Farahmand Alipour

Farahmand Alipour is an Iranian journalist in Italy, where he specializes in news and analysis on Iran and the Middle East. His writing has been featured in BBC Persian, Asharg Alawsat, Notizie Geopolitiche and Majalla in Persian, English, Arabic and Italian. On Twitter: @FarahmandAlipur

Iran | Sep 21, 2015

Will boycott campaign put the brakes on Iran's auto industry?

On the cusp of no longer facing Western sanctions, Iranian carmakers now face a domestic boycott of their vehicles over price and quality concerns.

Syria | Aug 27, 2015

Syrian Shiites take up arms in support of Assad's army

Syria's tiny Shiite community is taking greater steps toward arming itself as the civil war grinds on.

Fighters loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad rest on a hill after regaining control of Tal Fatima, a town south of Damascus, in the Daraa countryside March 1, 2015. Government forces say they've regained control of this and many other villages in the south - wresting them back from rebel hands.A general made the announcement on state television, saying a large number of Nusra Front fighters were killed and their weapons destroyed. The gains were said to happen on Friday and Saturday in a large offens

Iran | Aug 17, 2015

Iran works to get auto industry back on the road

As the sanctions on Iran are lifted, many hope the Iranian auto industry will be revivied and Western car makers will be pitted against Chinese rivals for shares in Iran's market.

Egypt | Jul 15, 2015

Iraqi writer brings Persian literature to Arab world

Ghassan Hamdan bridges the Iranian-Arab divide with his translations of Persian literature into Arabic.

Residents gather at the Shabandar Cafe in Baghdad's Mutanabi street April 5, 2011. Reading books, buying books and discussing books are the defining pleasures of being a Baghdad intellectual, and for generations the life of the mind has orbited around this lane, the booksellers' market of the Iraqi capital. Four years ago, in a blow felt deeply by Iraq's intelligentsia, a car bomb killed 26 people here. Now, the street is again open, guarded and seemingly safe, and jammed every Friday with students, profess

Iran | Jun 28, 2015

Former Iran FM warns of continued Iran-Saudi tensions

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iran's first foreign minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution talked about the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Rouhani administration and the lack of respect for the law within the country.

Ebrahim Yazdi, secretary-general and chairman of Central Council Freedom Movement of Iran, speaks during an interview at his home in northern Tehran June 15, 2009. Iranian opposition politician Yazdi has been released from jail a day after he was detained while in hospital, a source close to him said on June 19, 2009. Yazdi, who heads the banned Freedom Movement, was one of scores of reformist activists detained since Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election. Picture taken June 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mortez

Syria | May 1, 2015

Iranian doc follows Afghan fighters in Syria

The film, which was broadcast on an unofficial government channel, shows why Afghans living in Iran are fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Fighters loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad go through weapons near a tank after regaining control of Hamreet, a town south of Damascus, in the Daraa countryside March 1, 2015. Government forces say they've regained control of this and many other villages in the south - wresting them back from rebel hands. A general made the announcement on state television, saying a large number of Nusra Front fighters were killed and their weapons destroyed.The gains were said to happen on Friday and Saturday in a

Iran | Apr 28, 2015

Iran's tourism industry scrambles to catch up with demand

As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani improves relations with the West, Iranian officials announce they will build more hotels to meet the expected demand of foreign tourists.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SIAVOSH GHAZI
A Spanish tourist walks past an Achaemenid griffin at the ancient Persian city of Persepolis near Shiraz in southern Iran on September 26, 2014. At the foot of Persepolis, the giant sun-dried brick ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid and first Persian empire, foreign tourists pour out of buses and gaze in wonder. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran | Apr 16, 2015

Soleimani emerges as unifying figure for Iranians

While Iran's religious and nationalist groups have been at odds over various issues since the 1979 revolution, increasing tensions with Saudi Arabia and wide adoration for Quds Force Cmdr. Qasem Soleimani have largely united the two camps.