@rezahakbari
PhD Candidate AU History - Program Manager IWPR MENA - Iranian-American - inforezaakbari@gmail.com - I write The Guarded Domains, a Substack newsletter focused on Iran and the broader Middle East region. https://guardeddomains.substack.com
"As a former US Army infantryman, who fought in what used to be called the War on Terror, I know one thing: [ground invasion] shouldn’t even be on the table. A ground war against the Islamic Republic, on #Iran’s own terrain, will send American troops into hell on earth." unherd.com/2026/03/grou...
As always, a must-read by @keshavarziana.bsky.social. An insightful, historically grounded look at the domestic sociopolitical and economic dynamics as well as the international conditions that have ushered in the current moment of crisis for #Iran and the broader region.
We are witnessing a political system confronting unprecedented shock while leaning on long-standing survival mechanisms. Analysis by @rezahakbari.bsky.social IWPR Programme Manager.
#IranWar
Spoke to @thenewarab.bsky.social for an article on the rise of Mojtaba Khamenei and how #Iran's hardliners are in the process of cementing power. www.newarab.com/analysis/ris...
Pretty sure I am making a clear point. He hasn’t made a single public speech. So me and the majority of the public doesn’t even know what his voice sounds like. He doesn’t have a connection to the public and it does not matter as far as the governing system is concerned.
Yes. My position remains the same. W/ domestic opposition & external threats—especially amid war—regime security becomes the priority, setting the stage for a hardline choice rather than a moderate. Under securitized conditions, public perception & popular legitimacy become less relevant too.
The current iteration of the Islamic Republic doesn’t feel the need to explain itself, persuade, or maintain a genuine connection with the public. 2/2 #Iran
A Supreme Leader without a single public speech. I don’t even know what he sounds like. That should tell you where the current system stands when it comes to caring about public perception and its societal base. 1/2 #Iran
A prince was indeed elected—the wrong one, but a prince nonetheless. #Iran
A prince was indeed elected—the wrong one, but a prince nonetheless. #Iran
In a moment perceived as all-out war, the priority shifts toward battle readiness, control, and stability rather than reforms or moderation. 2/2
Many hoped for a more moderate figure, but choosing Mojtaba at this critical moment makes perfect sense. The system needs someone with the security capacity to coordinate with the IRGC, confront domestic opposition, and deal with foreign adversaries. 1/2 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w... #Iran
Many hoped for a more moderate figure, but choosing Mojtaba at this critical moment makes perfect sense. The system has to rely on someone who has the potential security capacity to coordinate w/ IRGC, fight domestic opposition & confront foreign adversaries. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w... #Iran
Iran announces Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's third Supreme Leader succeeding his father. #Iran
“I went around the park and chatted with people. At the end they said to each other, ‘Stay alive.’ And this might be the most concrete way to describe the reality we are living in Tehran. Don’t die. Stay alive.”
War in #Iran means relentless thunderous explosions, plumes of smoke across the skyline, and the destruction of military sites alongside airports, oil depots, water facilities, homes, and businesses. In my latest piece, I translate and share two firsthand accounts from inside Tehran.
The oil is flowing into the sewers and the streets are on fire in Tehran
Iranian authorities deny any damages to Tehran’s Refinery. They do clarify that Ray Oil Depot and its pipelines were attacked. #Iran
A number of videos and eyewitness accounts circulating online suggest that the Tehran Oil Refinery was hit by airstrikes tonight. If confirmed, this is a severe escalation by U.S. and Israeli forces and expands the war to include #Iran’s energy sector.
There is no moral alibi for such violence. This war is burning the guilty and the innocent alike. There is no freedom or democracy waiting at the end of this hellish road.
A harrowing image from tonight’s bombing of Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. This devastating and inhuman assault seeks to violate a nation’s sovereignty, shatter its infrastructure, and pummel its dignity. #Iran
BBC Verify has analyzed videos and satellite imagery that show severe damage to schools, a hospital, and historic landmarks in #Iran since US and Israeli strikes on the country began. Civilian casualties continue to increase as well. www.bbc.com/news/article... #Iran
Iran’s state media share CCTV footage of a U.S.-Israeli attack near a boys’ school in Abyek, Qazvin, #Iran. The strike on the first day of the war resulted in the death of a teenage student. A communication tower was dislodged by the strike, went airborne, and fell on him, the narrator explains.
Thread: In my latest, I reflect on the war with #Iran. I begin by examining the war’s early human cost, explore the uncertain succession process in Tehran after Khamenei's death, & discuss why the Islamic Republic may be more durable than many assume. guardeddomains.substack.com/p/after-kham... 1/6
War can disrupt, eliminate individuals, and redraw strategic calculations, but it cannot magically conjure up a stable political future. For now, I count the dead and hope that the next bomb will be the last. 6/6
The ongoing war may reshape the balance of power in the short term, but it will not answer the more fundamental questions of rights, legitimacy, governance, and the possibility of a more tolerant political system that the Iranian people have been grappling with for more than 120 years. 5/6
If anything, its brutal reality is only a sober reminder of how quickly force can reorder a political landscape without resolving the deeper and layered social, cultural, and economic anxieties beneath. 4/6
Unlike the hopeful cheers of those who believe that a better tomorrow could be delivered by bombs, I do not see clarity nor closure in this moment. 3/6
We're witnessing one of the darkest periods in #Iran's contemporary history. The fate of a nation of 90 million hangs in the balance. The population inside is enduring bombardment by foreign aggressors while dealing w/ domestic oppression, w/ little glimpse of light within the immediate future. 2/6
Thread: In my latest, I reflect on the war with #Iran. I begin by examining the war’s early human cost, explore the uncertain succession process in Tehran after Khamenei's death, & discuss why the Islamic Republic may be more durable than many assume. guardeddomains.substack.com/p/after-kham... 1/6
