Massoumeh Torfeh

Talks are the only way past US-Iran brinkmanship in the Gulf

Both the US and Iran are reluctant to make the first move towards talks and if it remains that way a third-party should initiate contact before tensions reach a boiling point.

Forty Years of the Iranian Revolution: A state unto its own

Part VI: The Power of the Revolutionary Guard - this is the sixth in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

Provoking the Iranian Revolutionary Guard makes us less safe

Donald Trump's move to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation is part of a larger campaign to isolate and weaken Iran while strengthening Israel's position in the region.

Forty years of the Iranian Revolution: Referendum on the Islamic Republic

Part V: Traitors to the Islamic Republic - this is the fifth in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

Forty Years of the Iranian Revolution: The Women's march

Part IV: We Want Equal Rights - this is the fourth in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

Saudi crown prince's tour of South Asia exposes regional fault lines

Pakistan is attempting a highwire balancing act between a set of contradictory regional actors and in the process is showing how difficult it will be for the government to maintain the momentum.

Forty Years of the Iranian Revolution: 'The Nation is Victorious'

Part III: A Sign of Things to Come - this is the third in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

Forty Years of the Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran

Part II: The Return - this is the second in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

Forty Years of the Iranian Revolution: 'The Shah is Gone'

Part I: The Day the Shah Left - this is the first in a series of articles that looks at how the Iranian Revolution came to be in 1979, and where it has led Iran over the course of four decades.

US withdrawal from Afghanistan is a challenge that presents opportunities

Some argue that Afghanistan isn't ready for a US withdrawal but the move allows the country greater independence to forge its own path forward - something it desperately needs.

Iraq gains some political agency, but remains well within Iran's orbit

Iran and the US have used Iraq as a staging ground for influence in the region, but the reality of the Iraqi political system is now showing the Americans the door.

Can the UK help find common ground between Iran and the US?

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's recent visit to Iran is not likely to result in much unless the UK can help the Iranians soften the blow from US sanctions.