"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.

While Netanyahu and Trump bombed Iran, dozens of prominent diaspora Iranians welcomed the strikes. Among them was Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah overthrown in 1979. @alexshams.bsky.social explains:

"Just like the Tehran mobs on the CIA payroll in 1953, propaganda efforts directed by State Department lackies and pro-Israel influencers today create the illusion of popular support in Iran for installation of a monarch by foreign powers." bostonreview.net/articles/our...

So many beautiful moments in this piece But I was amazed to learn the story of the Iranian immigrant who fought for the right to dance topless in 1960s San Francisco - and who the US tried to deport back to Iran as punishment! And how she fought back! lithub.com/a-record-of-...

"National Democrats and centrists have never taken the DC statehood movement seriously. The price for that will be paid well beyond the district’s borders.” www.thenation.com/article/poli...

"The story of imperial collapse has emerged via the point of view of its greatest victims: the 1 per cent, the most wealthy and powerful merchants, politicians, and priests of the past. What we need now is a history of collapse for the 99 per cent." aeon.co/essays/the-g...

As Israel rained death on Iran, Iranians mobilized mutual aid and grassroots solidarity. I wrote about practices of hope under the bombs: "Mutual aid offers a way to act collectively and politically, under the radar, and is a practice of imagination." thepublicsource.org/tehran-solid...

"For 40 years, US drug policy has not reduced the global scale of the illegal networks, but instead driven the traffickers deeper into forests, researchers said. Two-thirds of key forest habitats for birds in Central America are at risk of being destroyed." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What is the most unexpected place where you’ve encountered the Persianate? We want to hear about it! The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies and Ajam invite submissions for our new article series: The Unexpected Persianate: ajammc.com/2025/08/11/c...

MUST READ by @alexshams_: "Actual Iranian democrats view Pahlavi as their enemy rather than their champion. But the political interests backing him up have invested billions in giving him the illusion of public support, and he has been happy to go along...>> www.bostonreview.net/articles/our...

"Rather than recognize that foreign intervention has made life harder for Iranians and prevented them from organizing, Reza Pahlavi cheers the bombs and calls for solutions that can only hurt the cause he claims to fight for." www.bostonreview.net/articles/our...

"Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the US have spent millions building up Reza Pahlavi and regime-change sentiment. Hardly anything could be more damaging to Iran’s pro-democracy movements than making this unpopular, deposed monarch the face of opposition." www.bostonreview.net/articles/our...

It is always an incredible experience reading @alexshams.bsky.social 🫶🏼

Why did some Iranians cheer on Israel when it bombed their country? In my latest, I go on a deep dive to expose the coordinated media manipulation campaign with Israeli, US, and Saudi backing boosting regime change in Iran: www.bostonreview.net/articles/our...

While Netanyahu and Trump bombed Iran, dozens of prominent diaspora Iranians welcomed the strikes. Among them was Reza Pahlavi, song of the Shah overthrown in 1979. @alexshams.bsky.social on the U.S.- and Israel-backed campaign that has spent millions propping up Pahlavi for regime change:

What happens when an ancient Silk Road city becomes a gentrified tourist mecca? Gulnoza Usmonova writes about how government-led heritage restoration has transformed her hometown Bukhara, Uzbekistan and displaced locals who once brought life to its streets: ajammc.com/2025/08/05/g...

Confused yet? Let us help you make sense of this with our recent article: "The Battle Over Iran's Flag" ajammc.com/2025/07/09/b...

While Israel brings death and destruction, Palestinians teach life and hope: "Eqraa Ketabak (Read Your Book) is a small book stall that opened in late April right in the middle of the destruction in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip." electronicintifada.net/content/book...

"Far from weakening the Islamic Republic’s apparatus of repression, Israel’s war emboldened it, rolling back the fragile gains won through years of homegrown civil defiance. It has sabotaged decades of grass-roots organizing by Iran’s civil society." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/o...

“Even though we’re both from Iran, we never felt we had to teach our kids that they were different. They were American and we taught them to believe that they were equal and free. Now, she says, she knows better. “But of course, it’s too late.” www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...