Iran

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Governance
Palestinians inspect the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, in the Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025.

Health Care Under Fire: How the Middle East Reflects a Global Crisis

by Tim Bishop

Humanitarian law obliges all conflict parties to protect health facilities and workers, yet deadly attacks persist

Governance
Medical staff inspect the damage at an impact site, following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, at Soroka Medical Center, in Beersheba, Israel, on June 19, 2025.

Hospital Attacks in Gaza and Israel: What Counts as a War Crime?

by Leonard S. Rubenstein, Feroze Sidhwa

Global attacks on hospitals and health care have become more frequent, but perpetrators have enjoyed near total impunity

A woman wears a face mask and has the words "Freedom" written in blue paint on her forehead in Arabic. She takes part in a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 4, 2022.
Gender

The Toll of Violence on Women and Youth in Iran

by Behnaz Darban, Natasha Poulopoulos

A "pervasive trauma is seeping through Iran," affecting the mental health of women and children

An woman walks along a street in Tehran, Iran, on May 26, 2021. Behind her stretches a wall with thick colorful horizontal stripes in shadess of blue and aqua.
Gender

Women and Stroke in Iran

by Athena Sharifi-Razavi

Stroke-prevention efforts fail to meet low-income women’s needs

A general view shows buildings in Beirut during Lebanon's countrywide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus on April 1, 2020. Picture shows a view of a section of city filling the fame with buildings but very few people apparent on the streets. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Governance

Coronavirus in Lebanon

Interview with Walid Ammar, head of Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health, on testing, funding, and the threat to refugees

A worker in protective suit sprays disinfectants in front of a dress shop at popular market following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Basra, Iraq on March 10, 2020. This is an interesting photo showing a colorful dress shop with a worker walking by outside in protective gear spraying disinfectant. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Governance

Coronavirus in the Middle East

by Steven A. Cook

A look at COVID-19 in seven countries, some fragile or failed, which illustrates many of the problems the region faces

A man looks at parliamentary election campaign posters in Tehran, Iran on February 19, 2020. The photo shows the man standing in front of a board that is placarded with multiple political campaign posters, many of them identical and pasted over and over. The predominant colors are green, white, and red—like the Iranian flag. WANA/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS.
Trade

Coronavirus in Iran—An Isolated Response?

by Ray Takeyh

As the COVID-19 crisis deepens, will Tehran wean itself off suspicions and collaborate in efforts to control the virus?