Preparing the graves for more than 150 elementary school girls who were killed by an Israeli-American strike. Photo: IRNA #Iran

Tehran’s Abbas Abad police station before and after the joint US-Israeli airstrikes. #Iran

My neighborhood and my parents' neighborhood in Tehran Both were hit with massive bombs meant to take out apartment blocks. Neither has any military installation of any kind.

Deliberations over the selection of #Iran's next Supreme Leader are not open to the public. However, early reports suggest that Ayatollah Alireza Arafi may be a leading contender to become the country's next leader. Arafi is a conservative cleric with deep institutional ties within the regime.

Motahari Street, Tehran, #Iran.

Bombardment of Tehran & other parts of #Iran by U.S.-Israeli forces continues. Following a missile strike on Arg Square in Tehran, parts of Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged. Ironically, this royal complex is where both Reza Pahlavi’s father and grandfather were crowned.

Groundhog Day. Wrote this March 2012. The absurd contradictory narrative on Iran: strong enough to warrant a response worthy of an existential threat - weak enough to be threatened w/ war every other day and eventually be attacked with little thought. t.co/5vz7m2SaOH

Heartbreaking pictures from Tehran’s Nilufar Square in the aftermath of tonight’s U.S.-Israeli bombardment of the city. Source: Iranian Student News Agency #Iran

I have deleted the post about Ahmadinejad being dead because sources from inside are now saying he is alive, but his three bodyguards were killed in the missile attack. #Iran

Many #Iran observers have warned about this for decades. The Islamic Republic’s durability has never been the sole function of Khamenei’s personal rule. It has always rested on the institutional architecture that the regime built around him. 1/2

Gen. Ahmadi Vahidi, Soleimani's predecessor as Quds Force chief, has reportedly been named IRGC chief commander. A brutal commander and notorious for his radical approach even among his own IRGC comrades. Headlines are filling the vacancies rapidly. #Iran

Islamic Republic state media says the following three officials will act collectively as a temporary leadership council exercising the powers of the Supreme Leader. #Iran - President Masoud Pezeshkian - Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei - A jurist from the Guardian Council

Iranian state TV’s Channel One confirms that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the US-Israeli air strikes. The Iranian government has announced 40 days of mourning and a week-long holiday to mark Khamenei’s death. #Iran

Iranain State TV confirms Khamenei’s death. #Iran

Foreign military interventions have never succeeded in improving the fate of the Iranian people. Historically, the consequences have amounted to little more than death, a weakened central gov., destruction, civil war, disease, & famine. guardeddomains.substack.com/p/a-neutral-... #Iran 1/3

Reuters: Ships are repeatedly receiving high-frequency messages from the IRGC stating that no ship is allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. www.reuters.com/world/middle... #Iran

A joint American-Israeli strike has hit an elementary girls’ school in Minab, a city in #Iran's Hormozgan province, killing at least 51 people. Search and rescue continues. The civilian cost of Trump's war of choice is immediate and clear. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/...

Iranian media now report more than 50 killed in a joint U.S-Israeli attack on a girls’ elementary school in the city of Minab located in #Iran's Hormozgan province. Rescue and recovery efforts continue.

Reza Shah, flanked by clerics and members of the Constituent Assembly, reads his oath of office at Takyeh Dowlat, a royal theater built by the Qajar dynasty to host mourning ceremonies during the Shia holy month of Muharram. Circa December 14, 1925. #Iran

My latest, and one of my most personal: “We live our lives as Iranians and Americans between existing and emerging autocracies, unrepentant regimes devoted to violence at home and abroad.” What Iran Teaches Us About Minneapolis fpif.org/what-iran-te...

I very much look forward to joining this timely panel on a range of pressing issues facing #Iran and #Israel today. Please register and join us tomorrow evening if you can.

A powerful video statement by The Assembly of Scientific Associations of Sharif University of Technology: "You didn't hear our cries, fear our silence." #Iran

My plants and I had a lovely conversation about Iranian protests and politics with Tomas Delgado, a thoughtful interviewer, New York City tour guide, comedian, and much more

Thread: On January 29, 2026, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate in #Iran’s 2009 presidential election who has been under house arrest since 2011, published a statement condemning the January killings of protesters. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/... 1/5

The Pezeshkian admin. has released an official list of those killed in the #IranProtests, according to official gov. data. The document includes the first name, last name, father’s name, & national ID number of 2,986 victims. 131 bodies remain unidentified. www.khabaronline.ir/news/2176465... #Iran

The powerful front page of the reformist newspaper Sazandegi features the names of 3,000 individuals who, according to government reports, were killed during the protests in Iran. #Iran #IranProtests2026

Very powerful indeed.

The powerful front page of the reformist newspaper Sazandegi features the names of 3,000 individuals who, according to government reports, were killed during the protests in Iran. #Iran #IranProtests2026

In my latest essay on protests in #Iran, I examine the emotional toll of a bloody massacre, the shortcomings of the policy of confrontation adopted by the monarchist opposition, & the shrinking space for moderation. open.substack.com/pub/guardedd... A thread of some of my key arguments: 1/17

In my latest essay on protests in #Iran, I examine the emotional toll of a bloody massacre, the shortcomings of the policy of confrontation adopted by the monarchist opposition, & the shrinking space for moderation. open.substack.com/pub/guardedd... A thread of some of my key arguments: 1/17

In my latest essay on protests in #Iran I examine post-protest sociopolitical dynamics inside the country, the emotional toll of a bloody massacre, the shortcomings of the confrontational approach embraced by monarchist opposition factions, & the rapidly shrinking space for moderation. #IranProtests

In my latest essay on protests in #Iran I examine post-protest sociopolitical dynamics inside the country, the emotional toll of a bloody massacre, the shortcomings of the confrontational approach embraced by monarchist opposition factions, & the rapidly shrinking space for moderation. #IranProtests

According to aggregated data compiled by HRANA, the number of confirmed deaths has reached 5,002, while the number of fatalities still under investigation is 9,787. In addition, at least 7,391 people have suffered serious injuries during the #IranProtests. www.en-hrana.org/day-twenty-s... #Iran

A well-thought-out and level-headed take on the tumultuous situation in #Iran, the role of the Iranian diaspora, and the potential for political transition in the country. A must-read by Siamak Namazi. mei.edu/commentary/i... #IranProtests

As of January 18, 3,919 people have been killed amid #IranProtests and 8,949 additional deaths are still under investigation. www.en-hrana.org/day-twenty-t... #Iran

The bloody massacre that took place in #Iran amid the most recent protests should be treated as an indisputable fact. More than likely for years to come, scholars will debate about the culprits, the exact numbers, and the ramifications of the crackdown. 1/2 #IranProtests

This one is too relatable.

Iran declared its airspace to be closed to all flights for the next two hours. #Iran

Given the stakes, I believe it's fair to ask anyone advocating for U.S. involvement on behalf of #IranProtesters to be explicit about their demands. What kind of support? Are you calling for diplomatic pressure, material aid, military strikes, more sanctions, or something else entirely? #Iran

Eternal Sunshine of the Bomb Iran Mind - my new piece in Foreign Policy lays out why the likely impeding US attack on Iran is unlikely to help its protestors and likely to make things worse. With a paywall free link abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/eternal-suns...

A good short NPR Morning Edition interview with an #IranProtests eyewitness. npr.org/2026/01/14/n... #Iran

Very important thread for anyone covering or sharing news out of Iran right now, and honestly, for anyone covering anywhere ever, but especially when there's this much violence.

Western English-speaking media has yet to figure out how to responsibly cover news from pluralistic societies such as #Iran. A guest is often invited and asked what they are hearing from inside the country, or what they heard prior to their last communication. 1/6 #IranProtests

"Eyewitnesses say gov. forces have begun opening fire, apparently with automatic weapons and at times seemingly indiscriminately, on unarmed protesters. Hospital workers say protesters [...] arrive with gunshot wounds and skull fractures." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w... #Iran #IranProtests

It’s very difficult to independently verify numbers, and as indicated by similar events in the past, the total may always remain contested, but videos coming out of Tehran’s Kahrizak Forensic Center tell signs of a bloody massacre with thousands killed across the country. #Iran #IranProtests

"Take over your institutions [...] help is on its way," Trump tells Iranians. #Iran #IranProtests

I am glad Reza is doing this. But unfortunately this will be a very very long thread. (Yet more evidence that in the past 125 years Tehran loves to devour its periphery)

So let me get this straight. To “support” the Iranian people, Trump wants to strangle an entire country, which includes everyone living there, whether connected to the IRGC or other state entities or completely unaffiliated. 1/2 #Iran

Ongoing thread of the names, images, and brief bios of Iranian civilians killed during January 2026 #IranProtests: