I told the @wsj.com that, “The regime still has the capacity to use force, but the scale and intensity of repression also reflect deep insecurity and a shrinking base of legitimacy.”

“The Iranian government uses internet shutdowns as a tool of repression,” said @omidmemarian.bsky.social. “Whenever protests reach a critical point, authorities sever the country’s connection to isolate protesters and limit their communication with the outside world.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/w...

"For all their utopian dreams, the megaprojects championed by MBS don’t signal the future, but the trap represented by Saudi Arabia’s political economy." My @wpr.bsky.social column on MBS and the staggering waste of his development "vision." Gift link: www.worldpoliticsreview.com/mbs-trump-sa...

Indeed, as Mahmoud Khalil told @omidmemarian.bsky.social in a recent interview, “ICE tried to silence me, and in doing so, they amplified my voice.” “A lot of people think that what's happening is very far from our doors—they are so wrong. It's literally at our door.” dawnmena.org/i-was-put-in...

It takes weeks if not months to evacuate Tehran.

Trump’s foreign aid cutoff is a gift to the Iranian regime: “His decision to cut funding for dozens of U.S.-supported pro-democracy and human rights initiative… applies maximum pressure on the regime’s opponents,” said @omidmemarian.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...

"It is in moments of extreme crisis that fascism surges," @naomiaklein.bsky.social tells @omidmemarian.bsky.social. "What makes us different than our predecessors in the interwar period in Europe is the ecological piece of it." Read her wide-ranging interview in DAWN's Democracy in Exile:

“We are in this moment where all the liberal niceties of so-called woke capitalism are gone. They're dropping the show. It's over.” Read my interview with @naomiaklein.bsky.social on Gaza, Trump and the end of liberal order here. Thanks @freddydeknatel.bsky.social.

“Gaza is a crime scene,” @naomiaklein.bsky.social tells Democracy in Exile. “There's still going to be a great deal of effort to suppress an honest examination of what has happened in Gaza and what is ongoing.” Read her extensive interview with @omidmemarian.bsky.social dawnmena.org/the-exceptio...

Important development: #Iran began to evacuate its military commanders and personnel from #Syria on Friday, according to regional officials and three Iranian officials, in a sign of Iran’s inability to help keep President #Bashar al-Assad in power as he faces a resurgent rebel offensive.

“Prison officers allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed Vida Rabbani, an Iranian journalist and activist, during a body search at Evin Prison in #Tehran on October 3, an informed source told @hrw.org in late November.” #Iran #HumanRights

This is surreal.

“As recently as 2022, China only surpassed the US as a preferred ally among Arabs by a small margin. But now, over half of Arabs reportedly see Washington as the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region, and want the United States to leave.”

The main reason we are slouching to dystopia

“The line between private wealth and public policy is going to get erased,” said @dandrezner.bsky.social. “There will be a lot more corruption.” www.bostonglobe.com/2024/11/20/b...

Sanjari, like many others rights activists and journalists, was yet another victim of the Islamic Republic. In tribute, many have since reposted a profound phrase found on Sanjari's X account: "The life of a homeland owes me to think only of life, and not of the homeland." #Iran #humanrights

Iran's downplaying of last month's Israeli strike shows its reluctance to retaliate—fearing further damage to its regional power and domestic backlash over clashes with Israel. #Iran #Israel #MiddleEast

Read my interview with Iranian artist Korosh Ghazimorad, who shares how he blends tradition with innovation to redefine calligraphy. His journey is a powerful reminder of art's impact in connecting cultures & emotions. #Art #middleeast #Iran @globalvoices.bsky.social globalvoices.org/2024/11/10/i...

Barbara McQuade’s Attack from Within: How #Disinformation Is Sabotaging America is a wake-up call for our times. A sharp, insightful look at how disinformation erodes democracy—and what we can do to fight back. Essential reading! 📚🇺🇸 #AttackFromWithin #BarbaraMcQuade #books #

Omid's interview with the great Hisham Matar in Democracy in Exile—on a very short list of favorite pieces I edited and published this year: "I think the moment we are living in is a moment of deep estrangement and uncertainty and fragmentation on so many levels." dawnmena.org/pulitzer-pri...

You probably love Hisham Matar's writing and thinking if you've read "My Friends." I had the pleasure of interviewing him for @dawnmenaorg.bsky.social about various issues – an exhilarating conversation! His take on friendship and today’s world is genuinely touching. dawnmena.org/pulitzer-pri...

Hello Blue Sky!