My article in The Nation:

My latest article is a sweeping deep dive into how Iranians were sold the idea that war would bring freedom - and who is paying the price. If you're trying to understand how consent was manufactured for the US war on Iran, please give it a read:

US and Israeli bombs don't just kill Iranians. They destroy homes, communities, and holy places. Here's just one story: a Tehran synagogue with a vibrant Jewish community, obliterated in an instant. But what Israel destroyed, Iranians plan to rebuild: ajammc.com/2026/05/03/t...

Our new issue, FOREVER WARS, heads to press soon. Featuring a roundtable on Iran with @peymanjafari.bsky.social, Ali Kadivar, Manijeh Moradian, @naghmehs.bsky.social, @alexshams.bsky.social. Plus @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social @harshawalia.bsky.social @dwaldstreicher.bsky.social +

"When political hopes are divorced from organized movements and instead pinned on fragile fantasies of royal restoration, they risk collapsing at their first encounter with reality. The Afghan diaspora learned this lesson the hard way." ajammc.com/2026/04/17/a...

Recording of the panel I moderated for the Boston Review with four distinguished scholars—Peyman Jafari, Ali Kadivar, Manijeh Moradian, and Naghmeh Sohrabi—to discuss the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran: www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...

Demilitarize the Indian Ocean. NOW. ajammc.com/2026/03/28/d...

From the war diary of an art director in Tehran: "To feel sadness at the death of this kid and so many kids like him now brands you as a regime supporter. When all it is is just grief for the catastrophe that has befallen all of us." www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...

"Iranians need reconciliation. Trump delivered bloodshed." I wrote for TIME about how assassinating Khamenei robbed Iranians of justice. I explore what his death means in the context of the long arc of Iran's grassroots struggle for democracy: time.com/article/2026...

My comments about why this war won't lead to Iran's liberation:

Powerful, heart wrenching piece on the unbearable pain of witnessing this war on Iran and our people: "People greet each other with a joke—“Haha, you’re still alive?” When survival becomes the joke, ordinary life is already gone." ajammc.com/2026/03/11/w...

“The opposition remains deeply fragmented. Many constituencies—including liberals, democrats, leftists, women’s groups, and marginalized communities such as Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, and those in southern Khuzestan—do not align with Pahlavi.” @alexshams.bsky.social talks with Asef Bayat:

Alex Shams (@alexshams.bsky.social) traced how these networks grew during the war, when communities defied isolation and came together in acts of everyday solidarity. Read: thepublicsource.org/tehran-solid...

Iran was at the negotiating table. Instead, Trump and Israel chose this: "Iran’s aim is not immediate victory but to raise the cost of the war to prohibitive levels. If regime change is the declared objective, then compromise is not an option." www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma...

My heart breaks for Iran More than 1,000 people have been killed since the US and Israel started bombing Millions are traumatized. No one is any freer

“Only through autonomous and organized civic agency can Iranians safeguard their own future—and the future of their country—amid profound and uncertain transformation.” Iranian sociologist Asef Bayat talks with @alexshams.bsky.social about the war, democratic resistance, and what may come next:

www.bostonreview.net/articles/ira... Superb interview with Asef Bayat: ‘Iran’s leftists are also frustrated with the Western left, which they believe mischaracterizes the Islamic Republic as “anti-imperialist” and overlooks the real struggles of Iranians fighting for dignity and democracy.’

I interviewed Asef Bayat about the Dey protests, the broader history of Iranian opposition to the Islamic Republic, the impact of foreign intervention and diaspora voices on the current political landscape, and possibilities for a democratic transition in Iran:

The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran mark a dramatic escalation of Trump’s belligerent foreign policy. Essential reading from the BR archive on the folly of regime change, with Alexander B. Downes, Greg Grandin, Neta C. Crawford, @alexshams.bsky.social, @tparsi.bsky.social, Aslı Ü. Bâli & Aziz Rana:

Please stop saying the Iranian diaspora supports this war Many of us oppose both Israel and Trump's unprovoked war AND the Islamic Republic We are terrified for our loved ones in Iran cowering under the bombs More than 700 Iranians have already died. This war needs to end NOW

"Woman Life Freedom" doesn't mean "Bomb Iran"

Powerful letter from Tehran taking stock of the violence of the last weeks and the mood on the street: "When politics lacks depth, spectacle rushes in. When history is erased, myth rushes in. When education fails, fantasy becomes governance." www.equator.org/articles/teh...

"Iranians face a double bind between domestic oppression on one hand and foreign oppression on the other. But that is not a reason to pity them. It is a reason to honor their struggle and learn from it." truthout.org/articles/ira...

“Hardly anything could be more damaging to Iran’s pro-democracy movements than making this unpopular, deposed monarch with ties to Israel and U.S. neocons the face of opposition.” @alexshams.bsky.social on Reza Pahlavi:

“More surprising were cheers for the attacks heard from corners of the Iranian diaspora. While Netanyahu and Trump bombed Iran, dozens of prominent Iranian Americans waved Israel’s flag and pled for harder strikes.” @alexshams.bsky.social on the political backdrop to calls for foreign intervention:

"Iranians face a double bind between domestic oppression on one hand and foreign oppression on the other." "Iranians deserve global solidarity." "[W]e are all fighting despots and wannabe-despots in our own context." #Iran #USA #Israel #Protest #Military

"Blackout does not mean the screen is empty. It has retreated behind walls, behind checkpoints, behind “authorized access.” You do not stop seeing. You lose the right to see. Somewhere in Tehran, a monitor stays on." ajammc.com/2026/01/18/k...

Honored to make Boston Review's list of most-read pieces in 2025 with my profile of Reza Pahlavi, the son of an unpopular, deposed monarch giving cover to US and Israeli regime change operations for Iran: www.bostonreview.net/articles/our...

"The Iranian left sought to connect with Palestine to learn the tactics of urban warfare. But they ended up living alongside Palestinians, forging emotional bonds, sharing meals, falling in love and ultimately fighting side by side." www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/a...

The Luli are a Persian-speaking part of the Romani diaspora in Central Asia Ubiquitous in public spaces, they are excluded from national narratives, paradoxically hypervisible and invisible Frishta Qaderi shares from her research across Uzbekistan in Ajam's latest: ajammc.com/2025/12/09/c...

"It should be immediately disqualifying for an aspiring leader to invite foreign attacks on the civilians that they are pretending to lead. That is exactly what Machado and Pahlavi have done." www.currentaffairs.org/news/washing...

On June 13, 2025, Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran. For 12 days, grassroots mutual aid networks helped evacuate students, deliver groceries, & more. Alex Shams (@alexshams.bsky.social) spoke to Iranians who turned despair into solidarity. 🔗 thepublicsource.org/tehran-solid...

Read more from @alexshams.bsky.social about the underground networks that forged solidarity across Iran and beyond, defying Israel’s aggressions. thepublicsource.org/tehran-solid...

Khak-e Hayat was a two-week research residency bringing together 14 artists, academics, and architects from Iran and Pakistan to explore the region’s shared ecological pasts and imagine alternative visions for a collective future. Read on to learn more: ajammc.com/2025/12/03/a...

For Ajam's latest, Manar Heikal explores the history of her illustrious community - the Iranians of Cairo: "You won’t find much about them in textbooks. There are no heritage signs, no archives, no plaques. Our story was something quieter. More intimate." Read it here: ajammc.com/2025/09/28/i...

"Ice stupas are cone-shaped glaciers designed to store winter meltwater and release it during the growing season. They are a practical solution for water scarcity, symbolizing the promise of community-led efforts to combat climate change challenges." www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

The US crackdown on free speech has gone international A Mexican congressional aide lost his job for comments about Kirk after pressure from the former US ambassador to Mexico All to protect the legacy of a "free speech defender" Absolutely dystopian

"A foreign policy organized around punishing and killing our supposedly sworn enemies, diplomacy be damned, conveys the terrible message that we can only kill and maim our way to achieving the world we want to live in." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/o...

Shame on everyone who denied this was a genocide

The Shah's chief torturer was hiding in plain sight in a Florida suburb. Until 2023, when his daughter posted a picture of him depicting him as a freedom fighter - and ignited a firestorm among Iranians worldwide. The crazy story of Parviz Sabeti: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

They invited Palestinian negotiators to the bargaining table in Qatar and then assassinated them This is exactly what they did to Iran - they attacked Tehran while Iranians were negotiating in good faith with the US Why would anyone ever trust America again? This is psychopathic stuff

We're reached the point where Israel now assassinates other countries' prime ministers in broad daylight That's how far Israel and the US have degraded the most basic norms of international law

“Hardly anything could be more damaging to Iran’s pro-democracy movements than making this unpopular, deposed monarch with ties to Israel and U.S. neocons the face of opposition.” @alexshams.bsky.social on Reza Pahlavi and regime change ambitions in Iran:

If you hear about a Mexican Independence Day celebration in your area, go. There is strength in numbers and — especially if you’re white — you can protect your community just by being there and not flinching if ICE shows up. These goons are cowards. Don’t be one.

DC has been under military occupation for two weeks. While city officials collaborate with Trump's regime, grassroots organizers are fighting back every night. How people are resisting Trump's autocracy on the streets of the US capital: www.thenation.com/article/acti...

"Why is there a sudden race to embrace a future where robots replace us all? The motivation is simple: it means fewer workers to pay (or ideally none!). It means no conversations about ethics and values (Funding genocide is fine! Racism is fine!)." chicagomaroon.com/48353/viewpo...

"It’s a familiar story in Israel: a powerful group of cynical actors aggressively seeks to oppress and displace Palestinians; a left-wing minority belatedly emerges to protest in vain; meanwhile, the majority of the population carries on as if nothing is wrong." www.thedriftmag.com/in-ruins/

The opposite of hostile architecture: Brick on a sidewalk that turns into a public bench in Shiraz, Iran Designed by local architects Sedighe Eskandarpour and Mahsa Saeidizadeh

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout. On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar. This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media. Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

Mohammad Halimi barely escaped Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power — only to later have DOGE, Elon Musk and right-wing media suggest he was a funnel for Taliban funding, putting him and his loved ones at risk.