U.S. seeks an Iran that is subservient, says Chinese expert

Hongda Fan warns U.S. and Israeli interference could reshape regional alliances and intensify security rivalries

TEHRAN-Amid renewed unrest in Iran and escalating rhetoric from Washington and Tel Aviv, questions are mounting over whether Western claims of supporting civil liberties mask deeper geopolitical objectives. To explore these dynamics, Tehran Times spoke with Professor Hongda Fan, Professor and director of the China-Middle East Center at Shaoxing University, China.

Open Israeli role in Iran unrest marks new escalation: Canadian historian

Samir Saul says Mossad activity is increasingly visible following the June 2025 failure

TEHRAN — In an interview with the Tehran Times, Canadian historian and political economist Samir Saul offers a critical assessment of U.S. and Israeli involvement in the protests that unfolded in Iran in January, with a particular attention to U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. 

US has absolutely zero credibility on human rights: Japanese professor

Saul Takahashi says Trump encourages protests in Iran as sanctions deepen economic hardship

TEHRAN - In an interview with the Tehran Times, Japanese human rights lawyer and academic Saul Takahashi critically examines U.S. and Israeli policies toward Iran amid the unrest that engulfed the country in the first 10 ten days of the current month.

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. 

US-Israeli strategy in Iran reflects long-term regime change tactics: Pakistani expert 

Dr. Barrech draws parallels between the current unrest and the 1953 coup in Iran through sanctions, proxies, and disinformation

TEHRAN - Tehran Times spoke exclusively with Dr. Dost Muhammad Barrech, a Pakistani expert in security and regional politics at the University of Balochistan, Quetta, on the ongoing unrest in Iran and the role of external actors. Dr. Barrech argues that U.S. and Israeli support for violent elements within Iran aimed to weaken the country’s economy and undermine national cohesion.

By Afshin Majlesi

At Tchogha Zanbil, a living monument to Elamite faith and engineering

On a serene plain in southwestern Iran, the stepped ziggurat of Tchogha Zanbil has stood for more than 3,500 years, making it the best-preserved ziggurat outside Mesopotamia and one of the rare surviving monuments of the Elamite civilization.

Talks with US won't guarantee Iran's security: Velayati

TEHRAN – Senior Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ali Akbar Velayati says Tehran does not think talks with Washington will ensure its security after seeing what happened to Venezuela.

By Mohamadreza Seyedagha

“The Legend of Sepehr”: Iranian identity narrated in universal language

TEHRAN – The Iranian animated feature “The Legend of Sepehr,” directed by Emad Rahmani and Mehrdad Mehrabi, has recently started its theatrical run in Iran after achieving global success.

By Mona Hojat Ansari

Baghaei tells Tehran Times ‘relations with Lebanon matter greatly’ ahead of FM’s visit 

Spox says new Lebanese and Iranian ambassadors will begin missions soon   

TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei recently visited the Tehran Times, where he met with the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief and CEO and gave a detailed interview to a correspondent.

By Sahar Dadjoo

“Game Over Israel”: Red card pressure to hunt down Gaza genocide perpetrators

Ashish Prashar shares the story behind his global campaign in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times

TEHRAN- Ashish Prashar is a political strategist, believes that if Israel were removed from football, it would send an “unmistakable global message” that genocide which has been happening in Gaza for more than two years is unacceptable.

Exclusive dispatch from Venezuela:

Washington’s ‘vile’ violation of Bolívar’s homeland

"Tense calm in country after ‘vile’ US strikes"

TEHRAN — In a brazen escalation of longstanding hostility, the United States conducted airstrikes on Venezuela on early Saturday (January 3) in what international observers have widely denounced as an illegal violation of national sovereignty.

By Sahar Dadjoo

Targeted killing of scientists is a criminal act, says Indian analyst

Vineet Tiwari says the assassinations linked to “Operation Narnia” violate sovereignty, international norms, and basic human ethics

TEHRAN – In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, Vineet Tiwari, an Indian writer and civil society activist, offers a critical assessment of revelations contained in a recent Washington Post’s investigation produced in partnership with PBS Frontline, which details Israel’s covert campaign, known as “Operation Narnia,” targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists.

By Mona Hojat Ansari

Iran's path to orbit

Space chief tells Tehran Times the story of building a national program in the midst of sanctions

TEHRAN – When Iran established its new political system in 1979, its leaders placed a paramount emphasis on achieving independence. This pursuit faced numerous hurdles over the decades that followed, a period during which the country endured two wars, countless terrorist attacks, and, most critically, debilitating Western sanctions. Nevertheless, as we stand on the cusp of 2026, the independence Iranians once dreamed of has been realized in various sectors, partly because the country possessed no other option. 

By Sahar Dadjoo

Sanctions intended for nuclear pressure instead fuel human suffering in Iran: Stanford researcher 

Dr. Ruth Gibson highlights gaps in UNSC Resolution 2231 that leave civilians without critical medical equipment

TEHRAN – In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, Ruth Gibson, a scholar at Stanford University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health and the Center for International Security and Cooperation, examines how international sanctions have systematically weakened Iran’s public health system under the guise of political pressure.

By Mahnaz Abdi

Khuzestan must build an economy beyond oil: head of Ahvaz chamber of commerce

TEHRAN- In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times, Shahla Amouri, Head of the Ahvaz Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, emphasized the urgent need for economic diversification in Khuzestan, Iran's energy powerhouse.

By Samaneh Aboutalebi 

Painting on the news: Iranian artist turns newspapers into art

TEHRAN- In an era when printed newspapers are rapidly fading from everyday life, Iranian painter Behdad Najafi has turned the ephemeral medium of newsprint into a lasting artistic statement. 

By Mahnaz Abdi

Beyond the Strait: Hormozgan charts course from transit hub to economic powerhouse

TEHRAN- Strategically positioned at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz—the world's most critical energy chokepoint—Iran's Hormozgan province serves as the nation's indispensable commercial gateway. Home to major ports like Shahid Rajaei, the country's largest container port, it is the primary hub for Iran's import, export, and transit trade, connecting global markets from the Persian Gulf to Africa and India.

Zionist lobbyists may use Sydney terror act to polish Israel’s image: Lebanese analyst

Hakam Amhaz says Mossad may have incited the Bondi terrorist incident

TEHRAN - In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, Hakam Amhaz, a Lebanese political analyst and member of the International Association of Political Analysts and Experts, examines the political and media ramifications of the deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. 

By Mohammad Khatibi

Expert says Chinese investment in Iran difficult under sanctions, but possible with determination 

TEHRAN – In the midst of intensifying regional tensions and the enduring weight of Western sanctions, the future of China–Iran relations remains a subject of growing international interest. To better understand the dynamics shaping Beijing’s approach to Iran, The Tehran Times spoke with Professor Hongda Fan, director of the China–Middle East Center at Shaoxing University.

Israel exploiting Syrian instability to expand territorial control, Lebanese analyst warns

Abir Bassam says Israel seeking to control all water sources in southern Syria and southern Lebanon

TEHRAN- As Syria marks one year since the fall of the Assad government, the country faces unprecedented political, social, and humanitarian challenges.

By Sahar Dadjoo

U.S. actions, not Iran’s behavior, triggered nuclear standoff: Chinese analyst

Professor Jin stresses that progress is impossible unless Washington demonstrates genuine commitment.

TEHRAN – On the sidelines of the Conference on “People’s Rights and Legitimate Freedoms in the Thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei,” the Tehran Times spoke with Professor Jin Liangxiang, a senior research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, to explore the shifting dynamics of global governance, human-rights discourse, and power politics in West Asia.

By Sahar Dadjoo

Iran’s stand in the 12-day war undermined U.S.-Israeli strategy, says Philippine scholar

Julkipli Wadi warns that as Israel widens its aggression, Iran’s resilience signals a new regional momentum.

TEHRAN – At the sidelines of the Conference on “People’s Rights and Legitimate Freedoms in the Thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei,” the Tehran Times spoke with Professor Julkipli Wadi of the University of the Philippines to examine the conference’s intellectual significance, the current crisis of international law, and Iran’s evolving role in regional security.

By M.A. Saki

Trump reverting to 1920s–30s ‘gunboat diplomacy’ in Venezuela: ex-CIA officer

'Military pressure on Venezuela sends this sense to the world that Trump’s US is imperialist'

TEHRAN – Paul Pillar, a former CIA officer and now a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, tells the Tehran Times that the Pentagon’s attacks on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean, carried out under the claim that they are trafficking drugs to the United States, reflect President Donald Trump’s return to the “gunboat diplomacy” of the 1920s and 1930s, when U.S. military forces intervened in several Latin American countries.

By Sahar Dadjoo

Iran’s steadfast stance has transformed resistance politics in West Asia: Malaysian activist

Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid says Iran’s resistance to Western pressure gives it unique strategic weight

TEHRAN – At the sidelines of the Conference on “People’s Rights and Legitimate Freedoms in the Thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei,” The Tehran Times sat down with Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid, President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM), to discuss the evolving landscape of global justice, Palestine advocacy, and the role of the Muslim world in confronting oppressive power structures.

By Shahrokh Saei 

Professor Azarov argues the West moves Ukraine like a pawn in a grand game

TEHRAN – The war in Ukraine has emerged as one of the defining struggles of the 21st century, redrawing global fault lines and igniting fierce debate over its origins. While the result of US-mediated talks over the war between Russia and Ukraine remains unclear, the question of how this confrontation began — and why it has endured — has taken on fresh urgency.

By Afshin Majlesi

A thousand stories under one name, Herbert Karim-Masihi reflects on his new exhibition

TEHRAN – Iranian-Armenian photographer, and cultural heritage researcher Herbert Karim-Masihi is presenting a new exhibition titled “Iran Thinks of You” at the Sa’dabad Cultural-Historical Complex in northern Tehran.

By Mona Hojat Ansari 

SCO anti-terror drill enters critical phase

Iranian commander says "nations’ will stronger than terrorism"

TEHRAN – A multinational military exercise taking place in Iran was preparing to enter its most important phase Wednesday, with the hosts hailing it as an important sign of cooperation toward ensuring regional security and peace.