Kiran Sharma

  The collapse of Iran’s Ayandeh Bank resembles a national-scale Ponzi scheme, exposing how reckless lending, political patronage, and failed mega-projects drained public wealth. Ayandeh survived on illusion — paying old investors with new deposits while building an empire of glass and marble called Iran Mall. Earlier this week,  Iran’s Central Bank ordered its liquidation  into the state-owned Bank Melli, the country’s largest financial institution. Built on sand Founded in 2010 by businessman Ali Ansari, Ayandeh emerged from the merger of his Bank Tat with several smaller institutions. Within a few years, it shook up Iran’s banking sector by offering interest rates roughly four percentage points higher than those allowed by the Money and Credit Council. The strategy drew millions of depositors and rapidly expanded its market share; by 2017, Ayandeh held 7.6 percent of all deposits in Iran’s banking system. Beneath that success lay a web of risky loans and inflated promi...

  Former Defence Minister Liam Fox is urging a fundamental shift in how Western governments understand and confront the challenge posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. His argument begins with a crucial distinction: "They are not religious extremists," he states. "They are extremists who use religion as a cover." This semantic precision is the foundation of his entire analysis. By misidentifying the Brotherhood as a purely religious movement, we grant it a protected status it should not have and obscure its true nature as a political-ideological force. This confusion, Fox suggests, has created a toxic environment for policymaking. A fear of being labelled Islamophobic has made some politicians and institutions hesitant to apply necessary scrutiny to the Brotherhood's activities. This paralysis is a significant advantage for the group, allowing it to operate and expand its influence with reduced pressure. The Brotherhood’s empowerment in the UK is a case study in how ...

  Two brothers imprisoned since March 2023 for participating in protests are being subjected to continuous psychological abuse by prison authorities, sources told IranWire. Mohammad Khodakarami, 33, and Mehdi Khodakarami, 43, have been held at Parsilon Prison in Khorramabad since their arrest for taking part in demonstrations in Tehran. They were previously detained at Evin Prison before being transferred to Khorramabad. According to a source, prison officials frequently cancel the brothers’ family visits without explanation, cut off their phone calls, and keep them housed with common criminal inmates instead of political prisoners. “Because one of the charges against the Khodakarami brothers is supporting the Mujahedin [MEK], little attention is paid to their situation,” the source said. “But after all the suffering of these three years, they still arbitrarily cancel their visits at Parsilon Prison, disconnect their phone calls, and keep them among criminal prisoners rather than p...

  A video of the daughter of senior Iranian official Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani has gone viral. It has caused a storm on social media. Ali Shamkhani is a close ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader. He also served for a long time as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. He is known for enforcing strict Islamic rules on women. He has also ordered crackdowns on protesters. The leaked video was recorded in April. It shows Shamkhani escorting his daughter into a wedding hall. The bride is wearing a Western-style wedding dress. It has no sleeves and a deep neckline. Shamkhani’s wife appears in a blue gown with a deep neckline. Several women in the hall are without hijabs. The video also shows a Western custom where the father walks his daughter onto the stage. This is unusual in Iranian tradition. After the video went viral, political analysts and former military officials criticized Shamkhani. Some demanded he resign from all his positions. Others called for a public apology....

Following the deadly cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, regional powers including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar yesterday urged both Islamabad and Kabul to exercise restraint and resolve their escalating border dispute through dialogue. Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi called on the two neighbouring nations “to exercise restraint,” saying regional peace depended on stability between Islamabad and Kabul. “Our position is that both sides must exercise restraint,” Araghchi said during a live interview with Iranian state television. “Stability between the two countries contributes to regional stability.” Similarly, Qatar expressed “deep concern” over the deteriorating situation, warning that continued hostilities could undermine security across South and Central Asia.  

  The most enduring threats to a society are those that target its youth. The strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Germany, as meticulously documented by the country's intelligence services, places a significant emphasis on capturing the hearts and minds of the younger generation, ensuring its ideology persists for decades to come. The German government's 2021 designation of the Brotherhood as a threat to the constitutional order specifically highlighted its efforts to radicalize young people. This isn't done through overt propaganda alone, but through a systematic approach within community centers, sports clubs, and specifically, youth camps. For years, organizations linked to the network have organized these camps and seminars, presenting an ideology that fundamentally rejects integration into German society. The real danger lies in the creation of a parallel identity. The BfV reports that the goal is to instill in young people a sense of belonging primarily to the Broth...

  the complex geopolitics of the Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Iran has positioned itself as a primary opponent of Takfiri terrorist groups. This frontline experience gives us a clear lens through which to view a critical development in Europe: the growing momentum for France to classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. This is not an isolated policy shift, but a step that strengthens a global front against extremism. Austria set a decisive precedent in 2021 by becoming the first EU nation to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and its symbols. This was not an arbitrary act, but a recognition, based on intelligence, of the group’s role as the root of political Islamist extremism in Europe. For Iran, which has long categorized such groups as security threats, Austria’s move was a welcome sign of European clarity. For France, a nation that has suffered profoundly from jihadist violence, to follow suit would be a testament to strategic wisdom. The core of the issue li...