Partial Photo Credit: Fouman.com

Mohammad Mossadegh, the Iranian politician and post-mortem folk hero, famously said: ”If I sit silently, I have sinned.”

And in the recently launched interactive iPad application, Op Ajax, you’ll learn more about Mossadegh, why you may hear your grandparents or parents say from time to time: “Hamash kaareh Engeleessee-haast” (Persian: It’s all the work of the English), and the events that have ultimately led up to Iran’s current condition, through sleek, vintage-toned, comic-book style, touch-activated animation. Continue Reading

Just one day before the planned 25th of Bahman (VDay) protests in Iran, the State Department created a Twitter account, @USAdarfarsi.

And now, as videos (posted below) of the protests in Iran are starting to spread on the web, it’s unclear how influential the feed (or any outside push) will eventually be, but the department’s inaugural tweet reads: ”US State Dept recognizes historic role of social media among Iranians. We want to join in your conversations.”

The Iranian government, having learned a hard lesson from the 2009 protests, where Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube allowed citizen journalists to share their stories with the rest of the world, is said to have prepared for news of the 25th of Bahman protest by blocking the word “Bahman” from internet searches; hoping to make it difficult for people to coordinate protest-related information and plans.

Egyptian-American and Google marketing executive, Wael Ghonim, who some reports claim was the main organizer of the February, 2011 protests that led to Mubarak’s resignation, traveled to Egypt to physically partake in the realignment of his birth-country’s evolution. Whereas, Google’s resident Iranian-American and “Senior Advisor to Office of the CEO and Founders”, Omid Kordestani, doesn’t even bother protesting the words, “Persian Gulf” being omitted from Google Maps. (When did Ahmadinejad become the ideation guy for Google?) Continue Reading

Photo: via Mo Asad

If anyone can relate to the Egyptians who are dealing with the ongoing physical, emotional, and psychological distress resulting from coming face to face with the brutal force of their government, it’s us, Iranians.

(We just hope that the Egyptians have a good replacement picked out.) Continue Reading

Written by S. Mostofi, Cemetery of Dreams is a political thriller novel set in the wake of the 1979 revolution and the hostage crisis.

Mostofi was born and raised in Tehran, Iran and was the the first in her family to immigrate to the United States. Continue Reading

Original Photo: Payam Borazjani

Iran has banned “the production of Valentine’s Day gifts and any promotion of the day celebrating romantic love to combat what it sees as a spread of Western culture,” AP reported this week. Continue Reading

Photo: FarahPahlavi.org

The former Shah of Iran’s second son, Alireza Pahlavi, was found dead today, January 4, 2011,  in his Boston area apartment.