The war has paused, but the collapse has not. Shaken by defeat in the streets, across the region, and from the skies, the Islamic Republic now stands weakened and exposed. The pillars that once held it up, ideology, reach, and fear, are cracking.
Throughout Israel's 12-day war on Iran, it launched strikes on key state organs tasked with domestic surveillance, protest suppression, detention and propaganda, targeting what it called “repression infrastructure.”
In the aftermath of a 12-day war with Israel, Iranian leaders and media are celebrating an unusual show of nationwide solidarity, but some warn that this calm—marked not by rallies but by silence—may soon give way to a deeper reckoning.
Israel’s twelve days of air attacks on Iran killed hundreds of civilians—among them an eight-year-old gymnast in a red dress whose last joyful dance has become a symbol of the war’s human cost.
Iranians speaking via Iran International's submission line doubted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s declaration of victory over the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Thursday.
The ceasefire between Iran and Israel brought relief to millions—but also sharpened fractures within the Islamic Republic and among its opponents.
I’ve spent time in Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison, the one Israel bombed on Monday. Half a dozen of my closest friends have been there too. Do we want it flattened, turned into a park? Yes. Are we pleased it was bombed? No.
The question of succession has taken on new urgency in Tehran since Israeli missile strikes began and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reportedly moved to a secure location as he was threatened by Israeli leaders and President Trump.
Iran’s political factions are in open conflict after the US strike on the Fordo nuclear site—hardliners are demanding military retaliation, while moderates and reformists warn of catastrophic consequences.
The war may have begun as a clash between Israel and the Islamic Republic, but for many Iranians now caught in the crossfire, it has become an intimate reality, marked by both grief and rare solidarity.
Israel’s airstrike on Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB may raise legal questions for scholars of war, but for many Iranians, it felt like a long-overdue punch to the face of the Islamic Republic.
"The contrast between the defiance projected on X by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his appearance in two recent video addresses—broadcast from what appears to be a bunker—could hardly be starker."
Panic-stricken residents began fleeing Tehran on Sunday as Israeli strikes and air defense fire rocked the city, sending thick plumes of smoke into the skyline of a capital unprepared for war.
A confidential report from Iran’s oil ministry appears to show a widening gap between domestic fuel production and consumption, highlighting growing pressure on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has publicly rebuked Iran’s parliament for excessive oversight and political infighting, urging lawmakers to ease off ministers and help the country strike a united front.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has issued a rare and sharply worded rebuke of the country’s entrenched corruption and perceived cronyism, warning that public anger over inequality and elite privilege is growing.
Faezeh Hashemi, a prominent critic of Iran’s ruling system and daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, has stunned many by saying she would prefer Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader—if there must be one after his father.
The arrest of a top cleric’s family members has done little to convince many Iranians that the judiciary’s anti-corruption drive is more than symbolic, despite praise from conservatives and some reformists.
People in Iran are often accused of contributing to the country’s economic woes through wasteful habits—not just by officials, but by one another. But how much truth is there to these claims?
The location of a proposed uranium enrichment consortium to help resolve Iran's nuclear impasse is emerging as a central point of contention, as Tehran insists enrichment must occur on its own soil.
Tehran’s response to Washington’s proposal to halt uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief has been marked by deep distrust and combative rhetoric—but not a complete break from diplomacy.
Iran has been without an economy minister since March—and may remain so even longer—as President Massoud Pezeshkian’s nominee faces mounting opposition from hardliners inside and outside parliament.