By Garsha Vazirian

The same hostage economics playbook, from Havana to Tehran to Beirut

Washington uses civilian suffering as its primary foreign policy tool

TEHRAN — The August 2026 New York Times report operates as an unclassified confession of state terror. When Israel launched its barbaric campaign of aggression on Lebanon in March, the opening salvos bypassed command centers. Warplanes targeted civilian banks, local exchange shops, and neighborhood gas stations. The architects of this aggression admit their primary objective was “Hezbollah’s money,” functionally confessing to holding the daily survival of Lebanese families hostage.

Safeguarding Iran, its values is shared national responsibility: tourism minister

TEHRAN – Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri has identified safeguarding Iran and its values, protecting people’s security and livelihoods, and preserving the political system as three key priorities amid what he described as a “historic turning point.”

President Pezeshkian meets Leader as he marks second anniversary in office

TEHRAN — President Masoud Pezeshkian has held a detailed meeting with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, as he begins his third year in office. 

By Akram Hosseini Shabestari

16 Iranian fishermen missing for 3+ months, US helicopter last seen overhead

TEHRAN- A warm wind blows from the coast of Konarak toward the sea, but at the city's fishing port, the familiar excitement of returning fishing boats has disappeared. More than three months have passed since the day the fishing vessel Shahin 2, carrying 17 fishermen, disappeared in waters near Oman. The incident remains without a clear explanation, leaving dozens of women, men and children waiting for news of their loved ones.

Moj Bafi, an ancient weaving tradition in heart of Zagros mountain range

TEHRAN - Deeply rooted in the traditional life of nomadic and rural communities in western Iran, Moj Bafi is a distinctive hand-weaving tradition that reflects the region’s pastoral economy, indigenous textile knowledge and artistic heritage.

By Garsha Vazirian

A beat written in blood across Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran

TEHRAN — 28 years ago today, Iranian reporter Mahmoud Saremi radioed his newsroom from the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif as Taliban fighters came through the gate. He identified himself, reported that the city had fallen, and asked what he should do next. Hours later he was dead, along with eight Iranian diplomats.

‘Humble, reasonable, and patient’: President Pezeshkian on the new Leader’s virtues 

TEHRAN - President Masoud Pezeshkian has praised military forces, officials, and the public for elevating Iran's global standing in the face of US-Israeli aggression and foreign-backed plots aimed at triggering domestic unrest. The Iranian president made these remarks during a televised broadcast, marking the second anniversary of his inauguration.

By Garsha Vazirian

Yemen flips the battlefield on Saudi Arabia

Sanaa’s shifting military doctrine traps Riyadh as the kingdom seeks external shields

TEHRAN — The video clips from August 6 were unmistakable. Flames consumed a desert encampment. A row of armored vehicles sat reduced to twisted metal. The Yemeni Armed Forces struck first.

By Fardin Molaei

Mossad sacks architects of its failed regime change dream

Mossad chief Roman Gofman has ousted two senior officials behind a failed plan to topple Islamic Republic of Iran

TEHRAN- Months before the onset of the US-Israel war against Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last Shah, undertook a visit to the occupied territories. During this trip, he held meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu, senior Mossad officials, and several influential Knesset members.

Iranian attacks leave hundreds of US service members with enduring brain trauma

TEHRAN — Relentless Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting American bases across West Asia have wounded nearly 700 US service members, with traumatic brain injuries rapidly becoming the leading casualty of the joint US-Israeli war, according to a report by the Associated Press.