][/caption] These are the questions that many Iranians are asking after watching the recent appearances of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, where in the backdrops prepared for official ceremonies, the colors of Iran's flag appear to have been changed from red, white and green to red, ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/04/what-happened-to-the-iranian-flag-where-is-the-colour-green/ In a television statement on Tuesday, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that Iran has "no problem" sending out its stocks of low-enriched uranium abroad for processing in exchange for nuclear fuel rods. While this is a step forward in the nuclear stalemate going on between Iran and the West, there ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/04/a-country-that-cried-wolf-one-too-many-times/ Iranian filmmakers- despite heavy restrictions - have over the years provided an intriguing and provocative look at Iran's dynamic social, religious, and political culture. Reza Aslan explains in his article, Iran's Cinematic Revolution, what sets Iranian cinema apart from others: The irony is that part of what makes Iranian cinema so ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/01/iran%e2%80%99s-cinema-a-glimpse-into-a-fascinating-country/ On January 24th, a Russian-made Iranian passenger aircraft carrying 157 passengers and 13 crew crash-landed in northeastern Iran injuring at least 46 people. The Taban Air aeroplane caught fire upon landing at Mashhad airport at 7:20am local time. Iran has a bloody aviation history. Last July, a Caspian Airlines jet ... http://iran.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/02/01/the-sad-side-of-sanctions/