Tehran Times

2026-01-23 20:53
Pezeshkian: Enemies wrought recent crisis in revenge for defeat in 12-Day War

By Soheila Zarfam

TEHRAN – President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a message to the Iranian nation a day after casualty figures from the terrorist surge convulsing Iran early this month were released, confirming official accusations that the U.S. and Israel had mobilized mercenaries and exploited legitimate protests to compensate for the defeat they suffered during the 12-Day War in June.
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Trump’s ‘support for Iranians’ masks economic warfare and narrative manipulation: Senior analyst

Elija J. Magnier argues US strategy weaponizes dissent while sanctions intensify civilian hardship

TEHRAN- In an interview with the Tehran Times, veteran war correspondent and geopolitical analyst Elijah J. Magnier delivers a rigorous and unflinching analysis of U.S. and Israeli pressure tactics against Iran, situating them within a long-standing architecture of coercion, narrative warfare, and regional destabilisation.
By Xavier Villar

Power in Iran: A realist analysis by John Mearsheimer

TEHRAN - The protests recorded in Iran at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 have primarily been interpreted as the expression of accumulated economic and social tensions. This reading, focused on domestic factors, identifies real elements, such as persistent inflationary pressure. In many analyses, these factors appear sufficient to explain both the scale of the mobilizations and the subsequent response by the authorities.
By Fatemeh Kavand

Trump, Iran International, and the dream of saving Iran

A project to humiliate a nation’s collective intellect

TEHRAN - They say Trump is the savior, protests are democracy, and tanks are on the streets of Iran; yet the admissions of American analysts expose the collapse of the Western media narrative. The issue is not Iran; the issue is a lie that must fall.
By Xavier Villar

How the Iranian diaspora shapes Western views of Iran

MADRID - Within the landscape of the Iranian diaspora, a particular phenomenon demands critical attention: the aspiration toward political whiteness. This is not a physical trait but an epistemic and symbolic position that organizes privileges, establishes hierarchies, and produces consent for foreign intervention.
By Ranjan Solomon

Iran, the collapse of Western strategy - where empires lose the plot

The enduring logic of civilizations vis-à-vis brute Western arrogance

GOA- Traditional Western approaches (like regime change or containment) towards Iran are failing due to Iran's deep historical roots, revolutionary ideology, and resilience, leading to a shift in global power, where the "West" loses legitimacy as multipolar dynamics emerge, and Iran's strategic endurance, though marked by internal fragility and regional conflict, challenges the old international order. It suggests Western strategies often misjudge Iran's ideological drivers and deep cultural identity, leading to prolonged conflict rather than collapse, as seen in the shifting global landscape favoring non-Western actors.

Politics

Beyond the headlines of 3117 dead: Security body unmasks the architects of urban warfare

TEHRAN — Iran’s Martyrs Foundation and the State Security Council released an official account on Wednesday night of the recent unrest that has scarred the country.
Trump’s claim of Tehran’s intention to execute 800 is ‘sheer lie’: prosecutor general

TEHRAN - Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi has vehemently denied US President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that Tehran intended to execute some 800 individuals.
Iran presses UN nuclear watchdog to clarify stance on June attacks

TEHRAN – Iran’s top nuclear official said Thursday that Tehran has formally asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to clarify its position on U.S.-Israeli attacks that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in June, insisting that inspections cannot proceed without clear international standards and accountability.

Sports

Persepolis complete signing of Dániel Gera

TEHRAN – Iran’s Persepolis football club have completed the signing of Hungarian winger Dániel Gera.
Iran expects to send 300–350 athletes to 2026 Asian Games, official says

TEHRAN — Iran plans to send between 300 and 350 athletes to the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, though no team or athlete has been definitively finalized, according to Asghar Rahimi, Iran’s chef de mission for the Games.
Iranians win gold and silver at 2026 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup

TEHRAN – Mohammadreza Safdarian and Mohsen Beheshti Rad of Iran won gold and silver medals at the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup.

Culture

TV animated series focusing on martyr Qassem Soleimani’s childhood

TEHRAN – The animated TV series “Qassem,” which focuses on the eventful childhood of martyr Qassem Soleimani, has been recently aired on Pooya TV Channel, a children's Television channel at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Iranian documentary “Cutting Through Rocks” nominated at 98th Academy Awards

TEHRAN – The feature documentary “Cutting Through Rocks” directed by Iranian filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, a coproduction of Iran, Germany, the U.S., Qatar, the Netherlands, Chile, and Canada, has been nominated for the 98th Academy Awards.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” hits silver screens in Tehran

TEHRAN- American filmmaker Michael Chaves’ movie “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is currently showing in theaters across Tehran.

Economy

Iran's steel output rises 16% in December 2025: WSA

TEHRAN - Iran's steel production reached three million tons in December 2025, registering more than 16 percent growth compared to the same period last year, according to World Steel Association (WSA) statistics.
Iran-Africa trade rises 23% in 8 months

TEHRAN- The manager of Iran's commercial center in Algeria announced a 23-percent growth in Iran's trade with the African continent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 22, 2025).
Tehran to host Iran-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Summit in early February

TEHRAN- The Head of the Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), while outlining the fundamental objectives of the fourth Eurasia International Trade Exhibition, announced the initiative of holding the Iran-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Summit on the sidelines of this event with the presence of a group of officials from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and neighboring countries.

Society

Over 100 Iranian universities in THE WUR 2026 by subject

TEHRAN –The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (WUR) 2026 has placed 101 Iranian universities among the top universities in the world in 11 subject areas, compared to 81 universities in 10 subject areas in 2025.
Foreign students required to learn Persian language prior to admission

TEHRAN – Attaining a specified score in learning the Persian language will be a key requirement for foreign students to be admitted to Iranian universities from the next academic year, which will start in fall 2026.
Prominent Iranian academicians honored

TEHRAN – The Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology held a special ceremony on Saturday to honor distinguished Iranian academicians.

Tourism

Handicraft artists from Tehran showcase works at Muscat Nights festival

TEHRAN - Handicraft artists from Tehran province have taken part in the Muscat Nights 2026 festival in Oman to present Iranian traditional arts and help expand cultural exchanges, provincial officials said.
Tribal tourism: visiting a traditional world in the modern age

TEHRAN - Tribes are a proud and living part of Iran’s civilization, and their thousands of years of experience have turned travel among them into a unique and memorable journey. In an age shaped by speed, technology, and urban life, such a tourism genre offers visitors a rare chance to encounter a way of living that remains closely connected to nature.
Yazd, a warm refuge of history in winter

TEHRAN - Yazd, a UNESCO-listed adobe city, is not merely a winter destination but a refuge, where the ingenuity of ancient architecture tames the cold and preserves the warmth of the sun within its earthen walls.

International

Abu Dhabi talks spotlight Western missteps in Ukraine

TEHRAN — The first trilateral engagement between the United States, Ukraine and Russia since the outbreak of the 2022 conflict is taking place in Abu Dhabi at a moment when Western governments are reassessing the trajectory of a war that has become strategically, economically and politically burdensome. In whatever direction these discussions develop, their very initiation reflects a deeper reality: The US and Europe are seeking to unwind a crisis that their own longstanding policies helped set in motion and then prolong.
‘Board of Peace’: A new tool for American control

TEHRAN – U.S. President Donald Trump officially unveiled the so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza at a signing ceremony in Davos on Thursday.
Fox in the henhouse: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ lets Bibi off the leash

TEHRAN — The decision to include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a so-called U.S.-led “Board of Peace” for Gaza highlights the deep incoherence of Washington’s approach to Israel’s war against the enclave and its aftermath.