Googoosh, Aussie IRGC designation—and more
The Iranist for the week of December 5, 2025
Greetings from the Middle East! 🐪 This is a more concise newsletter due to travel.
Also, read my op-ed in the Washington Post on Tehran running out of water.
THE هفت/SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
۱/1 Iranian Gen Z continues to push back
There’s been a series of pieces published in Western media—including the Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Telegraph—about how Iran is changing. However, what’s happening in Iran isn’t “reform”. It’s Iranian Gen Z reclaiming the normal lives youth in other countries have and their parents never experienced—and rejecting the rules of a clerical establishment they never chose. The security apparatus is ready at a moment's notice to crack down, but is overwhelmed by numbers. The Islamic Republic fears that if it puts pressure now at this fragile time, the same Gen Z that led the 2022 WLF uprising will finish what they started and bring its demise.
۲/2 Victim of child marriage faces execution
۳/3 Australia lists IRGC as a terrorist organization
۴/4 Legendary singer Googoosh publishes memoir
۵/5 Rial surpasses 1.2 million to the US dollar
۶/6 Iran reverses boycott of World Cup draw
۷/7 Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker sentenced in absentia
In response to the one-year prison sentence, director Jafar Panahi said:
“I’ve been working night and day on this Oscar campaign for over three months now. This sentence happened in the middle of this process, but I will finish this campaign and go back to Iran as soon as possible after.” (Variety)
OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:
Human Rights
۰ Five prisoners executed in multiple prisons (HRANA)
۰ Intelligence agents arrest Baha’i man in Gorgan (IranWire)
۰ Authorities block singer’s Instagram, arrest another female vocalist (IranWire)
۰ Imprisoned lawyer receives new 3-year sentence while behind bars (IranWire)
۰ Behind Evin’s walls: Political prisoners wage desperate hunger strike for basic rights (IranWire)
Domestic Issues
۰ Tehran police commander says officers shot at 15 people in one week (IranWire)
۰ Moderates sound alarm over lost role as buffer between state, people (Iran International)
۰ Taps may run dry in this country, where the water crisis is so severe it can be seen from space (CNN)
۰ Iran looks to buy water from neighbors amid drought crisis (RFERL)
۰ Satellite images show reservoir levels dropping as Tehran faces water crisis (BBC News)
۰ Iran gasoline price hike risks more public unrest (DW)
Foreign Policy + Security
۰ Guards say Israel lost 12-day clash, warn tougher response (Iran International)
۰ Iran airs new footage of Israeli strikes from 12-day war (Ynet)
۰ Ex-Mossad head says agency ‘works inside Iran itself,’ Riyadh still open to peace (Times of Israel)
۰ Iran-backed drone strikes on US oil sites push Iraq closer to Washington over Tehran (Reuters)
۰ Repaired Sahand destroyer, floating base join Iranian Navy, state media say (Reuters)
۰ The mysterious US-based Iranian X accounts supporting Iran’s regime (Jerusalem Post)
۰ Iran seizes Eswatini-flagged vessel for smuggling fuel (Reuters)
۰ Iran uses first joint SCO field drill to tout drone power, assert post-war resilience (Al-Monitor)
۰ China and Iran: It’s business as usual (Al-Monitor)
۰ Iran and Turkey agree to build key trade rail link along ancient Silk Road (AFP)
۰ Iran denies launching ballistic missiles towards Kurdistan region of Iraq (Jerusalem Post)
۰ Iranian funds for Hezbollah are flowing through Dubai (Wall Street Journal)
۰ Iran invites Lebanon’s foreign minister to discuss bilateral ties (Reuters)
۰ Taliban reports 10 Afghans killed by Iranian border forces (IranWire)
Iran Deal + Sanctions
۰ Iranian nuclear scientists sell products with Croydon-made parts (Financial Times)
۰ Iran says it held talks with Turkey on nuclear issue and Israel (Bloomberg)
۰ Iran tells The Hague unilateral sanctions amount to ‘crimes against humanity’ (PressTV)